Can anyone explain the behind the scenes on waiting lists?

[Marypoppins19]

So I have a place at X school.
Friend wants x school

Friend got Y.
I want Y.
How do the lists enable people to move around without not excepting the place?

A reputable and professional school should have a ranking order on the waitlist.

Yes and I understand the ranking. But unless places are not excepted by a parent (which isn’t really wise is it) how does movement happen?

Waiting lists are ordered by the admissions criteria. These should be easily available on the school or council website. You can't just swap ;-)

You aren’t necessarily top of the waiting list though. You could both decline and someone else who is top would get both of your spaces and you’d be left with none. You need to wait for people who are declining due to private school offers, grammar school results or moving away from area etc.

Somewhere someone will either decline a place, or will be moving to an undersubscribed school or moving out of the area entirely and it will start a chain reaction of moves. It’s usually a bit slow starting but then there’s much more movement a couple of weeks down the line.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you and your friend could just swap, but of course it doesn’t work like that.
You need to accept the school you have been given and then go on the waiting list for the school you want.
You will then be given an indication of where you are placed on the waiting list and will go up (and sometimes down) based on who else decides to go on the waiting list.
There is usually a lot of movement between now and September.
Good luck

Ah, I see what you mean.

Essentially, not everyone does accept. People have private school offers but don't tell the state schools until now, or decide to decline a school they really don't want, or move etc. It only takes a few to start a cascade.

they don't...check your borough/county in some areas the waitlist is held by the school and others the local authority ... at least until oct half term..
the w/list is usually by the admission category - then ranked usually distance so if you want school Y but live 3miles away ...anyone who is in your category but is closer than 3 miles will be higher up the list..
It is very diffcult to get a handle on the waitlist as people will be accepting/not accepting schools and the lists will constantly be changing
Accept what you've got - so you have something then contact the LA or school (check on your council website to see who) to get on the list

I dont think they start processing waitlists until after the acceptance deadline

I was just given a sinario. Hypothetically etc

Thank you all.
So if after the all the inital freeing up of places has happened, admissions see that there are still some people wanting the opposite school - that can’t really be tweeted can it....because each family will be in a different position on the list.

Tweeked sorry!

Places become available because people move, they decline the offered school, they go to a private school etc

I understand your frustration OP. It could be that both of you end up accepting the place (to avoid the risk of no school) and this means the place doesn't become free to be offered to the other one. So both your kids end up going to the 'wrong' school.

It's unavoidable unfortunately. There's no fair system that could stop this happening.

Your place on the list can also go down as someone new can move closer to the school and get higher up the list. It happens all the time in some places.

You could change your kids' names.... each pretends to be the other

You could change your kids' names.... each pretends to be the other

I was going to say the exact same thing...!

My LA gives options when deciding whether to accept the place offered:
accept;
accept place offered and remain on waiting list for higher preferences;
decline place offered and and remain on waiting list for higher preferences;
decline.

Does yours give similar options or just a straight accept / decline? If so I guess they can cross-reference waiting lists.

As PP have said though, it only takes a few places to be declined to start movement on the waiting lists and once that starts it has a cascade effect.