In year application for Highgate Wood school

[TransitionPrimarySecondary]

Hi there,

My son and I live in NW and we have discussed to move to Crouch End since it is a way more diverse place, love the green areas and the sports facilities. My son is still in Y5 and since we rent I have already checked most of schools there. My son is not keen to change primary school if we were moving next April once the contract finishes and that is ok to me since I work around Hampstead heath I would still commute there until I find something more local in Crouch end

He is 10yrs old and happy to become more independent and it will happen gradually, my concern is that since we are supposed to apply for HWS on October next year I thought that to secure the place we would then need to move once the contract finishes, that though lead to a painful train commute for both of us for 18 months!

It is quite stressful to make a whole move just to fit into the catchment area as I guess some of you have experienced, I have no debts but I am pretty much on my own and getting a proper place in Crouch End will cost me more. I am happy to settle there for good though once we are able to get a place

I am then considering to apply for a local school in NW, and then apply for an In year application so can anyone here let me know the odds of this situation?

Since I am not intending to let my son start his secondary school in NW. The most suitable position for us would be staying where we are and make the in year application around May 2026 to start his Y7 in September, same year, from a school that he has been accepted to but has not even started to this one in Crouch End...

Thank you if you made it to the end of this long post!

The flaw in your argument is that a school is unlikely to have a vacancy for an applicant to start in Y7 on the basis of an application coming outside the normal entry times for Y7. Good schools fill up their available places from the on time applications submitted the previous autumn. If they did have a child who had been offered a place and then turned it down they would look at their waiting list and take the first child who best fitted their entry criteria to fill that place. I am not even sure that it would be considered an “in year application” since technically at the time of application your child would be a Y6 pupil.

if you want your son to have a place in a school with a restricted catchment then you will have to move closer to the school preferably before the application deadline to make sure you are close enough to be offered a place, which would indeed mean that he could have an awkward commute in Y6 if he wanted to stay in his current school. The alternative is to move both home and primary school.

BTW when you do apply make sure you use all your choices, if you only put one school and for some reason he isn’t offered a place ( six sets of twins living closer, a couple of LAC and a few children with the school named on their statement would do it) he will be offered a place in the nearest school that has places, which might not be very near at all, and will almost probably be the school no one wants their child to go to.

You should have a good look at HWS before you decide it is the school for yourDS. Also, Crouch End is not on the tube and you have to take a bus to get the station. It can be very village like but a bit isolated.

I'd move closer to Alexandra Park School if I were you. Still decent enough transport links to Hampstead and property is on a par price-wise with CE, but the clincher is that APS is an outstanding secondary and far better than HW.

If you have not moved by Oct 31 2025, then I would put the Crouch End schools you want first and second on your application. You won’t get in because of distance but you will go on the waiting list. Then you can put currently local schools lower down (make sure you include a school you would definitely get) and you will be allocated one of these.

If you later move, you can update the LA with your new address and you will move up the waiting list.

As others say, if you leave it until May 2026, it isn’t an in year application, it’s a late application.

But if you want a space for sure in sep 2026, you need to move early and suck up
the commute or primary move

Thank you so much all for your wise input! I reckon it’s a tricky situation

Do you actually know HWS? It's not really a school people move for...

I’m a bit confused what the situation is but is it not safer to minimise the risk of getting a secondary you don’t want and bring your in year move forward to asap? Get an in year primary transfer?

Also call up the LA school admissions team for advice who will know the situation locally.

Well it isn’t really a tricky situation at all. If you want your child to go to a certain school then you can try to make this more likely by, for example, moving closer to the school to improve their chances . If you can’t or wont do this then don’t try to game the system by making ridiculous applications which wont succeed. The admissions people will have seen it all before, your application will fail, your child will be desperately disappointed and in the worst possible scenario they could end up in a school that neither of you want or without a school place at all if you really mess up.

…or without a school place at all if you really mess up.

There’s no reason for this to happen. OP can apply for some local, some Crouch End schools in her on time application, get a local school, decide about moving to Crouch End later when she understands where the waiting lists are.

I am not sure what you think she is doing to “game” the system?

SheilaFentiman thank you for your last input

vique you need to understand that I have a child in primary school so of course I know that I need to move to the catchment area for the secondary school. This post originates from the fact about the huge distance in between both schools and as I learned here that my application would be considered as a late application rather than an in year application then I will do the best decision to make things to happen as planned.

The way you wrote your first piece of advice is fully acceptable but please do not get so stressed later from my simple comment to state that the situation is tricky for me? I am just laughing now I think I am entitled to feel it is tricky

There is no game here, or me trying to make "ridiculous" applications, this forum is supposed to offer advice to whoever asks for it, not a place to discharge such anger and arrogance, just wondering if you are having your period or having a bad day! I hope you were able to enjoy the rest of your day anyway.

Thanks everyone

Please cut this dreadful misogynistic “having your period” crap, OP.

Enjoyed my day thanks. I stand by my post, sorry you didn’t like it. It isn’t a tricky situation, it has logical solutions.

Hi, not sure if I’ve quite understood but there is lots of waiting list movement right up to starting day in north london schools.

If you were living close to HWS prior to sept 2026 you could likely start on day 1 or soon after but checking in with Haringey admissions is good advice.

Would also check your commute to Hampstead too as there is the overground but it depends where in Hampstead you are. Good luck

vique I am glad you enjoyed your day. You really made me laugh with your sort of stressed response. No more feedback is needed from you, thx :)

CaptainOhMyCaptain - having your period is a comment speaking for myself, I am a woman right?

Any positive new comment is more than welcome, otherwise can anyone teach me how to close this post? Sorry in advance for my ignorance! :D

I realise you posted this over a month ago but just came across the thread by chance. I made an in year application for HWS for my child in year 8 a couple years ago, as they were unhappy in the school they had started in and after much anxiety we decided to move them. It took 6 weeks for us to get a place, which was a bit stressful, as we were about a mile from the school. But it was absolutely worth it and my DC is thriving there. I see one poster above saying HWS is not a school people move for, but they are wrong. Any questions, do shout.