If you are not offered a place at your first preference school, you can ask for your child’s name to be placed on the waiting lists for schools that you listed on the application form as higher preferences than the one offered.

Waiting lists are kept in the same order as the oversubscription criteria for that school, not in date order of request, and children may move down a list as well as up.

If a vacancy arises in a school before the start of the school year 2025/26, then the place will be offered to the child at the top of the waiting list. If that parent declines the offer, the School Admissions Team will continue to contact, in order, others on the waiting list until the offer is taken up. Waiting lists will be kept open until admissions are completed at the end of August  2025 and will then continue as in-year waiting lists from 1 September 2025.

Your child cannot be placed on the waiting list for a school that was a lower preference than the one offered. If you wish to add a lower preference school then this will not be added until after 1 June 2025.

Offers will not be made from waiting lists until the School Admissions Team is satisfied that all information about acceptances and declines of offers made on 16 April 2025 and waiting list requests has been received and entered on the school admissions database. Late applicants will also be placed on waiting lists at this stage.