HELP! How do I apply for a secondary school if the county isn't listed on our local authority form?

[RingInTheNew]

We currently live in Southwark and will be moving to Gloucestershire next year, but Southwark forms only list London boroughs as possible places to apply for schools. I was told I have to apply for Glos schools through my local authority but how can I if Glos isn't available as an option on the form?!

Thanks for any advice...

Blimey you've left it a bit late haven't you? If the school isn't listed in the drop down box is there a free text box, maybe for 'reasons for choice' or something you can type into.

You have to apply from your home address, so your dc is unlikely to get a place at any Gloucester school until you move (unless i guess they are undersubscribed).

I think you can only apply to London schools on that system since it covers all of London but nothing else.

You will need to approach Gloucester separately.

You will need to approach Gloucester separately.
You have to apply to the city/borough/county/district that you live in.

Thanks all...in the end I typed my Gloucestershire preferences into the text box. I guess I'll just have to inform them when we move. They had told me in Glos that I could apply to their schools via the Southwark form but they obviously didn't know what the form looked like.

Yes, left it late because we have only just had our sale and purchase of houses confirmed!

You’ve applied with a London address to Gloucestershire schools? Really?

Wolfiefan - no, in the end I couldn't so I listed my London school preferences but put a note on saying which were our favoured Glos schools.

Gloucestershire Council had told me I could list their secondary schools on the Southwark application form but there was no function for doing so.

Good luck when you move. We are in that county!!

Would it not be better to apply through the Glos website with a London address and put a note with your new address?

You can't do that Patti - the rules are quite clear. You HAVE to apply from your own council.

Thank you Wolfiefan. We cannot wait! Such a beautiful place to be.

Did you speak to Southwark Council at all, or just Gloucester?

SassitudeandSparkle - yes I did speak to Southwark too, but they didn't seem to be aware of how it worked. They just said I should apply to a London school in case our sale fell through.

So was the form a drop down box option then? Do you need a Southwark school at all for year 7 or will you already be in Gloucestershire by then? There was another thread about what to do if you move after deadline day (dealing with not being classed as a late application if you change your address) You may need to speak to admissions so that they treat your Gloucestershire choices as actual choices.... I'll see if I can find that thread

Here you go
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3405981-Help-We-might-be-moving-school-after-admissions-deadline

You should be able to apply for any school in England from the application area that you currently live in. That is about the system working across England. I have nothing to do with London area so cannot comment on whether their system does or does not allow you to apply for other LAs outside the greater London area. I would be surprised if it doesn't given the area it covers and all the other LAs that are next to the greater London area. Surely by now somebody would have picked up on this problem.
If you do believe it does not work for Gloucestershire than I would raise it as a complaint with the School Adjudicator as it is in reality giving you a disadvantage in getting a place in a school in Gloucestershire.

myrtleWilson many thanks for that thread.

I spoke to Southwark today and they said I should have completed a paper application to apply for Glos schools. Nobody had told me that! So yes, I could have applied for Glos schools from London after all, but since I was also going to put London schools down anyway as a safety net, I might well have ended up with London schools because of our current London address.

So now I have to apply to Glos as a late applicant by March. Hopefully it will work out the way it would have done anyway...

How stressful for you though! Hoping it all works out for you. Good luck with the move.

Others will know more than me, but I would be strongly arguing against being treated as a late applicant if you submitted the form online with your preferences indicated (albeit not in the right box). Being treated as a late applicant will put you at a disadvantage (arguably more so applying from so far away) and your local admissions authority should be set up to cope with the situation, surely?