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!

wow those distances are much smaller than last year. I thought this year they’d be more due to the cliff drop of enrolment.

eek!

Westminster & Lambeth are the most impacted boroughs for falling rolls so fingers x!

This is a bit worrying - how can they be much smaller if rolls are generally falling in London?

Wow the Graveney selective places have gone out really far & that’s with a lower score.

@Elembeeee which distances look much smaller?

@somuchbedding Graveney and Chestnut Grove are both much shorter than last year.

Are you comparing the Aug data?

I’m so sorry hear that even can't imagine how heartbreaking was, it must have been really upsetting. This is our first experience and we are out of catchment so not sure about the outcome unless he is in the top20. Anyway wont sleep until the email come. All the very best for your DD.

Ah yes. But quite a shock to see the difference in the first offers and final admission.

That’s a lot of waitlist sweat for many folks.

I wonder if both those schools might benefit from people going state instead of private.

I have known children who got into both of the schools on the the day before term started, so the movement really does happen until the last minute

Graveney has gone out much further & lowered the score to fill the selective places. There are more siblings which will impact the non selective places.

CG doesn’t look that different to me as an average, there is always movement up & down within the bands.

Ah yes. But quite a shock to see the difference in the first offers and final admission.

That makes more sense, there is so much movement between now at Aug particularly for the selective places due to the grammars/people choosing private.

I wonder if both those schools might benefit from people going state instead of private.

Wandsworth has a high % that go private & VAT is unlikely to change it.

I think it's a typo from Wandsworth. They surely mean "and those scoring 250 living up to a distance of 1966 metres from the school, offered a place" not 240, as that wouldn't make any sense.

So everyone scoring 251 gets in, and of the remaining on 250 they only had enough places to let those in up to 1966m.

Which means the qualifying Wandsworth test score is 1 point higher than last year and reflects slightly more competition for places

I have known children who got into both of the schools on the the day before term started, so the movement really does happen until the last minute

There is even movement in the first few weeks because it’s only after school has started and a child doesn’t turn up that you know you have an available place.

@MyWiseOpalLurker Yes that could be a typo but it’s still gone out really far compared to usual March distance offers.

Good luck all!

Yes broke my heart I couldn't bring myself to tell.him till after school I felt like he was thrown right at the bottom of the barrel none of he's friends were going was an all boys school also a 40 min bus ride my son wing travel on any public transport either he would throw up so even if he was sick getting there he wouldn't go back he was my 3rd child oldest went to another school but in hoping the sibling card will go in our favour as I have 1 in yr 10

I’m in Yorkshire, and we get our results at 10am tomorrow. Our first choice was a school that we are just out of catchment for (by about 100m) - it’s generally regarded as the best school in the area. We got DD into one of the primary schools in the catchment area with the plan of moving house before secondary school applications, but Covid and redundancies meant we couldn’t afford to move. The only saving grace is that being at a feeder primary is one of the admissions criteria and puts her higher up the list, and apparently everyone from feeder primaries got into the school last year.

Our second choice is our catchment school. It’s also a good school and a couple of friends have sent their children there, but the main issue is that all DD’s friends are likely to get into to our first choice. She’s quite quiet and shy, but has a small group of close friends and I know that going with her friends will make the transition easier.

Our local council says that over 90% of parents get into their first choice school, but if you look at the published data, you can see that the majority of people have their catchment school as their first choice, so they’re probably guaranteed a place!

I wish I had a catchment school! I don't understand why there isn't always one.

I wish London wouldn’t make us wait until after 5pm . I just don’t understand the logic behind thing. So frustrating !

Not wanting to be inundated with the number of calls they would get from the largest city in the UK the moment eAdmissions updates. I reckon they all queue by the door, waiting for somebody to hit 'send' and then run for the lifts.

Less facetiously, it's a massive demand upon servers - waiting until after peak time means that it's less likely they'll fall foul of the Microsoft emails per minute limit and daily ceiling, along with the numbers accessing the app, emailing LAs and schools, etc.

I'm not sure watching Lord of the Flies is making me any less tense!!!

Other information for the day;

Accept your place. It doesn't affect places on waiting lists, doesn't affect appeal outcomes, doesn't lock you in to sending your DC to that school - but it does ensure that if all else fails, they do actually have a place guaranteed for September.

You can ask to be added to waiting lists/apply to schools you didn't include as preferences.

Don't believe anybody who tells you that declining a place means they'll have to give you one at your favourite school.

Don't believe anybody who tells you the way to do it is to turn up at the preferred school reception and demand to see somebody or tell them you'll bring a folding chair and your kid can sit on that.

Don't believe anybody who tells you tales of a friend whose friend was a Governor or in the PTA who did favours for friends or knew the Head personally.

The Head has sod all to do with admissions decisions. The Governors didn't even get to see the names when ranking them. So wanting to contact the Head is pointless.

Don't phone up every day to see if you can get a place. Nobody knows until after all the existing offers have been accepted or declined and neighbouring boroughs have also sent through their residents' responses to the LA, which have then been input and the details sent to the schools. The next batch of offers is usually after Easter for this reason.

Do not try to find out the name of the person who does admissions at the school so you can trace their personal details/address/etc and contact them through Facebook, instagram or by knocking on their door.

Do not ask how much the school needs in terms of a donation.

Do not waste your time telling the school how lovely your child is. They're sure your child is indeed lovely, as they all are. That doesn't mean that they could or would break admissions law to admit your child on the basis of them being class president, a lovely singer or just an all round adorable angel.

Do not rant about the Labour Party, immigrants, refugees, religious observance, VAT on private school fees or anything else.

And whatever you do, DO NOT send your kid to the school in September with uniform, switch your phone off and expect the school will 'just have to keep them now'. They don't and if you do not come straight back and pick them up, the Police and Social Services will be called.

And yes, all of those have happened.

Best of luck to everyone expecting offers at midnight!