Secondary National Offer Day 2026

[LancreWowhawk]

Is anyone else anxiously awaiting news of secondary school allocations for September 2026? If so, come and bite your nails with me!

We've applied for 4 schools in our London borough, 3 girls schools and then our 4th choice is co-ed. Last year, we'd have got whichever one we put first, which will be down to changing demographics in London, so I'm hoping the same is true this year. As recently as 3 years ago, we wouldn't have got either of our first 2 choices on either faith or distance grounds, so I'm not counting my chickens!

We should be safe with either of our 3rd or 4th choices, as there's no year we wouldn't have got either of them, but still - I just want to know now!

You can see each school's oversubscription criteria in the admissions policy for 2026 entry on its website. From this, you can work out under which criterion you think your DC should be ranked. Then ask your home LA admissions team

1. to confirm your criterion (and explain why, if it's not what you think)
2. to confirm that your DC was ranked correctly and
3. under which criterion the last place was offered (and, if the same criterion as your DC, how applicants were ranked within that criterion- tie-break rules must be published as part of the schools admissions policy, but you can ask)

@Tahoe11 when we were in your situation, we got a call from our first preference school on my sons first week at his third choice school , they had gone back earlier then first choice , Different London councils ( son was number 1 on the waiting list ) . We let him decide what he wanted to do , he chose to move to first choice.

Depends upon the school's admissions policy.

Places are generally offered in the following order

EHCP (always first)
Looked After Children & previously looked after children including adoption/fostering from overseas care
Other criteria (faith, siblings, etc).

Everybody in one criteria is then ranked - and any sub divisions of medical or exceptional need, which is things like being the foster sibling, a parent with terminal cancer so they need to be close to home/younger siblings' primary, etc, applied - and the distance, usually provided by the local authority in a straight line to the published location of the front gate, is deployed as the final tiebreaker. The presence of a bus route or not is irrelevant, just as whether the parent has a car and a wfh job so could make the journey more easily is.

The other children could live closer in a straight line. They could have been in care, a parent could be terminally ill - so many circumstances could mean that they were offered a place - it could even be the case that the parent who completed the application put the school they didn't get lower down the priorities and has forgotten all about it..

By all means appeal, but having a bus stop round the corner whereas somebody else doesn't isn't any concern of the school, practically or legally.

I don't know where you are based but most of the top state schools have a high level of non white children. Do you mean top ten or something or just that it's got an outstanding badge?

It’s non selective and surrey

Have a look at West London Free School allocations on the link below. They do this already (45 out of 130 places go to pupil premium). So maybe they are going roll this out....

https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-03/how-lbhf-school-places-were-offered-2026-v2.pdf

I also spoke to our Admissions Team today. Very helpful guy answered all of my (many) questions. In complete contrast to the trauma of the year my eldest got her high school place where we literally had very limited options (although actually worked out really well) he said that we could have got any of our 3 choices due to our location. I never anticipated that. Highly unique is what he said. So we are on the waitlist for our second choice due to DD being indecisive. He did say that last year that school didn’t offer out any wait list spots but you never know. If catchment has changed so much this year she might be in with a chance.
i actually feel very fortunate as although she’s changed her mind about the school she wants and she might not get to go there, the school she has is good & she will have family support there. It’s a shame they don’t share the catchment data prior to people submitting their choices so we can be more informed. Surely they have this info.

Do you mean they don't share the furthest distances offered last year? Most LAs do in some form, are you sure they don't?

No in all these cases as we’ve known the parents for over ten years in some cases.

Yes they do share last years data but it changes every year. So for our area, the catchment has increased this year & if we had know that, it would have potentially influenced what we put as first choice but we don’t find this out until the day the school allocations are released. It’s a shame they aren’t able to supply this years info earlier so you can make a more informed decision on your choice. You would think they know what the current year reach is likely to be as they know the birth rates etc but I obviously don’t know how all of the analytics work behind the scenes.

I'm not following - do you mean an actual defined catchment area that gives priority to people living within it? In which case, it will be available as part of the admissions criteria.

Or what I think you mean is the furthest area from which they've admitted a child this year has grown - that is defined by who applies this year, so how could that be known any earlier?

I think you’re looking at it back to front - they’ve no way of knowing what the distances will be until the applications are in.

We’ve been caught out by a school becoming much more popular and the ‘catchment’ shrinking dramatically this year (from over 3km to 1.7). Almost everyone I’ve heard from has got a place at one of their lower preferences and some didn’t even get one of their six. It’s caught everyone by surprise, which is slightly comforting (but also not!)

Tbf it could still be that some are LAC and you don’t know. It’s not something that everyone shares, even with friends.

But anyway, supposing the further away DC don’t have that reason for being given a place, what are the actual criteria? The most common is LAC/EHCP naming the school, sometimes children of staff, then catchment if the school has one (as per the example local to me), then distance from the school (or just distance if no specific catchment). Some secondary schools give priority to siblings or siblings in catchment; some schools operate a feeder system. Are any of those the case?

If not and the main criteria (once we have done LAC and other priority groups, which are usually relatively small) is distance, and you are nearer (check how the distance is measured – sometimes it’s a straight line, sometimes it’s closest walkable route, which can be a very different thing) then it’s possible a mistake has been made.

So I just checked my DCs' old school and the criteria are:

• LAC and PLAC
• DC in "normal area" with siblings
• Non-siblings in normal area
• DC with siblings but not in normal area
• DC of staff
• Anyone else who stated a preference

Distance in a straight line is used as a tie-breaker. Your preferred school should have similar info on its website.

Your decision letter should say on what grounds you were not given a place in your top preference. What is the reason? If there is a mistake you should query it asap with the LA.

Thank you. We compared last distance offered to their address for the three higher pref ones and there’s less than 50m for all of them so I think just very bad luck and he’s very likely to get second choice once lists move 🤞🏻

@NameyMacChangeyyes you’re right. There are so many factors to consider really. It’s just wishful thinking. What will be will be. She’s still got a decent school so we are in a good position really

Hate to say it but we did this. We lived in an area with an awful school. I know as I worked there as a teacher and left teaching as there are only so many times a day you can be called a . We saved hard and bought in a more expensive area (about 45 minutes away) where the school was much nicer. I don't know if it is morally wrong or not. No way we could afford private and we have sacrificed a lot to move house. People might think its a negative thing--but i reallt wanted my kids to have a good school experience. I was worried about them going to the sink school as it was really scary at time. I couldn't cope with it as an adult. I know not everyone has the luxury of choice however.

Genuinely don't understand your negative feelings about this - why do you "hate to say it" that you chose where to live based on what was important to you? How on earth is that morally wrong? Any more than living near a station or lots of shops or by a lovely park.

What on earth would be a morally neutral way of choosing a house to you - by lottery or something?

I hate to say it because loads of people are really judgysaying it is playing the system! You are righthaving a nice school was important to us and where we choose to spend our money. But people have lots of moral judgements about people moving into good catchment areas. If we'd stayed in our old area we could have probably had a bigger house, a nicer car and the occasional holiday. Being a teacher I see the difference a good school can make.

So out of the 650k pupils starting secondary every year approximately, how many have moved and planned ahead to get into the right sort of catchment? I reckon if over 100k are doing grammar school tests it will easily be hundreds of thousands of people who rented or bought houses specifically to get their DC into a school they are comfortable with.
Personally, I do not know anyone at our state primary (not a soul) who would have just sent their DC to any school without worrying about it.
Far from being rare or gaming the system, it is what the majority of parents do. And includes those renting and not rich as well.

So....? Is that a bad thing?

@Mithral - families caring about education and their DC is a good thing. However, it’s bad that so many people feel they have to spend so much money to get what should be access to good state education. I would love to know how much it costs on average. I think it was 5k for tutoring for 2 years for grammar. But stamp duty can be way in excess of that and moving costs for rents are high too.
So basically access to good state education in this country is really not free for most families.

Ah got you sorry and yes agreed. I wish there was a more even quality of school definitely. There is a bit of it being hard to separate cause and effect though in terms of wealthy areas having better schools.

It's not just that it ends up being more expensive near excellent schools. There is also a lot of the school ends up being excellent because the demographic is wealthy.

That is also shit obviously and the reasons that wealth and educational excellence are so strongly linked is a whole other thread.

Edit - just to give my own anecdotal experience. I moved to my (very expensive) area long before I thought of having kids and did not look at the schools at all. When it comes to having kids I already live in an area where the schools are great. I am the sort of person who (statistically not at all every single case) has children who do well at school. I'm well off, securely employed, well educated. People like me can afford to live here then our kids keep the schools high attaining.

There are interventions that can help stop this toxic link between wealth and educational success but they are long term and unpopular with a lot of voters. It's really depressing.

Hi! What category was your DD in?!

@Nkmama15 Hi! She got an 'Other Christian' place - so pleased. Unsure what band she would have been in, but would assume A or B. Were you also offered a place?

*Band 1 or 2!