6th on waiting list - please tell me this is good?

[PrincessConsuelaBananahamm0ck]

Son didn't get into our first preference - always a long shot as it's not our catchment school. We got second choice which is our catchment school and is a good school. We'd just very much prefer the other school. So I know we are fortunate compared to some other people. However, I have found out that as of today, he is currently number 6 on a waiting list of 17. I think this is quite good? Or am I deluding myself?!

I think it will really depend on where you are ie are there people who are likely to have applied for an independent school too? That might account for a few people. Are you somewhere where people move round a lot? That could too. 6th is obviously not bad at all but it does depend on the area. Fingers crossed for you.

How have they managed to give you a waiting place number? Surely lots won’t have read and responses to the email offers yet?

yes its looking quite hopeful but remember you can move down the waiting list after offers day (as people request to join waiting lists for schools they didn't name on their application) as well as up.

I would say you had a very good chance though.

Is he already at secondary school....or have you just got the place today? If today.....expect the waiting list to change. If this is an in year transfer then it depends on your area as to if it's good or not. Is there a lot of movement in your town? Are others likely to move into catchment and push you down the list? What has happened in previous years? It sounds quite far down to me....but are you hoping for an immediate change or a longer term solution.

I would be hopeful. Are there independent schools in your area? If so there will be parents holding state places, possibly for some months, even though they don’t “need” them. Parents accept the state place just in case.

Happens every year here and come late summer a handful of spaces come up in each school as they trickle through (eg someone gives up their grammar place, someone else takes it, giving up their comp place or someone gives up a comp place for a non selective indie place, freeing up another gap).

Keep checking and keep yourself on the lists but reinforce the good points of the school you have been allocated (and don’t but uniform until summer!)

I think it's a bit to early to look at where you are on tbe waiting list , people haven't had the chance to put names on tne list yet. I would check back in a week or so.

How have you managed to get your waiting list number? I've been told that they can't give any info until they've had all of their acceptance letters?

You can't tell from that information.
How many entry is it, are you in an area where people move in/out?

You might even go down as if people join the waiting list if they are higher in admission category they will join above you. You may well find people join the waiting list as they don't get what they want and so join all possible waiting lists. Some of them may be above you. That's why a lot of LAs won't release waiting lists this early.

It also depends on the year:

At infants, all 3 of mine went to the same school (2 form entry). Nothing changed in the area which would effect schools.
Dd1 there were 2-3 left at the end of reception, 1 in the middle of year 1 and another 1 at the end of year 1.
Dd2 there was a change of about 8 or 9 at the end of reception. And another 2-3 at the end of year 1.
Ds none left until Winter term in year 2. The child that got in had only moved to the area a couple of months earlier, so had only just joined the waiting list.
And to add to that 6 who would have been at infants with him moved area over the course of year 3 at juniors, so there would have been quite a change there.

In our LA you don’t ‘accept’ offers for state schools so the LA assume all will take their offer unless they are told otherwise. Therefore our LA will already know waitlist places, however they can move very fast also.

But how do they know who wants to go on the waiting list? Are they just assuming if you didn’t get first choice then you do? That’s not always the case (wasn’t with us, we were fine with 2nd). In which case it’s not a true representation of the waiting list.

Here you are automatically placed on waitlists for any preferences higher than the school you’ve been offered. So yes they know the waitlist. However, during today they could already be shifting (people declining, people asking to be added to waitlists of schools not on their original list etc) ... so being told where your place is today may not mean you’re in the same position come Monday even.

Some counties don't have 'acceptance letters'. An offer is assumed accepted, until or unless told otherwise. I am an admissions person somewhere in Hampshire, and that is the case here.

Yes, here you don't 'accept' the place as such, they just assume you want it. And you automatically get put on a waiting list (until December 2019) for your preferred school if you didn't get it. The lady told me he's currently 6th, but they'll know more on 3rd April as I think this is the date they'll know if people don't want the place they're offered. Or something like that! I'm aware he could move down the list, but he could also move up the list. In the meantime I'm being very positive about the school he DID get into as he's pretty disappointed.

It depends.

You have factor appeals in too - ie if the school admits more at appeal that can stall the waiting list till they are within PAN again.

How big is the intake?

DD got 3rd choice last year. She was 11th on waiting list for 1st choice and 23rd on waiting list for another school which we switched our preference to. She was offered place at that school this January and started a few weeks ago at which point she was still 6th or something on the list for first.