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Primary education

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Original poster

Moving houses and stressed about school

8 replies

LiliaSant · 11/03/2015 16:05

Hi everyone. Apologies if these topic has appeared too many times. As the title says, I am moving houses with a DD aged 4 due to start school in September. I have visited the local school (2 min from my new house) and was told by the head that 27 children applied for the 20 places offered for reception. So I will have to apply as soon as I exchange contracts (in a few months time) and probably get to a waiting list for that school...
Any experiences (successful or not) out there?

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Original poster

LiliaSant · 12/03/2015 09:52

Anyone?

OP posts:

SavoyCabbage · 12/03/2015 09:59

Try not to worry as it won't change anything. You can't do anything until you move anyway and then you can put her name on the waiting list. She might be the first on the list depending on the admissions criteria. And she doesn't even need to go to school until,the term after she's five anyway so you have time to wait it out.

If it makes you feel any better I'm moving from Australia to the UK in June and I will have three weeks to get my dd1 unto year seven of a high school and my dd2 into year four, before the schools break up. I'm not even thinking about it until we get there.

PintofCiderPlease · 12/03/2015 13:19

At our local school there were 50 applications for the class of 25.

All of the students who wanted a place were offered a place.

That sounds confusing but the head of the school ONLY sees the anonymous details of all the students that have the school down as A choice.

Just one of the 3 choices.

The head then ranks them according to their criteria, and the LEA uses that ranking to offer places.

So 27 children may not mean that all the places are full. Half of them could have put that school as their 2nd or 3rd choice.

cartoonsaveme · 12/03/2015 13:37

Round us at one school every year 200 apply for 30 places. It's a meaningless figure. Only 40 odd put it as first choice. Some live miles away. Everyone puts down 3-6 choices. Every school thus has about 3x the no of applicants to places. Just look at other options in case

Original poster

LiliaSant · 12/03/2015 13:46

Thank you ladies! I was not sure if the 27 places were the first choice or 1 of the 3 choices... I assumed that the 27 children put that particular school as their first choice...

OP posts:

SunnyBaudelaire · 12/03/2015 13:48

assume nothing and do not worry too much.

MerryMarigold · 12/03/2015 14:27

I think it is likely that she's warning you that you'll go on the waiting list as the places will have already been allocated. However, you would probably be near the top, or at the top, of the waiting list. The waiting list is not static, so children living in catchment or with siblings, will be higher up than someone who lives further away (but didn't get in and wants to wait for a place). If you're lucky, someone who has been offered a place will move or pull out and you'll be number 1 on the waiting.

I'm moving too. I have 3 kids to get into a full school. 'Luckily' we are only 30 min drive away so I think I will be driving 1/2 kids back to their old school whilst 1 gets in (if I'm lucky) and then the others go on a waiting list.

PintofCiderPlease · 12/03/2015 16:01

The head doesn't know whether they are 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc choice. As I said, it's anonymous, and only the LEA knows, and uses the choices in their placements.

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