Confused about how to choose a school

[GillL]

Dd will be starting school in September 2009 but I need to start thinking about where she will go and how to apply.

I've been told that I should apply for at least 4 schools. I'll be applying for the school nearest my mum which is about 10 miles away (I work full time and can't take her). My nephew who lives down the road from me got in but it was undersubscribed that year. I can't bank on getting in there so I'm looking at schools near us. The 2 schools which are closest to us are Catholic (2 mins walk) and C of E (5 mins walk) and have good reputations. I've checked their admissions policies. The Catholic school policy doesn't include children who aren't baptised or who don't go to church and the C of E school states that distance from the school is the last consideration for admission. I can understand this but I thought location was quite a major consideration.

Is it entirely down to the school to decide who they admit or do they have to allow a certain number of children based on location? We're in North West Kent if that helps.

When you apply for school you apply to the council not the schools themselves. It is likely that the Cof E school nearest to you would be considered your 'catchment' school. I would guess that the only way of dd getting into the school nearest your mum is if they are undersubscribed but they will already have a fair idea of how many kids they can expect applications from for next year. The allocation will go mainly on your address and /or siblings already at the school.

schools admission olicies are normally listed on their website.
often it is

1. children in local authority care
2. children with siblings
3. children with special needs/reasons why they have to attend such as disabilities
4. Distace from school

obvioulsy C of E or Catholic schools give the majority of places to children of that faith and a small amount to local children