Primary school applications

[missl1]

Hi there,

Not sure if this is Lambeth-specific but it maybe so it's here in the Lambeth thread.

Does anyone know whether schools see which preference they are on application forms - as in they know they are only the third choice etc. - or do they just see each application as just that - an application no matter where on the form they came?

Would be useful to know,
Thanks.

No, schools don't see that info.

The preferences are so that, if you fulfil the oversubscription criteria for more than one school, Lambeth can offer you the school that you ranked most highly of those.

Yep. Each of the schools will see your application on a standalone basis, tell the PanLondon application system whether they can offer you a place and then you'll get offered whichever place you get, and if you get more than one offer then you will only be offered the one that's highest up your list. On no account try to be clever or game the system, just apply to your 5 chosen schools and put them in order of preference. But do put at least school you are very likely to get into on the list, otherwise you may get nothing.

OK thanks, all makes sense. Was concerned about putting a 'not likely' above a 'more likely' but sounds like it may be worth a go.

Yes, you must put your preferences down in the exact order you do prefer them.

Each school will make it's offer based on whether you meet their published admissions criteria, and where you place them on the list makes no difference.

The LA collates all the offers you receive and passes on the one that is highest on your list of preferences.

So put your 'long shots' first - you never know, you might get a place - but if you have a 'dead cert' in last place that place will be offered to you - as long as you are within their admission criteria.

If none of the schools on your list can offer you a place, because you don't live close enough or don't meet the faith criteria, or whatever, then you will be offered a place elsewhere - one that has places once all the other offers have been made. Which could be much further away or not what you want. This is why it is important to list at least one local school that you will get a place in, because what is left may be worse!

Do list your favourite school even if it is a long shot because you will automatically be placed on the waiting lists for any schools higher up your list that you do not get an offer for in the first round of allocations.

Things that do not work: listing only one school, listing one school repeatedly in every preference place, only listing favourite but 'long shot' schools because they 'have to give you one of them'.

Another myth is that if you list a less popular school lower down your list you will get given that even if a favoured, more over-subscribed school can offer you a place 'because they want to fill places up'. The process is governed by law, and they don't / can't mess about like that.

These are all myths / theories I have heard circulating locally!

Also even if you think you might only get into schools A, B and maybe C, and put C, A,B on your form, put the next three least-inconvenient-to-get-to schools down in places 4,5,6, just in case.

And ensure you accept whatever school is eventually offered (unless you would actually homeschool/go private in preference), and go on waiting lists for all acceptable schools , if you don't get what you want - if you reject the offered school the council has no requirement to find another school place for you. Most of the complaints about not having any place are where the parent has rejected the offered place.

Sometimes schools say "if you don't put us first, you might not get a place" - this is either because they get it wrong, or more often they are trying to explain that thanks to bulge classes etc, any oversubscribed school may unexpectedly have a place so if you put those in first place you would end up there instead - they can't offer you two places and then let you choose (another local myth), nor take into account where your parents or childminder live (ditto).

'Listing the same school six times' :-)

There are those people out there, MissL, believe me!