Moving areas primary schools admissions

[Wishingforthesunn]

We are currently living in the Midlands and are moving back to the city I grew up in about 2 hours away. u r house has just gone up for sale , and we are looking for houses by my family . I'm pretty certain we won't be moved by 15 Jan - although I am hoping for a miracle.

I am worried because the school I want my DS to go to is oversubscribed, I and my brothers all went there. The houses we are looking at are all well within the catchment area (all under 0.2 miles from school) and he would get in but worried we won't be in in time . Does anyone know if the extended deadline for house moves affects the likelyhood of him getting in ? The council website says it depends on the school, so am I best calling them direct and explaining?

My other option is my Mum also lives in the catchment area, I could put her address down and go and live with her until we have sold - which could happen anyway as we have told the estate agents we can move in with her if the house we want is held up in a chain. I would then call the school and change address as soon as we have moved - I don't think it would be an issue as we would actually be closer. I know people say this is awful , but if I'm actually going to be buying a house closer to the school is it ?

My final option is my DS was born later in the year so I can hold him back , but I would rather not. Thanks

How LAs deal with late applicants can vary, some impose the primary deadline very strictly and some allow late applicants before primary national offer day in April, usually a few weeks before offer day. Some LAs won’t accept you using another address if you own a home elsewhere, partly to stop homeowners trying to game the system by renting in catchment. If you do move in with your mother be prepared to change all your documentation such as driving licence, GP registration, Council Tax, Child Benefit etc. etc.

If you have sold your house by the deadline (often end Jan/early Feb for house moves but you would need to check) and move in with your mum then this is absolutely fine. That is your current residence and you can apply from there and take your time to buy.

If you haven't yet sold your house by the deadline, it is trickier. If you owned a house nearby and moved into your mum's, this would be seen as fraud, as they would suspect you might plan to move back once you had the place. As you are moving 2 hours away, they might class it as a genuine move, as you wouldn't be able to commute from your house 2 hours away. See if the LA has any guidance on this e.g. some say if you rent but own another home within X miles they will treat it as your primary residence for applications.

You can of course change address later and be a late application. Of course it's impossible to predict if you will get a space that way. Fingers crossed you can at least sell by 15th Jan!

My other option is my Mum also lives in the catchment area, I could put her address down and go and live with her until we have sold

Do not do this. If you do and your son gets a place, it can be taken away even after he has started at school. If that happens, he is likely to end up at an unpopular school which could be a long way from home. Subsequently buying a house closer to the school won't help in this situation. The question is whether you would have got a place applying from your current address.

Moving in with your mother after you have sold would be better, but may still be a problem if the council or the school find out.

Regarding your questions about the extended deadline, without knowing which LA (and potentially which school) is involved, it is impossible to answer.

Hi,

I am also from the midlands and moved to another area in my city where the schools are all oversubscribed and I was refused all my choices.

Thanks for all the advice . My mum's house is 120 miles away , so the city we are moving to is 120 miles away from where we are now , we are not moving anywhere near . So he wouldn't get in on this address obviously. We also genuinely would move in with my Mum if the house still hadn't sold - which would hopefully not be the case.

I have read both the LA and the schools admissions policy . The LA deadline for moving house is 20 march so we actually have a bit more time . The school also states if you move house please let us know , as if moving further away from the school this might effect your place - so I don't think us moving closer to the school would be a problem.

However , I think we have decided to either move to another area where all the primary schools are good , so even if we apply late I would be happy. Or put him in a private school by my Mum - so it removes some of the stress, and I have found a lovely one we are going to view next week.

I could hold him back a year because of when his birthday is , but will avoid that unless necessary.

What did you end up doing OP?

Hi @Sallyanne92 we are moving next week so has taken a while! We were too late for any places, wouldn't have been able to apply until we physically moved, and then we ran the risk of a not great school, I also wanted to get him mentally prepared. So we opted for a small private school.

We have moved a couple of minutes walk to the school I wanted him to go, so I might try and move him at a later date. I'm currently pregnant so this one will definitely be going that school!