Going to reception open days when you live far away?!

[CountingSheep27]

Hello, did everyone attend all the reception open days for their kids schools? We are looking to relocate but we live 300 miles away from the schools. How did people manage this if relocating? Thanks.

We were living aboard before DS started school - (this is around 15 years ago so apologies if out of date info). The open days were spread out so I couldn't keep coming back to the UK.
We did a short trip, stayed with my mother, and organized with the schools beforehand to see them all within in a couple of days. They were all accommodating when I explained the situation.
It was a really valuable trip and we ended up buying a house in the catchment area of the school we liked the best.

Surely you can't apply until you have an address local to the schools? I would just spend time looking once I am there I suppose. I would research the schools online before moving though just to have some idea!

We moved just as DD1 (then DD2) started. We saw both schools a couple of days before they started.

Intact the schools and explain the situation. Explain that you would like to visit all schools during your same visit to the location. Any good school will be happy to accommodate if given enough notice.

Yes, you can apply in advance of actually moving to the area - if your current address and the new area are both in England, you apply through your current LA from your current addtess. If you can't 'call up' the schools on the CAF, the admissions team should either be able to add the schools to the available list, or get you to complete a paper form. Name the schools in the new area first and if you've enough preferences, add a currently local school as final preference as a backup in case you don't move / move in time. (Moves between home nations may be slightly more complicated ).

Unless one of your new area preferences is undersubscribed, the outcome of the process will initially be the offer of the currently local school (or the nearest undersubscribed school), but you will be placed to be / to go straight on the waiting lists of the schools you named in the new area.