Richmond Primary School Admission Advice Please!

[ChocolateMama]

Hello, I am new to this board but was looking for some advice as just applying for DS1 primary school admission for next year in Richmond-upon-Thames borough and a little confused to say the least!! Just found out that we haven't got a place at our preferred faith school nursery - children from the nursery get automatic place in the reception class of the school - so unlikely that we will get a place at the school now. In our part of the borough our nearest secular primary is about 400m away - and very good - so wondering if shouldn't waste a first choice on the faith school that we probably wouldn't get in to anyway and use it for the heavily oversubscribed nearest secular school. Not sure if ranking something 1st in your choices gives you a better chance of getting a place in it than putting it 2nd or 3rd. Would love some advice please as we are just on the borderline according to the councils admission office for this school. Hope someone out there can offer some advice to a newbie!!!

check with the LEA but where I live (Barnet) the schools have no idea which place you put so if the faith school really is your first choice put it first - because other school will NOT know that you put it second.

do you know why you didn't get place at the faith school - ie are you too far / not religious enough or something else? Its worth actually finding out reasons before deciding.

we did not get place at our prefered faith school nursery, but got a place at a different school nursery, applied to the preferred school as choice 1 and the school she was at as choice 2. I wrote the faith school a letter saying i'd put it first and i was still disappointed. And we got a call in the July before reception to say 2 children were emigrating from nursery so a place had come up, if we wanted it had to decide immediately!

In LBRUT it does not matter which of the schools you rank first in terms of offers made. The council will offer you a place in the school that you ranked highest (provided they have spaces) and the school will never know how it was ranked.

Good luck !! Personally i would not give up on the faith school as their is always an element of movement in the borough.