The great school search - help needed

[waitingab]

Hi there
Hoping this isn't a stupid question, but I'm in need of advice. Our wee boy is due to start school in Sept 2014 and we are hoping to move before we apply for schools. The problem is, I'm completely lost as to how we can find out about the likelihood of us getting into a school when we move. I've researched on line and just been told that Haringey doesn't have set catchment areas. In which case, how can I find out more?
For instance, I know anecdotally that the primary nearest to us (St Aidans) is hard to get into. But I only know this because we've lived near it for years and chat to Mums whose children go there.
My worry if that we will buy a flat near to a school, oblivious to the fact that we won't be able to get a place there.
Surely there is a more scientific approach......
Any help much appreciated!

Call Haringey Council, they will be able to give advice but the catchment area of a school changes from year to year depending how many siblings etc are going so good luck!

Haringey Council publish each year the further distance of the child admitted into reception at each primary school. The 2012 figures are on P15 of this prospectus. For example, you can see that at St Aidans there is space for 30 kids in reception class and the last child offered a place in Sep 2012 lived 0.1627 miles away. As married explains, that distance will change each year as there will only be space for 30 kids per reception class so it depends how many four year olds are living near the school in 2014 and how many have special needs or siblings at the school as they get priority.
The Council can tell you how close a property is to any Haringey school according to their precise measurements so you can have a guess about how likely you might be to get in, but no guarantees. Don't forget you can also apply to Islington/ Hackney schools if you are near the border.
HTH.

Thank you very much ladies!

The maddening thing about it is that I see people driving their children to St Aidans or getting off the bus!! They clearly live further away and I suppose have moved since getting in.
Do either of you happen to know how it works if we did get our son in and then moed slightly further away? I get the impression that siblings get places ahead of people who live nearer in some case.

My DD goes to an heavily over-subscribed, small RC school rated Outstanding with a tiny catchment. We live less than 0.1 miles from the school and walk but alot of her friends are driven in from the far reaches of or even out of borough. In most cases this is because they have older siblings and in the gap between siblings the parents have moved (because they needed a bigger house). A few of her classmates come in from further away because they attend the Church every week and got a good priest reference and this weighed more heavily over those closer to the school.

I would ask St Aidans for their selection criteria. In my DD's school the order is:

1. SEN
2. Sibling
3. Baptised RC
4. Weekly Church attendance (verified by priest at interview with parent)
5. Distance from school

Etc.

As St Aidans is CofE, then I would suspect regular (monthly or twice monthly?) is higher up the selection criteria than distance? You should check it out, ditto all the schools in your area.

*regular Church attendance, I meant to say!

Nope, church attendance is not part of the admissions requirement for St Aidans. Siblings get priority over distance.
Have a look at the admissions prospectus I linked to, it is all set out in there.