Applying for primary place

[FrumpyPumpy]

I think I'm being thick here.
Am applying for a place for DS for Sept13.
There are 2 schools in our small town; one is a faith school that we don't want to put down (we would t get in anyway as no prop of faith). The other is an outstanding infants which is our preferred choice. It's 1 minute closer, but a better fit for DS in our opinion.
It's also close for MIL for drop off etc.

So we only have one choice to put.
Do we just put that one?
There is no space for additional comments on the form really, not am I sure whether this warrants them or if we have any more reasons.

What if we put only 1 choice but he doesn't get in?
Head teacher doesn't think they will be oversubscribed but is first year since outstanding ofsted.

I'm being thick aren't I?

its most common any lea asks for 3choices.

our nearby community very good infants is oversubscribed.
we live on newish estate very close by and people who applied dds year dident get in. As it happened we preffered the faith school in our case at time and due to dd baptised and them cotrolling admissions policy voluntry aided they gave us out 1st choice.

If you dont get infants
The faith school selects in some way sorry you dident mention if rc or coe rc mainly control their own admissions we go to rc currently but not catholic ourselves.

Our 3rd choice was community primary hich has good open day wasent best but felt good to have fallback choice,

But we live in city with severe shortage of primary school places so a few hundred kids recent years dident get offered any of their 3 choices.

f you only oput 2 and dont get the 2 then you at the lea mercy where they out you as you would them be in late admissions once all the paces been doled out then lea tell parents where vacancies are for 2nd round applications and could be miles away.

I advise you look at more than 2 make a fair comparision we only looked at 3 and applied for 3 now regret that.

so look on lea website try find 2-3other schools you can get to to go veiw.

dd moving schools after half term to out of catchment one e never considered or looked at before. we dident visit our nearest based on local reputaton and now hear fab things about it.

Also which school does infant feed into? is it nearby?
is it automatic feeder policy for child who attends infants to automatically get a place?

If you don't get your only choice then the LEA will choose for you and it could be a school that's miles away.

I only put down one choice and thankfully it was fine!

The LEA website should give you the details of the last admission on distancec in the last year's round, which may give you a bit of an idea as to whether you are cutting it fine or not.

Is the faith school oversubscribed? You could put it second choice if they have distacne as a criteria and take some children in this way.

And then look further afield, for a school that you would find suitable, and which is not oversubscribed on siblings and distance.

If none of the schools on your list offer you a place, that is when the LEA offer you the nearest available place at any old school. So it is good to have at least one choice which you feel reasonably sure of getting.

It sounds as if you stand a strong chance with your first choice anyway.

They can only admit on admissions criteria - your MIL's arrangements will hold no sway.

Good luck!

Ok, chances are hell get in 1st choice.
2nd school is RC and we are not.
I'll find some more but hopefull won't need.

But but...
What if we put a 2nd and 3rd choice and no one else does, does that make it look like we are happier to go elsewhere an count against us?!

Where we live we can put 4 choices, in order.The council have told me that they try to match the parents' highest ranking choices with the school places.So if you put your favoured school down 1st and there is a place, you will get one there.It is only when your first choice school is full with places taken up by people who rank more highly on the admissions system eg special needs, sibling rule, distance etc that you won't get a place there and then the council try to match you with you next choice on the list.The schools do not know where you rank them.And putting the max no.of choices down does not count against you in any way but may mean that if you don't get in to the first choice school you will get given a place somewhere you have chosen instead of just anywhere where there is a free space which may not be convenient or desirable for you.

The school will not know which position on your preference list you put them, or whether you list any other schools.

And wouldn't be allowed to take that into account if they did!

Please put down three preferences if the form allows you three preferences. I do lots of admission appeals where the parent has put down the school they wanted and only the one school and been allocated a school miles away (and usually a poor school). It is usually tears all round and there is little appeal panels can do if the infant class size regulations are in force in the school.
It is far better to have three preferences that you are happy with.

Please put 3 choices.
Go onto your local county council website and find out what the most local / closest schools are, even if they are in the next village. And out them down as your 2nd and 3rd choice.

In Surrey, the birth rate has been going up for years and years. Schools are totally over-subscribed. But made WORSE, this sept (Sep 13 applications) is a "Unpresidented Baby boom year" and many many people have been unable to get their children in, to any nursery, at the age of 3. Becasue the nurseries are so over-subscribed. Thus we have already been pre-warned that possibly 180,000 children in Surrey and SW London, wil not get a primary place. AT ALL.

You may not live in Surrey. But please, don't take this un-necessary risk. Put 3 choices. Please.

I put 3 choices, when I did my form a few weeks ago. Our first choice is a catholic, and I already have ds1 there. But you never know........

Ok whats the intake number for the infants?

most here are double intake 2class so 2classes of 30.

dds freinds infants 75intake so 3classes of 25 which makes her infant school much larger than dd primary school,

One primary is triple intake of 30 so 90 per year,
Very few here have single intake of 30.

even with double of 60which you may think fab.

its the sibling policy which could quite possibly mean 30places just for siblings!

The ts distance and find here the cathcment areas of the more more popular schools are very small and house prices very high as our 2best performing infants on offer here you have to love next door so if oversubscribed then its hard.

Any school outsanding will generate lot interest.

so do look at go lea site and look up admissions to school booklets should lst all the local schools and contact, look at ther sats, look at their ofsted and most importantly visit.

we really wanted a smallish faith primary.

we got into rc primary as was undersubscribed that year.

check each school as with volunary aided they control admissions so children in care, children baptised catholic in parish, siblings so non rc is right at the bottom.

Im dreading next admissions as school eldest moving too out catchment so no guarantee on her younger 2siblings we taking a risk.

one thing would say look at is

aterschool club/breckfast club-if you working parent.

how many afterschool activities they do.

reason we moving dd is more one to one and more extra curricular as shes bored .

Ok, will put 3 choices, so a bit more research needed.
Thank you for your comments, it's really helped.

1st choice is 3 classes intake max 30 per class.
Faith school is RC, normally oversubscribed, let's see this year.
However will be very bottom of that list as not practicing anything unless christingle counts (joke).

Yes absolutely put a second (and preferably third) choice - and don't make it an oversubscribed school that's miles away - put a school that you have a really good chance of getting a place at, and which you wouldn't cry if you had to send your DC there. Then you have a back-up option. It won't affect your chances of getting your first-choice school.

where would dd go after infants? is it guranteed into feeder junior?
do you have siblings.-2school runs?
90 per years quite large

3*90 =270- dds entire primary rc years reception to 6 =303.

its good to look at as many as possible,

osfted dont always mean its right for you.

you be surprised amount non rc people in an rc school think some people look at admissions and think stand no chance so dont apply,

good luck

Infants feeds into juniors next door, and we have DD 2 years behind so it's the ideal school for us.