School application and house move

[VenelopeVonSweetz]

I’m hoping someone can help me with a dilemma.

We have been offered the opportunity to buy a family members house and have put our house on the market today hoping for a quick sale.

We have to apply for a school place for DS by January but will be moving to a different area so will not need a place at a local school.

Can I apply for a school near our soon to be new home or will I have to apply for our current area?

I hope that make sense!

I would apply for where you are now, just in case your move is delayed.

If you are actively in the process of buying a specific house, you can use that address but will need to submit copies of your paperwork to show that you are buying.

Some counties have slightly difffent admissions processes, so I would suggest you double check with them first.

Good luck with the move!

In our LA you have to apply from the address you’re living in at the time of the application.

You have to put your council tax reference on the application so that people can’t pretend they’re living somewhere they’re not.

Thank you.

Will I be able to apply for a place in the new area after the deadline if we don’t have the paperwork in time?

I’m not sure, can you give them a call to see what their advice is?

That’s my plan of action tomorrow!

You can apply for a place in your new area on your local ( at present) LA form.

We've just had our letter re school applications. In it, it very clearly details what to do about school applications and current address, with specific dates. It should be easy to get a break down from your LA if you call them (have you received a letter yet?)

You can apply for a place in your new area on your local ( at present) LA form.

You can apply for a place in any school but if it’s oversubscribed and they use distance to allocate places, you won’t get in.

Most of the rules on this are the same wherever you live.

You must apply from the address where you are actually living at the time of application (although some LAs have slightly different rules which I will come to later). If you are applying from your current address you must apply to your local LA. You can apply for any school anywhere in the country and your LA will liaise with the other LA to process your application. Most schools use distance as the tiebreaker so your chances of getting into a school near your new home are low but you may strike it lucky.

If you move before offers come out you should tell your current LA of your change of address, asking them to use your new address for correspondence but stick to your old address for admissions purposes. You do not want them to use your new address at this stage as it will result in you being treated as a late applicant, putting you at the back of the queue for places. Once offers come out, assuming you have moved and you don't get a place you want, you must tell your new LA of your new address and make sure they use it for admissions purposes. That will move you up the waiting list.

Obviously, if you can move before 15th January you should do so. Also, some LAs will accept a change of address for a few weeks after 15th January without treating you as a late application and some LAs will accept a new address before you move in provided you can give them a solicitor's letter confirming exchange of contracts. You need to check your new LA's rules on this. They will be in the admissions information on their website.

Ring the LEAs and ask them - I know ours has a part on the online application for upcoming house move details (I was doing KS2 transfer apps for my child the other day which is how I saw it) but I don't know how they use that information when you put it down.

So we are in a similar boat. Hoping to complete in jan but not sure when. The to-be council have asked us NOT to apply with our current address as it will muddle our chances. They've asked us to call us in early Jan and based on evidences they may consider our new address for application.

I would say ring the council & start making a case. They will also tell you a date by when you can submit where you will be later than the official date but NOT treated as late applicant (due to a house purchase case).

The to-be council have asked us NOT to apply with our current address as it will muddle our chances

Please make sure you get this in writing. Some councils will accept your new address if you have exchanged contracts before the deadline so this could be what they are thinking. But, if you haven't actually moved by 15th January, make sure you have their advice in writing. That way you can use it at appeal if necessary.

My understanding is that you can apply for the new area on your current LA application form but you prob won’t get in if it’s an oversubscribed school and you’ll go on the waiting list. But I would call the New areas school admissions team for advice too.

@prh47bridge that's good advice, thank you