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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Living close to a Primary School but prefer another school!

12 replies

Galaxygirl93 · 06/02/2021 21:19

I am looking for some experiences if I can please.

My little boy is 4 next Feb and therefore I will need to do the applications this Winter for a Primary School. With house prices on the rise it will be unlikely (who knows?!) to get a new house in our preferred area prior to the applications being submitted. We currently live just around the corner from a school but it is not my desired first choice - I would prefer any of the schools in the area but this one to be truthful.

Has anyone had experience of living right by a school - but preferring another school?! And if so how did it pan out. Do I have to suck it up and send to the closest school for now?

OP posts:

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BlueTimes · 06/02/2021 21:22

Are you in England? If so, look at the admissions data for previous years and work out which schools he has a realistic chance of getting into that you prefer, and put two of those down for tour first two choice and then your catchment one as third choice.

Original poster

Galaxygirl93 · 06/02/2021 21:31

Yes England!

OP posts:

Mum768 · 06/02/2021 22:38

You don't need to send your kid to the nearest school. Put in options as per your preference, and hope he gets into another one.
We moved because we disliked the school next to our home (it is a very highly recommended school in the area but when we toured the school, we saw that it was the worst in many ways).

AllTheWayFromLondonDAMN · 06/02/2021 22:40

We live literally 50m from a primary that my kids aren’t at. In fact there are two closer than the one they go to.... I didn’t like either as much as the one they’re at when doing the visits. You don’t have to apply for the one closest to your house. Find the admissions data so you know what previous years have been like for admittance near where you live and go from there.

Original poster

Galaxygirl93 · 06/02/2021 23:33

Ah thank you for your experiences, some encouraging feedback which does put my mind at rest a bit.

I have tried to find the allocations data for previous years but unfortunately for my preferred school there are not reports what I can find, and the farthest distance for that school was not published either.

OP posts:

boatyroo · 06/02/2021 23:45

My child goes to our 5th closest school (about a mile away). He wouldn't have got in the previous 5 years based on the admissions data I could find (furthest previous admission was 400m), but I took a chance and put it first anyway. I put the school we live very near in second place and was sure we would get that. Somehow got lucky and we got our first choice though.
Maybe was a low birth year as checking data for his year we could have got into another further school I didn't even visit as I thought we would have no chance of getting.
Check the previous years admissions data and do make sure you have a school or two you can be very sure of on your list, but it can be worth putting others first.

TheFluffiestCat · 06/02/2021 23:56

We live 5 minutes walk from a school that I just didn't like the feel of. DD got a place at our first choice, which is in a village about 3 miles away. The majority of the children in her nursery class went on to either nth closest one of the one we chose.

bombaychef · 07/02/2021 00:12

Depends why you don't like it tbh too. Think ahead. I know people who chose a very small school for their 4yr old who find it limiting by yr4. I have mates who went with a strict academic school who by yr4 realised it wasn't the best fit for their DC. I know people who have to drive to their school who wish they chose the school on door step etc.
For me local mates and walking to school in Y5/6 is highly desirable and a huge advantage as they learn independence etc

RedskyBynight · 07/02/2021 11:56

Allocations data is usually on the LEA website. If not, try asking the LEA or school directly. This really is the crucial piece of information. If the school never offers more than a mile away and your live 2 miles away, then you can write it down on your preference list, but will have to accept that this makes it a very long shot.

Have you checked the admissions criteria carefully? Sometimes distance is not the only factor (particularly if you live somewhere with defined catchment areas).

HappyFlamingo · 07/02/2021 12:04

You don't get penalised for the order that you put the schools in. So there's no disadvantage in putting your preferred school first and your closest school second or third (as long as you put it somewhere in your list - don't leave it out completely as that is a big risk). That way you may get your preferred school, and even if you don't you haven't lost anything by trying.

However, don't underestimate the advantages of having DC at the nearest school! Unless you're in an area with lots of schools and your preferred school is still fairly close. They like to live near their friends.

AegonT · 09/02/2021 13:12

If the farthest distance allocated is not published you can request it from the school - we did this for the ones that handled their own admissions (mostly church schools) as the council website only had data on the ones they did allocations for. My daughter was in a year with low births and would have got into most of the 20 primary schools in our large town. We didn't get our first choice but got 2nd at 2 miles away. Our nearest school is 500m away but we put that as 5th choice as although it was outstanding it wouldn't suit her. Looking at the stats most years we would have got one of our top 4 choices which were all over a mile away. You can also go on waiting lists after allocation as there is always some movement. It is trickier getting her to school and arranging after-school activities but we are very happy with the school.

admission · 09/02/2021 18:46

The data around the furthest distance which got a place will be in the information that the LA is required to publish every year at the beginning of September. Look on the LA website under admissions, it should be there.
You should always put down the schools that you prefer but please check that it is at least a half sensible decision. If the data says that the last pupil admitted was at 0.5 miles and you are 5 miles away then your chances of success are very, very limiting. The other key thing to do is that you will have at least three preferences to put down. Whilst the school around the corner may not be your preference it is the safe bet to put it down as your last preference. The way the system works is that you will be considered for your preferences in the order of those preferences. In other words the system will check whether you can be offered a place at your first preference school before it moves to your second preference and then you third and last preference. By putting the local school down as third preference, this is the school that you are most likely to be guaranteed a place at. It is always best to do this so you can go to a very local school. If you do not put down the local school as third and last preference you might not get the offer of any of your preferences. You then run the risk of getting an offer of a place at a school which is as bad as the school around the corner but could be a considerable distance away, which is the worst of all options.

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