House move. How long before school application date do you have to exchange contracts?

[BoredPanda1422]

DS is starting secondary school in Sept. 2026. Already in a feeder school but we don't live in the catchment area of desired secondary yet. Looking to buy a house as close as possible to the secondary within the next year but we are worried we might not make it in time before admission application deadline in October 2025.
Admission policy says child needs to be at address a year before application but then also says that if you're in the middle of a move you need to prove that exchange will happen before 1 December 2025. So that's unclear. wondering what other people's experiences were in a situation like ours. TIA

It sounds like an unusual policy, but if it specifies a date then I guess that's what you need to use as your guide.

In most areas you just need to have exchanged contracts before the offers go out on March 1st. If you move later then you can update your application with your new address.

You would need to read the criteria very carefully, basically. This type of of criteria is rare, but I have seen a few, mostly for very in-demand grammars that admit both on score and distance rather than just score. Happy to take a look at the policy if you PM me.

What is the admission procedure for a mid year transfer? That might be more applicable to you .

If they're in a feeder school, do they definitely need to also live in catchment? The secondary schools we'd consider specify that being at a feeder school is a higher admissions criteria than distance from school.

Or do you mean it's just a school that sends a lot of kids there, rather than an official feeder?