If you are not accepted at the school that was your first preference, but you are accepted at your second preference, you will be put on a waiting list for your first preference.
If you are accepted by your third preference you will be put on the waiting list for your first and second preference.
If you are not accepted at your preferred school you may choose to apply to another school (different to your original choices). If your new preference is oversubscribed you can request to be put on the waiting list. So you may be on the waiting list for all your initial preferences, and a new one.
In-year transfers
If you apply for a school that is oversubscribed in the middle of the year, you will be put on a waiting list.
Find out where you are on a waiting list
Waiting lists are available from 13 May 2024.
When a place becomes available
When a place becomes available all children on the waiting list will be considered.
The oversubscription criteria (contained within each admissions policy found on the individual page for each school) will be used to determine which pupil will be offered the place.
Positions on a waiting list must follow the same order as the admissions criteria and are not allocated on a first come, first served basis.
If new or late applications have a higher priority under the admissions criteria, they will be ranked higher than those who have been on the waiting list for some time. Therefore, it’s possible that over time a child’s position on a waiting list can change.
Waiting list lengths
A waiting list can be lengthened when any future applications for new pupils are refused and the names of these children are added to the list.
These names are not added to the end of the list but are inserted according to how well they meet the admissions criteria. So, a new application from a child with a higher priority for admission than any of the children already on the list would force all those children down by one place.
A waiting list can be shortened if any places become free at the preferred school. The free place would be offered to the child at the top of the waiting list. If the place is accepted, all the other children on the list would go up by one position. If the place is declined, the child in the top position would be removed from the list and the child in the next position would be offered the place.
Moving house while on a waiting list
A child’s position on a waiting list can also change if they move house. However, the change in position only takes effect when parents supply the School Admissions Team with evidence of the house move, e.g. a tenancy agreement or solicitor’s letter confirming an exchange of contracts. Parents can ask for their child’s name to be removed from a waiting list at any time.
Appealing when you are on a waiting list
Being on a waiting list does not affect your right of appeal.