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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Secondary school waiting list success stories

38 replies

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 10:15

Please excuse this being my first post. I have been lurking and I’ve searched for this and found lots of stories about people who are on waiting lists but not always the outcome.

Could I ask for stories about waiting lists to keep me going until I know more about ours?

Basic story - we missed out by less than 10m on our first choice school (we live 0.006 miles further away than the last child admitted) and got our 5th choice. It isn’t awful but we would much prefer number one.

We are in a local authority who have an opt in waiting list which will close on the 15th March so we can find out our place on the waiting list on 16th. People have to accept their places by 29th March and then they’ll start to allocate them if there are any from April to August.

I’ve drawn a circle on google maps at our distance away, a big part of it is in the catchment for (and closer to) an outstanding school in the neighbouring authority and another big part is non residential so we don’t seem to be in a lot of competition on distance but I am aware people may have moved into the area or decide to make a lay application with a higher criteria and so could so be higher up the list than us.

Just hoping some people can share their “I was position X and we got to position Y” or “we were 50m away and we were position Z” just to keep me going while I wait to hear more.

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Reeewwwww · 05/03/2021 10:21

Sorry to hear this!

I can tell you that my friend's DC got into a school 1.8 miles away in central London. They were 9th on the waitlist.

I think a lot has to do with where you are though and whether there was a banding test.

Original poster

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 10:31

Thank you. We are in a comprehensive area so no tests. Purely based on distance.

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UselessTrees · 05/03/2021 10:33

Feel for you. I drove myself completely bonkers this time last year, poring over maps, searching for stories etc. And our local authority treats waiting list positions like some sort of bloody state secret which didn't help.

FWIW, I have no idea where we were on waiting lists but we missed out on our first choice by 100m or so and never did get to the top of that one. But our second choice we were further outside the initial cut-off and got an offer for that pretty quickly after the LA started their second round offers - mid-April, I think. DD is very happy there, so it worked out very well for us.

Todaytomorrowyesterday · 05/03/2021 10:33

We lived really close to the secondary school that we were on a waiting list for (less than 0.5miles) - faith feeder schools covering a huge distance so the criteria was a little different. We didn’t go to the feeder school as we moved to the area a couple of years before and they didn’t have the space at the time.Had a PAN of 240.
But we started at 33 on the waiting list, there is a lot of movement we went up and down on that list!!
We also did appeal but found out we got the place a few days before the hearing.
It’s very stressful but

Maverick197 · 05/03/2021 10:44

Is there any indication on the schools website or on the LEA's website whether the catchment area increases much between offer day and September? Waitlists move at different pace depending on popularity and location so impossible to compare two different schools waitlists.

My DS was on a waitlist for a very popular comp in Surrey (we also lived just a fraction outside of the catchment) and we were told in April that he was no11 on the waitlist. A boy a bit further down the road (and a bit closer to the school) got an offer in April so we were getting hopeful. However the waitlist stopped moving after that and he settled nicely into his 2nd option school. At the end of July the school contacted us to ask if we wanted to remain on the waitlist and we said no, at that point he was happy with the school he was given and we wouldn't have considered changing schools once he had started the school year.

Good luck to you, I hope you get good news soon!

Original poster

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 10:44

Thank you both. Glad it worked out ok. 🤞🏻

I’m not sure if there will be up and down movement on our list if the list closes on 15th March? They aren’t clear on their timeline when it would reopen.

I actually work in a large secondary school and they reckon they move 10-20 people up the list each year. I just want to know where we are now. Hence the username. 😁

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Original poster

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 10:46

They’ve not given any indication no. Last year and the two previous years we would have been well within the distance but it’s the baby boom of 2009/2010 I guess.

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Maverick197 · 05/03/2021 13:19

@impatientAnn yeah, 2009/2010 are high birth years, I have a 2009 born DD who is starting secondary school this September and she has been on waitlists for nursery, infant school and primary school (thankfully got places in all eventually)- we we're fully expecting to go on waitlist again this year for her secondary school but it was a miracle that she got the school that she wanted on 1st of March! I had to pinch myself!

Original poster

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 15:46

Thank you for sharing - a positive story about primary lists too, that must be less common with it being a smaller role. Our first choice secondary takes 300 so a good turnover could well be expected (I’m praying!)
This is our first time on a waiting list - we got in to our first choice primary and used a day nursery not school so never had an issue until now.
At least only a two year gap between my dc so if one gets in sibling rule will get the second in in 2023.

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Meredusoleil · 05/03/2021 16:52

We were offered 2 higher preference schools from the waiting lists last year. Originally offered 6th and 5th choice schools. Then got 3rd choice school in April and 4th choice school in July.

Dc started at the 4th choice school in September and we have been very happy about it! I think we were around no. 20 in the WL.

Original poster

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 17:11

That’s really positive. Thank you.
We’ve just had the paperwork for school 5 through the post. My dc really doesn’t want to go there so will be tears again when it comes to signing it I think. We have been nothing but positive about it but majority of friends all got places at school 1 and it’s still quite raw.
Needs to be returned by 29th so at least we can find out place in waiting list before we do the signing and sending.

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mdh2020 · 05/03/2021 17:17

Schools don’t have endless waiting lists. If you are on the waiting list you stand a good chance of getting in. They know from experience how many people will refuse a place.

Original poster

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 17:23

It’s the council waiting list - we can be on as many as we like I think?
I am 65 on the list for our third choice - school in the neighbouring authority which I actually work at (they automatically put everyone on the list in that authority). It’ll never get that far down - they reckon on average each year 10-20 of 360 will decline a place due to getting a private place/SEN school or moving somewhere too far away. I am hoping that we will be in the top 10 with it being less than 10m distance.

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titchy · 05/03/2021 17:23

@mdh2020

Schools don’t have endless waiting lists. If you are on the waiting list you stand a good chance of getting in. They know from experience how many people will refuse a place.

Errr yes they do. In theory anyway. Anyone that applies - could be tens of thousands of kids(!) - and didn't get a place will be on the waiting list.

Echobelly · 05/03/2021 17:26

Can't remember any specifics, but I'm in London and was surprised how many people's waiting list hopes did come through - I think if you're near the top it's quite likely to come out OK.

AlexaShutUp · 05/03/2021 17:29

We were waitlisted but received an offer very quickly for our preferred school. My friend's dd was also waitlisted and was around no.40 on the list. If I recall correctly, she was offered a place in school in the August before they started.

Good luck!

Waitingfirgodot · 05/03/2021 17:43

This is making me feel quite hopeful! My son is second on the waiting list for his preferred school, so hopefully we're in with a chance!

Original poster

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 17:43

Wow 40th to getting in is amazing! That’s the kind of thing I need to hear this week. Thank you.

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Original poster

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 17:45

Oooh Good luck. I will feel so much better when I know where we are - whether it is a realistic prospect or not.

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Waitingfirgodot · 05/03/2021 17:54

@ImpatientAnn good luck to you too. It's horrible waiting.

TrevvyFownten · 05/03/2021 18:17

@ImpatientAnn It depends on your area. Here in densely- populated London where high numbers of families give up their state offers to go private and everyone gets 6 preferences, the waiting lists can move by several dozen even for the most popular schools. In fact the least popular school has offered 60 more places than its published admissions number because it knows it's at the bottom of the food chain and will lose a lot over the next few months.

If you want to do something practical to keep your spirits up, use the whatdotheyknow website to submit a freedom of information request to your local authority (or to the school if they coordinate their own admissions). Ask them what was the cut-off distance by September 1st in each of the last 3 years.

Original poster

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 18:23

Thank you @TrevvyFownten - we are actually well within the cut off distance on offer day for the last three years.
We’ve missed out by less than 10m this year 😫. If we were on the opposite side of the road or one house left we’d be in.

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PlayingTheDevilsAvocado · 05/03/2021 18:50

Yes. Similar happened last year to us with a similar distance. We got a place in late July from position 7 ish. Neighbours opposite had the same the previous year and got a place in June from 22.

Original poster

ImpatientAnn · 05/03/2021 19:54

That’s fab. I know it makes no difference at all to our chances but it is keeping me sane to see positive stories. Thank you.

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Snuggles23 · 23/03/2021 13:50

We didn't get any of our 3 secondary school choices and were offered an awful school within our catchment. We were in the mid 30's on all two of the school waiting lists and 70's on one list. It was such a stressful time for my husband and I and to top it off although we put an appeal together this was held behind closed doors and all appeals were unsuccessful. What I will say is that we found a place for our child at a different school and although he started not knowing anyone he settled in and then 4 months later we got offered a place at our 1st choice school we which accepted. It's an awful time as you are not in control and its extremely upsetting but things to have a way of working out.

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