Secondary School Waitlist Stories

[RounddaBend]

Hi everyone,

I have never posted on here but have been feeling extremely anxious/unsettled regarding DD secondary school. We were allocated our second choice secondary school on offer day on March 1st. Partner and I are trying to make peace with it, but would much prefer the first choice. Plus my daughter doesn't know anyone going to the school she has been allocated and has been a bit upset.

It's frustrating as we would have got in every other year prior to this and were only 14 meters from the furthest distance offered in the first round.. We started off at number 6 on the waitlist when they opened on March 4th, which was very encouraging, but have gone to number 20 as they process all the late applications. This has caused panic and doubt to set in obviously, though I am hoping a portion of these are people hedging their bets or wanting a safety option while still holding out for private/grammar. I hope that's not wishful thinking on my end but it just seems unlikely that number of people would have moved into the area but could be wrong.

The start making second offers on March 27th.

The school is in a fairly busy London borough, has a pan of 323 and is an area where my guess would be higher numbers than average go grammar/private, so that is giving me a bit of hope. Also, a friend of mine who is also trying to get her daughter into the school did a freedom of information request with the local council, and found that last year (2023) the average distance offered by September 1st was 96 meters greater than the distance offered on offer day. We would just need the distance to expand by one sixth of that this year and my daughter would be in.

Wanted to get some perspective here from people who have been through this in previous years. How did you cope.. and what do you think our chances are? Please be kind.

Thank you

Terribly anxious mum

It is unsettling but everything you have written suggests you have a good chance of a place. That's a big PAN, so more likely to have people drop out. Plus as you say, there is a fair bit of movement in London, plus private schools/grammars to filter down. Also worth remembering that the nearer it gets to September, the less some people want to change school. So you don't necessarily need 20 places to come up if not everyone ahead of you decides to accept the place. Keep your fingers crossed and try not to over think it for now. Also friendships change, so likely your DD would be fine at the offered school anyway.

@RounddaBend this year's Year 7 cohort is the peak of a birthrate bulge in my London borough, so may be in yours too (to find out, try googling the name of your borough and the phrase "school place planning strategy" - it would have all the forecast numbers in it).

If the school is desirable enough for people to move house for, then the late applicants may have all moved close to it for that reason, and more may be on their way. Families moving to London from abroad often target specific areas with schools that are Outstanding and which top attainment league tables.

That said, places will definitely come up between now and September, and there is often movement at the beginning of September too. Some parents with private school offers hold on to both places for a long time, presumably because they're not sure about the decision. This year there will be a lot of parents anxious about the threat of VAT on school fees if Labour are elected, so it may swing more decisions towards state options.

Does your borough have a day when all the year 6's visit their secondary school? Ours does, in July. If children don't turn up for that then our LA contacts those parents, and sometimes it leads to a flurry of new offers. The same happens at the start of term when some children simply don't turn up.

p.s. Our local uniform shop advises parents near the top of waiting lists not to remove the tags from uniform, even at the start of term, because they know better than anyone that a lot of movement takes place in September. 🙂

@BendingSpoons thank you. Will try not to over think it. I went to a school school where I didn't know anyone and quicky made new friends. Fortunately she knows a few girls from her football team who are going so it's not like she doesn't know anybody at all. I am sure if she does go there it will be ok and the scenarios running through my head won't come to pass. Still hoping our first choice school comes through!

@duvethug thanks a lot. Yes the borough does transition days in early July so expecting some movement then.

I'll take a look at the birth year as well, may well be the case. And the private school hike has crossed our minds as well for sure. I'm doubtful people are moving to the area specifically for this school but could be the case I suppose.

There are definitely a number of things going against us, I am hoping with us being just 14 meters outside the original furthest distance offered we have a good chance, but at the same trying to be positive about the school she has been allocated and remember we put it down as second choice for a reason.

The Telegraph ran a feature on Saturday aimed at parents fleeing the private sector. My area was named, so no doubt that will put further pressure on local house prices (already sky high) and schools. 🙄
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education-and-careers/britains-best-state-schools-homes-afford/

@duvethug what are the areas in the article please? I can't access the page.

Try opening it in an incognito browser. I think the Telegraph allows you to view one article for free each month, tracked using cookies. Opening it in an incognito browser will make you look like a newbie. (Alternatively, find an delete the cookie).

Thank you, incognito worked!

Wanted to update this for any parents who may be reading in future years.

We received an offer for our first school at the third offer round which was yesterday.

We were as low as 22 but jumped up to 4 after the second round of offers. We are very happy and so is DD

Congratulations, glad you heard fairly quickly.