4+ waitlist London schools

[hopeful331]

We were just on the 4+ waiting list for two schools, St Christopher's and South Hampstead. The deadline was today and in the end we got St Christopher's - big relief. I wanted to write this post to help people in future years on waitlists. Here are a few things I didn't know before the start of this process.

1. Waitlist offers do get made. Several people got St Christopher's this year, one or two got SH. I did some research for 7+ entry at different schools, and on average a waitlist place has around a 1 in 3 chance of converting. Of course that will vary hugely by the school and year to year. I also don't know how it applies at 4+.

2. However, waitlist offers will typically be made right at the end - deadline day or thereabouts. That was the case for most waiting list offers this year. Our offers actually came a few hours after the deadline had passed for the original offerholders. It's a horrible wait, but it will probably go down to the wire. That's because...

3. The schools offer more places than they have space. They know that some people will have multiple offers, their circumstances will change, whatever.

4. The result is that even if a few people decline the school straight after getting offers, the admissions officer probably won't go to the waiting list immediately, because they have those buffer offers outstanding. It's only when the deadline looms and those parents with more than one offer, or an offer and a waitlist offer, start having to decide, that the waitlist spots realistically get called.

Very good luck to you and remember that children will do well wherever they go, by far the most important thing is a loving family who care.

As an FYI, st Christopher’s almost always takes the entire waiting list. They did exactly the same thing last year, with Ms Hayden acting like she was doing a personal favour to those that got in through the wait list. They always wait until the very last day often also to ensure they’re not offering a waitlist spot to someone that will turn it down if they are on other waitlist that are likely to move.

SHHS often offers only 1-2 spots off the waitlist. Same with Habs.

Highgate does not rank its waitlist but will try and fill the spots with equal girls and boys so if more boys have declined, the boys wait list will move. They also balance across the year so if more spring born boys have declined and you have a Feb born child, the offer will be made to you.

Pre preps also often factor into this. If there are strong relationships between heads and the admissions teams, they can also call in favour of a child, especially if they know of others in their school who will be turning down spots.

Waitlists are heartbreaking and ultimately often feel like “so close but no cigar”. I would say to anyone in this position while it feels like failure it isn’t. Your child will do well at whichever school that they go to, if a school doesn’t realise how special they are at this stage, they weren’t meant to be there (in some cases yet).

I'm not sure Habs only offer 1/2 spaces off WL. I know two girls in my DD's year alone who are WL, and parents generally don't like to say these things so I'm sure there's more. Where's your info from?

NLCS offered a lot from Mulberry House which seems to be a feeder / strong head relationship with NLCS.

Well said OP. I would like to highlight a few more things I have observed as a past 4+ parent (my DS is in reception):

-nurseries cannot influence waiting lists movements if there are no space or if the wait list is ranked. It’s up to the school who they choose (your nursery won’t be the only ones calling up the school).

-be aware of the parents who tells everyone how much they dislike a school with 200 reasons why to influence you not to apply. offers day comes and they have decided to accept a place at the same school and thereafter says the school is amazing.

-the reverse, parents gets waitlisted or rejected for a school they really want then parent starts saying bad things about the school or that another school is so much better. whilst at the same time asking whether the waitlist will move and trying to influence the wait list to move in their favour by making unfavourable comments

-Do call up to express your interest if you are on the waiting list but it does not mean you will get a spot.

-Don’t go solely by the brand/reputation, think about whether your child will be a good fit. Visit the school again especially if you have the offer as you might see things differently.

-it’s your decision at the end: do your own research, go to the open events and go with what you think is best for your DC. If there is uncertainty, speak with the school or existing parents or your nursery about your concerns.

"be aware of the parents who tells everyone how much they dislike a school with 200 reasons why to influence you not to apply. offers day comes and they have decided to accept a place at the same school and thereafter says the school is amazing.

-the reverse, parents gets waitlisted or rejected for a school they really want then parent starts saying bad things about the school or that another school is so much better. whilst at the same time asking whether the waitlist will move and trying to influence the wait list to move in their favour by making unfavourable comments"

@PlayfulDS 100% agree with what you said above. the same will apply for 7+/11+ and any other competitive school entries. also a number of negative comments about certain competetive schools peaks on Mumsnet when the offers come out. be very careful when relying on those comments. always try to speak with people in real life who have current experience with the school. One thing to note, don't over-rely on the individual experience of families who have left the school at some point down the line following the competitive entry at 4+. the truth is that 4+ entry is a bit random and some children don't keep up academically (or behaviorally) and may leave the school, but parents will never admit publically that their precious little ones didnt meet the expected standards and will almost always blame the school.