We're in Hertfordshire. Our daughter started secondary (Y7) now this September, but back in May we said we'd like to stay on the continued interest list for another school, for which we are just a little bit out of the catchment area.
We've now seen that all continued interest lists are removed and one has to do an in-year application "to retain your interest for up to 4 schools for the new academic year 2021-22." And: "We aim to let you know the outcome of your application within 10-15 working days after we receive your completed form."
I'm not fully understanding how the process works:
- We apply now, may be rejected (school's full) within 10-15 working days, but then stay on the continued interest list of that school for the remaining academic year, i.e. until next summer?
- We apply now, may be rejected within 10-15 working days, and then are also taken off the continued interest list? So that to express our continued interest, we would have to apply roughly once a month?
We also saw now that the current school needs to fill out a form for an in-year application (providing attendance data, punctuality, etc). Might this be a problem for the pupil? (If they see that the pupil wants to leave the school).
Just to clarify, we're not really unhappy with the current school, everything's fine. The other school is just a fantastic school and would be even better.