Movement of waiting lists

[ghislaine]

I appreciate this may well be down to individual school practice but I thought I would ask for experiences anyway. I do intend to call the school in question as well once DH and I have thought out what we can/can't ask. This is our first experience of the private sector and DC1 is at a state primary so we can't call on the Head for any help or insight.

DC1 sat the 11+ for three independent schools. So far we've had one offer, one WL, and one still to come in. The WL offer is our first choice. Do schools typically start making offers to WL candidates as offers are rejected, or do they do it all at once once the acceptance deadline has passed? The latter puts us in a tricky position because we'd have to accept the current offer only days before the acceptance deadline at our first choice arrives. Some questions I have are:

Can we ask where DC1 is on the WL and whether this is a realistic position for an offer?

Can we say that this is our first choice and we would definitely accept if offered? Should we say that DC1 has an offer elsewhere?

Can we ask for feedback or reasons that DC1 didn't make the first cut and seek to address them? Eg DC1 has some mild SEN which may have affected performance on the day but has come on massively since the assessment (which I suspect made the difference in receiving an offer from the other school whose assessment was months later).

Hello, each schools have their own decision process. I would call the admission office about the WL and ask whereabouts they are on the list…maybe quarter so you know top 25% or not.
If interested, do tell them plus follow up email. WL doesn’t always move or not at all. So decide as a family your plan and deadline etc.

You have an offer, is it a different school or in the same group of schools?
Do wait for the third school status and go from there.

It has been known of families going to a school and paying deposit and going to another school due to WL. ..losing their deposit. This depends on the small print of current offer in some cases not too much in others….shocking high cost to the bank account.

One of my DCs got a WL place at their school. Actually they got 2 and we were asked in both cases whether we wanted to stay on the list.

I didn't bother asking where they were on the list etc but it's perfectly OK to ask and definitely a good idea to say you'd accept it if offered.

We actually called up on the state offer day or the day after ( can't remember exactly) as we had heard the list was moving and DH was keen on the school. We were offered a place on the phone call. Possibly a coincidence but the registrar may have had a long list of fairly equal candidates and we called at the right time. We then had a couple of days to make the final decision.

Every year every school is different. For example Surbiton High normally go to WL but last year didn't (due to too many acceptances). The admissions dept would have only known this was the situation days before the closing date. It's best to keep all avenues of communication open and be prepared to pay 2 sets of deposit if necessary. Plus read the small print in detail esp re distance selling, sometimes you have a 14 day period to have the deposit returned but every school contract is different each year.

Thanks all - @HawaiiWake the offer school is a similar sort of school in terms of ethos and intake but I don't think it would be seen as a competitor. They are equidistant from us but in opposite directions so probably don't have much overlap of applicants. My own view, FWIW, is that WL school would be seen as a back-up school to the more academically-selective schools nearby and that once they make their offers, the waiting list might start to move but I just don't know. There are a few days in between state offer day and WL school acceptance day but I'm not sure how that would affect things.

I'm really disappointed, tbh. I thought that the application process went well and the ethos is just what we are after. I don't intend to say anything to DC1 at this point.

A quick update but no news - we had an email from WL school yesterday saying they will call us after the half term break with an update on the waiting list (original letter said we’d be contacted after the acceptance date). So fingers crossed DC1 is in a good position and there’s sufficient movement now that all the offers are out.

Fingers crossed for you!
My boy had 2 WL SW London independent school places last year and both schools didn’t go to the wait list. I’m still hoping one day he might get a place 🤞soooooo stressful I hope your child gets a place!