2024 waiting list/appeal support thread

[Hopeful88]

I thought I'd start a support thread for everyone in the same position - either waiting on appeal outcomes or hoping for a secondary school place from a waiting list.
I've read all the advice I can and I'm doing the best I can but I'm still struggling with the unknown.
We're currently in the 20s on the waiting list for our first choice school and an unknown number for the second choice.
Fingers crossed for everyone in the same position. 🤞🏼🤞🏼

DS still 29th on first school waiting list.
25th on second.
Haven’t checked the positions for 3 or 4.

Allocated school in the meantime has just emailed us welcoming me to the school (instead of DS name) and with a spelling mistake in the email 🙄

@AllSuggestionsTaken i actually feel heart broken 💔
so frustrating as i am
sure a lot of people on the waitlist are not even as bothered by it as us

let’s hope a few turn it down 🤞

Hi, we are up from 2 to 1 on the waiting list can I ask what you all mean by second and third round ? I haven't been told anything about different rounds , thanks

I am so confused the school just called me and told me
i am 11th on the waiting list

@Mummyk13 surely that just means you've moved up the list because a few people have accepted places or withdrawn from the list?

We are STILL number 1 on the waiting list for first choice - we’ve been number 1 the whole time that there has been a waiting list. We are now 15 for second choice school up from 26 so we might actually get that. Waiting lists for both schools are 400+

our first choice has finally got back to us about waiting list position, and we are 52nd - so not a chance basically 🙁

@Charlotte120221 the council are saying we are 15th the school are saying 11th both are adamant there list are right the school said this is just the first round there still waiting on people to accept or decline they have till Tuesday then the next lot get offered out on waiting list and this happends every Tuesday

If the school is handling its own waiting list, it still has to inform its maintaining LA of all offers it makes. So it sounds as if the school may be a little behind with doing this. Either that, or there have been some late applications, which have bumped you down the ranking, that the LA hasn't passed on to the school, or the school hasn't processed?

@MarchingFrogs thanks I am giving up hope at this point

Hi all,

Just wanted to update that we had our appeal meeting yesterday. We find out in 10 days.

The meeting actually went well. The panellists were very friendly and even reassuring of the concerns we had for our child. The schools case was pretty strong as its a well sought after school in our area and massively oversubscribed, but I am glad to have been given the chance to try for our child. I felt we had a strong case but there were lots of appeals so not massively holding out much hope. There are a few more rounds of offers over the next few months so hoping they'll be some waiting list movement and we may get another choice before end of term. Gosh its all so stressful.

@Mummyk13 the odds seem low but there still may be some change over next few months.

@shockeditellyou Really pleased for you and your dc, you can relax now and look forward to next stage.

not sure if makes it worse that I work in the local nursery and I know the administrator of our bourough have aloud a child to start a whole year early not contacted us to see if there ready ect which there not and they got first choice I am then sitting here thinking well if a child at my 1st choice wanted his space that would open a space up for someone on our waiting list so
also a lot of our parents rented in the ears now got spaces are moving out 😡
so frustrating
we are the only appeal for the school also 🤦‍♀️

Ah that is frustrating, the whole system just doesn’t seem to make sense.

I made the mistake of checking our waiting list position, for second choice this morning we were position 17 "as of 28/03" and now we are position 21 "as of 02/05".
It seems like almost no places must have been offered. 🙁

@Hopeful88 all our little ones got all there back packs last night and came in with them this morning broke my heart for my little one 😭

I have a random question can’t seem to find a straight answer online

so say you where offered your 4th choice and you go on a waiting list for 1st,2nd,3rd choice then get offered 2nd choice will you be taken off 3rd waiting list? Or will you be kept on untill you either get offered a place or the end of the first term?

I have a question about the appeals process.

We have appealed to two schools. For the first one, we now have an appeal date through (20th May).

We have been told that, for the 2nd school, the appeals are likely to be later (mid June).

In case we are offered the first school after the appeal, will the place be held until after the 2nd appeal has been heard? The guy from the Appeals Service who sent the letter didn't give me a straight answer to this.

School two - the later appeal date - is our preferred choice.

You'd just ask to be taken off the waiting list for your third choice surely if you got offered your second ? Not sure if you'd automatically get taken off though

Just thinking we all are on waiting lists and maybe some
of the people infront of us may already have been offered there 1st 2nd choices maybe there just still on the waiting list we are on because not been taken off if you know what I mean

You don’t get automatically taken off a waiting list.

Please - if you accept a place then tell the other schools so they can free up a space on their waiting list for someone.

You would be given a short amount of time to accept or decline the place - it might depend how quickly the first appeal let you know.

But it's not a problem - What you can absolutely do is accept the first one if you win the appeal but also go ahead with the second appeal. Then if you win the second appeal you withdraw from the other place.

@AllSuggestionsTaken so potentially
people infront of us in a waiting may already have been given a place at a more preferred school and just not been taken off the one we are on?
sorry trying to find positives

Possibly, but different LAs do this differently. Some will take you off lower waiting lists automatically during the period they are still coordinating offers, some won't, and if it's an academy it may be running its own list now.

Thank you! Difficult one though! The advantages of the first school we are appealing for *appeal date 20th May) over the allocated school are not as huge as the advantages of the second school we are appealing for over the allocated school. If we were to win the first appeal, I wouldn't want to be in a position to have to make a decision (and give up the allocated school) before the 2nd appeal is done and decided upon - but the time gap may be too large.

@Mummyk13 yes know exactly what you mean and the mental gymnastics you must be doing as I'm doing the same .. think having all the info possible somehow helps cope with the awful waiting doesn't it