Talk to me about relocating and school applications

[qwert987]

We are returning to the UK after living abroad for a decade. We will return in June with a view to our kids starting school in September ‘26. One going into Y7 and one going into Y10.

We know the area we want to live but don’t have a property there yet.

I understand you need to be resident in the borough/county before applying to schools. We will obviously miss the deadline for applying by October this year for our DD getting into her secondary school.

Is the only approach here to apply late in June and hope for the best? And just see which schools we are allocated?

If we don’t get one of the schools we hoped for, is it even worth going on a waiting list so close to the start of the school year?

We didn’t do primary application process as we were abroad so I’m really clueless as to how this works.

This is going to be stressful OP, as both children will have to go on the waitlist it could very likely get to September and you are given an under subscribed school miles away.

I would move heaven and earth to get a place so you can apply in time

We put my neice on the waitlist and she did get a place for September in a popular city school. However there are 3 schools in my town and there is no chance of getting into one of them on a wait list.
I think it depends on location.

On the off chance.. are you abroad working for the Government or just private individuals. There is a slightly different process in both cases.

We are international school teachers. So locked into the school year dates here.

We are looking at the Croydon/Surrey area. Lots of good comps in the area. But many over subscribed.

Waiting lists are held in order of criteria, not how long you've been on a list, so moving as close as possible to your target school is the best bet.
Theres a good chance the places won't be in the same school.

I would be handing in my notice and breaking the contract. Unlikely they’ll pursue it!

Do you have jobs lined up here?

I'm that area @qwert987 and you are likely to definely not get a good choice by then. And I'm afraid that a lot of the schools here start the GCSE curriculum in year 9 so you would need to factor that in to where you apply to. If you want to message me school names I'll see what I know/can find out.

You will get places somewhere, likely to be Quest in Selsdon or Meridien in New Addington. And possibly Harris Purley.

Sadly you're doing this a year too late

Deadline for yr 7 is 31st October

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children

You can apply from abroad- but the address used will be the one you apply from, so the only way you will get an offer straight off is if you have named an undersubscribed school as a preference - without a local address, what will not happen is the LA finding your 'nearest undersubscribed' school to allocate, if none of your preferences can be met.

The in-year admissions is trickier, because you cannot apply now and be offered (if a place is available) and expect the place to be kept open for nearly a year.

Your y10 is the biggest concern here, as they really need to start at the beginning of term and you may have greater trouble with subject options, if some of the options are full. Once you have a property, I would ask what is the earliest you can apply e.g. can you apply with a confirmed flight home and property. You usually have to take any place within 3 weeks, but if you could apply 3 weeks before moving, that would give more time, as once schools shut for summer, not much happens. I would also try to work out which schools have places and include 1 on your list that does. Ideally your DC would start for the very end of yr9 to get into school and choose options. You will probably have to accept whatever school has places for GCSEs and consider moving for sixth form.

With your yr7 you have a bit more time to hold out on waiting lists, especially if you could manage them starting a few weeks into term if needed. There is more likely to be movement in the summer or early Sept when someone doesn't turn up.
Edited to add: As @MarchingFrogs said I would consider doing an application now to some less popular schools to try and 'bank' a yr7 place. Then in June you can change your address and either move up waiting lists or reapply to new schools based on where you end up living.

And? As I say… heaven and earth

Ooof, you’re doing this on hard mode. Any chance you are returning to teach at a school that gives priority to children of staff? This is quite common in oversubscribed schools round our way.

You’re going to be bottom of the heap for y7 and you really need to think about y10 now as your elder child will need to decide GCSE options sharpish, and some schools start GCSEs in y9.

Read up on the y7 late admission process for your new area - that will explain how your y7 application will most likely be handled.

Just to counteract the negative stories, we moved back to the uk at the end of the I ternational school term - so way before the English summer holidays started.

OK, it was primary, but the LEA couldn't have been more helpful. I messaged asked which schools had spaces in the relevant years, in the XY98 postcode, and got a list the next working day. So I sent in an application as I got other plane hone, and had a pair of offers waiting g fir me when I landed. The kids started in their new school 2 weeks after landing - and we were bring pushed to start a week earlier, but it was just to much for me to sort uniform without a car.

So, we did the last few weeks of the summer term. If the timelines work, I'd serious consider this for your oldest. No point for your youngest, as they will need to move schools.

It was very straightforward once we started - but very stressful packing up our life with zero idea where the kids would be going to school.

If you don't get a space there are 2 things to consider - wait lists are opperated in order of admissions priority, not time on list. And if no school place can be offered (if they offer one you dont like, tough) you can start off on the fair access protocol.

Nuclear option: can you get your oldest into a private school for 2 years?

I messaged asked which schools had spaces in the relevant years, in the XY98 postcode, and got a list the next working day. So I sent in an application as I got other plane hone, and had a pair of offers waiting g fir me when I landed.

@Cantseetreesforthewood so you would have had to have already been resident to have been offered the places 😕

Nope. Still resident in a different country. Places offered the day we left - and the day before arriving in the uk. Pretty close, but offered before we stepped foot back in the uk.

But presumably you had a property here that you used as your address for the application?

I think that would be the best option depending on what you teach. One of you find a teaching job in a school that prioritises children of staff (you normally have to have been permanently employed for two years but schools can disregard this if there's a shortage of staff, which there almost always is in the SE!) My daughter has a place at my school on the latter basis. We live 7 miles from the school. The longest distance offered last year was under 800 metres...!

Your other option is for you to seek jobs in private schools (there are loads in the area) and negotiate fee remission for the children. That could buy you an additional year to find suitable in year places.

You'd actually be better off moving further in (Lambeth/Peckham/Southwark) where the fall in the birth rate is leaving even oversubscribed schools with places.

Are you both looking to teach over here? Secondary? You get preference of you work at the school..

You MAY get priority in admissions if you are permanently employed at the school and can evidence that there's a shortage of e.g. Physics teachers. You have to read the admissions rules for each possible school carefully AND get offered a job AND negotiate that they disregard the requirement to be employed for two years first.

It's easier with private schools as generally the Head can actually decide they want someone enough to offer (e.g.) 50% fee remission for their two kids as well. And you don't need to have an address in the area in advance. Plus there are of course boarding schools so accommodation may come with the package.

Private schools that are single sex often have deals with other ones that educate the other sex / have younger or older students.

So if you get offered a job with girls' school X you may get offered fee remission at nearby boys' school Y.

The OP does have options.

Not necessarily, only some schools prioritise children of staff. In some LA you can apply once you have a confirmed address and up to six weeks before you move so check the LA website. You need to check admissions criteria for each and find a school which is usually undersubscribed that you are happy with and is accessible. It does not need to be listed as your first choice but include one you will hopefully find a space at with a late application. You may struggle to place both in same school though.

Based on the experience of an American friend, over for a year's work exchange, she was able to apply to the LA for places for a year 8 and year 5 child from the end of May half term, with accommodation confirmed but not arriving till August, and the LA did find places.

Obviously easier as no GCSEs or SATs or 11+ involved.