Oversubscribed non selective independent admissions help

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We have viewed a secondary school today that we would really like to send our son to however according to the admissions literature they class themselves as oversubscribed.
Having no previous experience in the independent sector I naively thought getting a place wouldn't be an issue particularly as it is a mixed ability school.
How do I give my DS the best chance? He is dyslexic which is why we want this school, I have no idea how he will perform in the entrance test (maths, english, nvr) his talents are more music, art and ICT but I have no concrete evidence of this other than progress at primary school. I want him to go to this school because of his SEN but I don't want it to overshadow his application iyswim.

We are in the north of England so oversubscription may not mean the same as in London/the south.

If it's oversubscribed then you have to wait for a place to become availiable, as you would in a state school. Have you looked into a back up?

oversubscribed probably isnt as bad as you think.
Its just that lots of people dont accept places that the school offers.

Is it HH? I don't think they are really very oversubscribed, but they like to say they are, IYSWIM. If your child needs one to one help then be prepared to pay for that on top of the fees.

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping that oversubscribed might mean the amount sitting the test rather than the amount actually accepting the places. I would expect that some children sitting the test will end up at the selective state grammars anyway.

It's not HH (not sure where that is) dont really want to give too many specifics though.

We have applied for a back up state place but I have difficulty imagining him thriving in a large school. His current primary is large and that has been fairly disasterous, I regret not moving him earlier. He has some ASD traits alongside his dyslexia but not enough to meet the full triad of impairment (just like his Dad!).