Primary school preference list... does it work as it says in the brochure?

[Sanne Panne]

Has anyone seen proof for/against the preferences really being treated as the brochure states? We now have a good school nearby (phew) but there are two other schools that we'd love to get into even more although we don't think we will realistically get in - but it would be great to be on the waiting list of at least one of them just in case a place comes up at some point.

Should we just put the unlikely schools in places 1 and 2 and the likely one in place 3 (as long as we're happy in the odd case we ARE offered a place in school 1 or 2)? Does it really, really, really not make it less likely that we will get into our safe bet #3 than families who put that school first but live 50 meters further away?

I know it's all safe in theory but not all software works as it should...

[Cora]

My experience is that it does work and by putting the others above will mean you automatically going on the waiting lists. Remember to ask to stay on them each year though and do check that you are on.

[Curmudgeon]

no parental choice in London if you ask me

[Zo?]

My experience same as Cora's. After much deliberation & confusion, we placed our top choice 1st, next choice 2nd etc. We were offered our nearest school, which we had placed 3rd, and then got offered a place at our 1st choice school in July.

We also have friends at our daughter's school who placed it low on their list as they presumed they wouldn't get in as they lived too far away. They ended up at a school they were unhappy with & requested to be put on the waiting list for our school and were offered a place (based on proximity) after the first week of term.

Good luck. It's all very stressful, isn't it?

[Fuschia]

My understanding is a computer does all the work ... For each school, ranking all applicants then for each child, looking at each choice in turn, starting with the first, until it finds a school where you rank highly enough to be offered a place

If you are eligible for more than one school, your offer will be for the one you chose higher up your list

It was more of a gamble when southwark gave priority to 'closest community school' above straight forward distance because if your closest community school was your first choice, you could get in ahead of other children who lived closer (but for whom another community school was their closest)

So not putting your closest school first was a bit of a gamble

That criterion no longer exists

[Sanne Panne]

Ok, will trust the system and hope for the best!