In-year or wait until September admissions?

[ndlesswaltz]

Hi everyone,

My family will be relocating in London due to a job change. I need advice on whether I should start an in-year application now and transfer my Year 1 child or wait for her to finish Year 1 and be on the waiting list for the September start? With popular schools, when is it harder to get a place, now or wait until the summer?

Many thanks 😊

Starting an in-year application now means you’re competing for any existing vacancies. For popular schools, there may be none at all, and your child would go on a waiting list anyway. However, being on that waiting list earlier is generally better, as most London schools rank waiting lists by criteria (siblings, distance, looked-after children) rather than just time — though time can be a tiebreaker if two applicants are otherwise equal.
Waiting for the September normal admissions round means competing with all the other families applying for Year 2 places. Popular schools will again be oversubscribed, and you’d be allocated by the same criteria. The advantage is that the process is more structured and transparent.
The key insight is that for truly popular schools in London, neither route is easy. The waiting list position is what matters most, and that’s determined by your home address relative to the school. So the most important thing is to secure your London address as soon as possible, then apply immediately, because distance from the school is typically the deciding admissions criterion once siblings are accounted for.
In practice, applying now rather than waiting is generally advisable because it gets your child on the waiting list sooner, and some movement does happen through the year as families move around. Waiting until summer offers no real advantage and loses you months on any waiting list.
The local council’s school admissions team is worth contacting directly — they can tell you which schools currently have vacancies, which saves a lot of guesswork.

I agree with the overall thrust of the last post, although one or two of the details are incorrect.

There is no admissions round for Y2 as this is not a normal point of entry. Contrary to what the last poster says, the process will not be any more structured or transparent if you wait.

Also, the last poster is incorrect in saying that time can be a tie breaker on the waiting list if two applicants are otherwise equal. This is specifically prohibited by the Admissions Code.

However, as the last poster says, you should apply now so that you don't miss out on any vacancies that come up.

There will be no competing for year 2 places in September, the process is exactly the same as any In Year application. If there is a vacancy at the time you apply and no waiting list they have to offer it, if no vacancy you join the waiting list and may be offered another school. How feasible is commuting back? Year 2 is subject to Infant Class Size restrictions so limited flexibility on capacity. You would need to be able to take up any offered place up fairly quickly so time your In Year application slightly ahead of the move.

Technically, ‘in-year’ doesn't just mean applying within a school year for that year, it means any application that’s not for starting in Reception or Year 7 in September via the usual application process. (Obviously where schools are only Y3-6 this would differ)

I have heard people say that it can be less stressful for a child to change schools in the summer term (leave the old school on Friday and start at the new one on Monday), rather than having a whole summer holiday to worry about what the new school will be like. You might also be able to meet some people and arrange play dates over the summer if you do it that way.

Which part of London? There are falling rolls so many schools have places even very popular ones.

I am currently looking into Richmond area. Hammersmith and Fulham is also okay.

Have you identified the schools you like?

You need to determine the area and ideally have an address before you apply. If you are very lucky and there is a space and no waiting list it won’t matter but for waiting lists it will.

@ndlesswaltz do you have another current post identifying that you are moving from another part of England, a long way from south west London? Will you actually be in a position to have your DD start at the new school if a place is available now? You can't apply in February and expect a place to be held until after the summer holidays; you would be expected have your DD on roll in a matter of a few weeks / after the next school break.

No. I have not yet. Still gathering research. Hence thanks to all of you here who are replying. It is supporting all the research that I am doing.

Hi. Yes, I have. Depending on my decision whether to apply soon or wait until the summer and let her join the waiting lists, I can act on finding a house to rent first. I am currently waiting to learn which schools have a current space. On the other thread, I have asked which schools fit my criteria for a good school for my daughter. Do you have any suggestions? It would be appreciated.

But even if they have space now they may not by the time you are in a position to move, and won’t be able to hold it open for more than a few weeks.

@ndlesswaltz I'm sorry - whereas I have quite a lot of experience around the processes of school admissions in general, I have no idea about the merits or otherwise of schools in that area.

I see. What area do you have experience with? I am also looking at Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea boroughs. :)

Thanks very much. I have also been made aware by other people. I would probably be a pain and ask every week or two and decide whether to rent right away depending on the trend that I would see and also after doing some more research.

That could be counterproductive - you'll have to apply from where you live now, which means on a distance tiebreaker, other children living closer will always be offered places first. It's also a waste of staff time to deal with applications and do all the work involved in admissions to then have the child fail to arrive because the family didn't actually move - and it both negatively affects their attendance data, as once the child is expected to attend, they're automatically recorded by the DfE as being on their roll with zero attendance until they've followed procedure to establish which school they're actually attending still, put it down as unauthorised, create a dual registration (as you can't backdate a removal), etc.

In short, sort out where you will live first, then apply to the schools in the area and be able to take up the place within ten school days - you have a greater chance of getting offered before September in terms of Easter/early summer moves, as fewer people accept at that point due to wanting to complete the summer term in their current school, whilst in September, you are likely to have more applications from people who have moved over the holidays. So there can be less 'competition' for an in year admission in the summer term.

Thanks very much. That was also helpful, especially how applying after summer term can be less competitive.
But also, I did mean to make a phone call and ask if there is any current vacancies. I did not mean to apply each time. You're right. That would be incredibly exhausting and waste everyone's time.
So far, I still plan to ask and depending on how I judge the scarcity of the places available on the schools I would like, I would probably spring into action now or just wait until spring term ends.

But please, everyone, if you have got any more views, they are very much welcome. Every little helps. 😌

TBH, you can be wasting your time phoning for vacancies. It's a breach of the Admissions Code to say there aren't any, so a lot of schools understand that saying there are means that it can be inferred there aren't at other times - and others will ignore this and say there aren't even though it breaks the code.

It's better to apply.

Oh, I thought the schools do not know about the waiting list themselves and vacancies so I planned to phone the Borough itself. Thank you.

I will probably wait until May then. We are relocating from North England, you see. Thanks.

London schools have much more turnover than in other parts of the country. There are also more schools in a smaller area. Therefore, I wouldn't suggest that you aim to move with one specific school in mind. You're likely to just end up disappointed. Find an area you're happy to live in, and a few possible schools nearby.