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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Wait list place

18 replies

BeAmberEagle · 08/03/2025 08:57

How long after allocation day did your child get a place on a wait list school? I know that it's a case of waiting till someone drops out but would be nice to hear that for some it happened quickly after allocation day rather than in August or September.
We missed out on our first choice school because of distance so really hoping we get a wait list place asap before the transition stuff starts. I trying to be realistic and I've always know we live just out of catchment but I was still holding out hope for it just to work out for once.

OP posts:
Burntsausages · 08/03/2025 10:33

We got our waiting list place early June. We went through reallocation round late April first and that was unsuccessful. Honestly it’s like, “how long is a piece of string?” There’s no knowing who comes onto the list and where they slot in, who is holding a place and maybe also another for private and will wait out the summer “just in case”. So many variables. As frustrating as it is (and believe me it was a pretty painful wait!) that’s just what you have to do, wait. I did suggest on another thread to set yourself a deadline of when you would settle with the school you’ve been offered. For us it was transition day as I thought this is a good cut off point as I didn’t want the dilemma of DC starting one school only to get a waiting list offer, say in October, and have to start all over again. Good luck, fingers crossed 🤞!

BeAmberEagle · 08/03/2025 13:31

Thankyou. Helpful
She's my eldest so I'm thinking of all our children and our top choice school is the best, so I need to decide if I would move her ins autumn term if a place came up...
Really hoping I dont have to make that decision.

OP posts:
TickingAlongNicely · 08/03/2025 15:01

Do you know where you are on the list?

BeAmberEagle · 08/03/2025 16:13

No not yet. Apparently they don't release them till mid march.

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BeAmberEagle · 08/03/2025 16:13

I don't think we are far down though. The secretary said we were so close.

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NeverDropYourMooncup · 08/03/2025 16:18

Parents of NOD offers have at least until 15th March to accept, then the LA has to remind them, give them time to reply, then remind them again - and where there are out of area offers, they have to be chased by their local authority, who then have to notify the school's LA to tell them the outcome.

Realistically, you're looking at after Easter for the first offers unless you're very, very lucky - and then they'll go on until September. Then there'll be another flurry of in year offers where kids have failed to arrive because they've moved/gone private/got their preferred place at another school due to successful appeals shuffling everybody around.

So no guarantees, but if you think it's at least mid April, you'll find it a little less stressful than wondering whether it's going to be Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.

BeAmberEagle · 08/03/2025 17:34

Thankyou. Yes I'm going to try not to think about it till April
Unfortunately our area there's no reject or accept.. just assumed acceptance unless you say otherwise which adds a level of annoyance.

OP posts:
viques · 09/03/2025 10:21

BeAmberEagle · 08/03/2025 16:13

I don't think we are far down though. The secretary said we were so close.

Unfortunately this is not a reliable assessment. You missed out on distance so anyone already on the waiting list , or who joins it at any time from now, who lives closer to the school, or who qualifies for a place on a higher category , will automatically be placed further up the list. Places don’t move on length of time on the list, they follow the school’s published admission criteria.

BeAmberEagle · 09/03/2025 10:24

I do know that. I just wanted to know how quickly after allocation day people started getting offered places. Just a spread of hope would be nice.

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cramptramp · 09/03/2025 10:31

Sorry OP but this is a pointless question. Ten people could tell you they got offered a place the day after they were added to waiting lists but this does not mean you'll ever be offered a place.

BeAmberEagle · 09/03/2025 11:18

cramptramp · 09/03/2025 10:31

Sorry OP but this is a pointless question. Ten people could tell you they got offered a place the day after they were added to waiting lists but this does not mean you'll ever be offered a place.

Thankyou for your opinion and kicking me while I'm down.

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brettsalanger · 09/03/2025 11:33

@BeAmberEagle she's not kicking you while you're down. She's being realistic. Absolutely no one can predict if or when you will get a space.

BeAmberEagle · 09/03/2025 11:40

I didn't ask people to predict.
I asked for other people's experiences.
But no worries. I remember now why I don't post on Mumsnet anymore.

OP posts:
cramptramp · 09/03/2025 14:07

brettsalanger · 09/03/2025 11:33

@BeAmberEagle she's not kicking you while you're down. She's being realistic. Absolutely no one can predict if or when you will get a space.

Thank you. That's exactly what I was doing.

Muchtoomuchtodo · 09/03/2025 14:11

TickingAlongNicely · 08/03/2025 15:01

Do you know where you are on the list?

Waiting lists won’t (can’t) be produced until after the date where offers have to be accepted by.

Even then things can be changed if new people move into the area.

It’s absolutely impossible to predict I’m afraid. 🤷🏻‍♀️

WombatChocolate · 09/03/2025 16:17

Op, don’t take offence. What people are saying is perfectly right. Unless you just want people to say ‘it will definitely all work out’ which isn’t useful, their points are valid and give you a more realistic timeframe of when you could hear, which can remove the stress of waiting for the phone to ring imminently.

It is good if they say you’re v close. But as people say, people closer can join the waiting list and they can’t take action until certain dates and even then, admin often makes it quite slow. Understandablyvyoure impatient, but knowing these things take time to move should help the wait feel less stressful

No-one is kicking you. You asked a question where experiences can differ and it’s v hard to talk about timescales. Lots of valid and helpful points have been made, even if they aren’t an answer of people on WL receive places very quickly, which you’d like.

Really hoping you get a place. There is often a lot of movement although it can take a good while, so you maintaining hope is worth it. It’s managing a child that can be tricky - you want to keep hope yourself and be prepared to make the switch if an offer comes up, even if late….whilst at the same time, helping them feel positive about what’s in the table now.

Not being negative about what’s been offered to DC can help them, as can simply saying there can be a number of changes but they aren’t likely for lots of weeks. Reassure them that they don’t need to worry and they will be going to a good school. And then don’t talk about it too much.

If a place gets offered late, it can be tricky dealing with a DC who has mentally accepted the first offered school. However, if you do get a WL offer, being clear that it was the first choice for a reason and it’s your responsibility as parent to make the decisions can help.

Hope it all works out. It’s annoying when it’s a long game, but it’s just the nature of it.

Zingy123 · 11/03/2025 07:24

We never did get a waiting list place. We eventually got a place after the first term had ended.

BendingSpoons · 11/03/2025 07:26

One thing I would say with waiting lists is the longer you are on the list, the less people will accept a place. If a space came up now, lots of people on the waiting list would accept the place as they are not invested in the school they have yet. If a place came up in say, late August, more people would decline it as their child knows they are going to another school, they have done transition events, they have bought uniform. This might mean one place ends up getting offered to 5 kids, 10 kids before anyone accepts it. Some places do make you reconfirm to stay on the waiting list which would obviously change this. Therefore although the waiting is tough, there is a silver lining in places coming up later on.

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