Does anyone ever gets a state school place near work? (especially asking those working in the City)

[confusedperson]

My DS will go to a primary school in 2012. When I go to work by train, occasionally I see some mums with a school child on the train, presumably going to a school near mum?s work. I wonder if it is worth trying to apply for primaries around work area, or is it completely unlikely to get a place due to distance? It would save me on childcare quite a bit and I would see my child more, so that would be quite an attractive idea..

I think (but experts will correct me if I'm wrong) that if they have a spare place then they have to accept your child. If they are full or oversubscribed then places willbe given on distance so your child would almost certainly not get the place (and be at the bottom of the waiting list). I would have thought city schools would be more over-subscibed so you could have problems with all but the worst, least popular schools.

Other things to consider are that your child would be living far away from their school friends, and also if you were to change jobs, what would you do about your school then? would you look to move schools to one locally to your home? This would be harder than finding a reception place during the usual admissions process.

Oggy what you say it all makes sense. I think we will stick with a local school.