Waiting lists

[aliphil]

I know it's early to worry about this but ...

DD is due to start primary school in September. I put down as first choice one of our two closest schools, but I've since heard on the grapevine that there's likely to be a large sibling contingent in her year so I'm worried she might not get a place. If she doesn't, how does getting on the waiting list work? Is it automatic or do I have to apply for that too? And will the school/LA notify me if she gets to the top or do I have to keep checking?

If you don't get a place, you confirm with the school that you'd like to be on the waiting list. They will contact you if there's a space. Have you looked at last year's council admission stats to see how far away the last person who got in was?

You should automatically go on the waiting list but it is worth checking just in case. The waiting list will almost certainly be administered by the local authority, at least until September, so it is them rather than the school you need to contact to check. If a place becomes available and your child is at the top of the waiting list it will be offered to you automatically.

Thanks. I can't find the admission stats on the website - they're not with any of the rest of the admissions information, as far as I can see. I know I looked at them before applying but can't remember where I found them!

Ignore anything you hear on the grapevine. It's meaningless.

When we were applying for secondary school for my ds we were told, by many different sources, that the birth rate was very low for his year, and he would definitely get a place at school a,b and c. I might add, even the schools stated this at open evenings. In the event, very few children got their first choice.

In contrast dd2 was in a high birth rate year. We knew she'd get into her first choice (dd1 was already at the school), but many parents were very worried. Just about every child got their first choice.

In short, don't panic until you know. Because the grapevine is only good for wine, not for information.

Yeah you're just going to have to wait, there's nothing you can do right now so try and forget about it, if you can!