Confused and need words of wisdom

[Tryingtostaycalm]

Forgive me if these are really silly questions, but I'm new to all the school application stuff and am starting to feel very nervous about it as applying this year.
Firstly, I live in an area which has great faith schools but they are all oversubscribed. We live near a community school but this is the worst school in the area. We are hoping to send ds to a hugely oversubscribed Rc school which we probably won't get into. So if for our other choices, we put down other oversubscribed CofE schools and community schools which we are probably just out of catchment for, will we simply get lumbered with the nearest school, which we don't want? And do we have a hope in hell of getting a place anywhere else? Please advise! Thanks!

IMVHO, you need a banker somewhere on your list - a local school where you are pretty much guaranteed to meet the admission criteria.
better a less-than-ideal school just down the road, than a less-than-ideal school at the other end of the borough three buses away.

Only problem is, there isn't one - The only banker would be the one we don't want, and I'm not even planning to apply for a place there. Also it's usually undersubscribed... Everywhere else we seem to be out of catchment for.

would you rather a very long journey to school?
if you don't meet the criteria for any of your preferences, then you will get offered a place at the nearest school with a vacancy, which may be nowhere near you.

have you spoken to the schools, and visited them? there is always a big brouhaha around here re faith schools, and the local gossip doesn't always accurately reflect the admission criteria. someone from your council's admissions service would be able to advise.

You're right, thanks, I need to speak to the admissions people. Just know we will be offered this school and everything I know about it is negative - wondering if there is any chance in hell we could get something else. Shouldn't have moved to this road, really... Will know next time!

you could always undergo a Damscene conversion.....

re the other community schools - it might be worth visiting them to find out how many siblings they are expecting this year. dd1 got a place in reception at a school we are a mile from, when in most years the furthest distance offered was 0.7 of a mile, as there was an unusually low number of sibling places required that year. we knew this when we applied, and probably wouldn't have bothered otherwise.

Thanks so much for the advice, very helpful. Will get on the phone in a couple of weeks then...