Secondary waiting lists and twins

[HappyAsASandboy]

During the Mail application round, if a twin is offered the last available place in a school then the school must open an extra place to take the other twin.

Does anyone know whether this is the case for waiting lists? If one of my twin reaches top of the waiting list and is offered a place, then will the other twin also be offered a place even if only one place really became available at the school?

I meant MAIN application round, not mail

What does the admission criteria for the school say about multiple births?. Some will admit both, some may not.

The waiting lists have to operate the same criteria as the main round, so I would assume if they have a policy to admit multiple births, that would still apply to the waiting list.

What country are you in as it might differ in different areas of the country

County*

I'm in Cambridgeshire. The Admissions Team confirmed that admitting the second twin applies to the main round but weren't sure about waiting lists; they have gone to find out and will hopefully email me.

@BendingSpoons that's useful to know. Is that the case for all counties/schools?

I am not an expert but my understanding is the 'School Admissions Code' (available on gov.uk) says that the waiting list 'must be ranked again in accordance with the published oversubscription guidance'. So if their oversubscription guidance says that if a twin is admitted in last spot, they have to admit both, then they should follow the same guidance for the waiting list.

@Admissions I hope you don't mind me tagging you, but I think I've seen you advising on a similar issue.

I think most admission authorities count twins as one unit, unless it a selective school.

The Admissions Code does not require schools to admit both twins. There is a strong hint that primary schools should do so but that is all. It is, therefore, up to the admission authority for the school. However, as BendingSpoons says, the Admissions Code is clear that the criteria used for admissions in the normal round must also be used for the waiting list. If twins are always admitted together in the normal admissions round, this should also happen if they are admitted off the waiting list.