Applying for London secondary schools from abroad – Camden and nearby areas

[TheCreator]

Hi everyone,
Has anyone applied for a London secondary school place while still living abroad? I’d really appreciate hearing how it worked out, particularly if you moved back during the summer before your child started Year 7.
We’re looking at Camden and surrounding areas, particularly Parliament Hill, Acland Burghley and The St Marylebone CE School, although we’re open to other suggestions. Our daughter loves art, singing and dance, and a kind, supportive atmosphere is especially important to us.
We understand that our overseas address and the timing of our move could make admission difficult, especially for oversubscribed schools. We’ll apply by 31 October, but I’d love to hear from anyone who has actually been through this:

• Did you receive an offer while still abroad?
• Did moving closer help with waiting lists, and when did you eventually get a place?
• Were councils willing to consider evidence of a planned move?
• Are there other schools you’d recommend with more realistic admission prospects?

Any first-hand experiences or practical tips would be very welcome. Thank you!

You can apply for a Camden school place while living abroad, but your application will be processed using your current overseas address until you can prove physical residence in the UK. Because state school allocations in Camden are heavily dependent on home-to-school distance, applying with an overseas address means your "distance" is measured from abroad, making it highly unlikely to secure a high-demand place in the initial allocation round.

this is a quote.

I think you can only apply when you are living in Camden. I moved to a new county about 10 years ago and although I could visit schools ahead of the move I couldn’t apply for any until I had actually moved in.

Look at the published admissions criteria for each school as well as the policy of the LA for what is acceptable in terms of an address.

You can make a late application when you arrive. Waiting lists are held in order of how an applicant meets the criteria. So if the criteria is distance anyone who moves on to the doorstep of the school will be ahead of those further away, no matter when they applied.

You apply via the LA you live in but are free to apply to schools in any borough.

Birth rates have dropped. The LA should publish a list of last year’s admissions, giving the last distance a place was offered to. Some schools admitted everyone who applied and will show as under subscribed.

You never know , these days an undersubscribed school might be just right for your Dd.

No, this is not (for a few years now) correct. All applications must be processed, but except in specific circumstances, the out of UK address will be used (see the quote upthread). If the school is undersubscribed, the place will be allocated. What won't happen until you have a local address is the LA being applied through looking for a 'nearest undersubscribed' place if none of the peferences can be met.

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

Sorry OP there is zero chance you will get into any of those schools unless you apply with a current address very close to them/ prove church attendance for Marylebone. They are hugely in demand, and people who live quite close to them often won’t get a space; the council will not look abroad to fill them.

When you actually move, live right on the doorstep as above and you will jump to the top of wait list for Parli and AB!

we might move in March/April so hoping to find a place near Parli and jump to the top-that’s plan B.
I think for Marylebone there’s another way not through church attendance-that’s just one option-as we can apply through the ordinary route too