Trying for out of catchment school - risky?

[MamaMeercat]

The vast majority of the schools in my city are notoriously bad with GCSE passmarks of 10%-20%, very unruley kids etc.

We are lucky enough to "just" live in the catchment area of one of the only good schools (SCHOOL A). It has a great reputation and is over subscribed but if you're in the catchment area, you will get in.

Thing is, there is another school (SCHOOL B) nearby, even better than this one, one of the best in the area and we're JUST out of the catchment area (we're talking a few doors away from the border!). It serves the neighbouring village and we're right on the border of it.

He would have a decent chance of getting in this school and this is the school he wants to go to.

Dilema ....

Do I put SCHOOL B as the first choice on our form? if I do this, our catchment school would be listed as 2nd choice and apparantly, not many people get in if they list it as a second choice, even if they are in catchment. So if he didn't get in SCHOOL B, he may end up not being able to get in either school.

Or...

Do I put the catchment school down (SCHOOL A) as first choice and SCHOOL B down as second choice? That way, we're bound to get him into one of them.

What would you do? Both good schools but SCHOOL B is better.

I would do A as the first, B as the second. It's too much of a risk, especially if they are oversubscribed.

Could you put down A as first choice, B as second and then ask to go on the waiting list for B and see if a space comes up over the summer?

Does school B/the council give info about how many places went to out of catchment kids in the last few years and how far away those kids lived? Think this sort of info can be v enlightening- I discovered that one school I like the look of has NEVER offered a place to kids living over 2000 metres from the school, for example, so won't bother applying there even though it is much nearer and better than some of our other options.

It depends whether putting school A down second means you run the risk of not getting either. In my area it's an equal preference first system, so people who put A down as second choice compete equally with those who put it down first choice - you get a place at the school which you've put highest, that can offer you a place. ie if school B can take you and school A can take you if you put B over A you get one offer: B. But if school B can't take you and school A can, you get a place at A.

Yes, you absolutely need to know whether they have an equal preference system, as Babbity says. If they do, you're OK!

Our local and highly desirable school gets 750 applicants for 300 places BUT when it comes down to it, most of the applications are hopefuls who really stood no chance BUT they wouldn't have risked trying their hand at all in a preference system.