What it means when you are offered a waiting list place.
After schools have completed their entrance exams such as the 4+ and 7+ assessments, or occasional place assessments, they will make one of three decisions:
No offer - because the child did not meet the expected benchmark, at that time, to gain entry to the school.
Yes offer - because the child has met and often exceeded the age related expectations.
Waiting List offer - this is the least clear outcome for parents. Usually, it means the child met the expectations, but that there were others in the same birth month or demographic that performed better and they need to make sure they offer a diverse range of places from the children that met the requirements.
What can you do when you are put on a waiting list?
The first two outcomes are pretty clear cut, but when you are put on a waiting list it can feel like you are in limbo. Typically, schools make up a waiting list with roughly the same number of pupils to the number they are going to offer a ‘yes’ to.
Some schools rank the waiting list, whilst others replace like for like when someone declines a yes offer e.g. if a girl born in April does not accept a place offered to them, they will replace them with another girl from a similar birth month.
The numbers of pupils declining a place varies from school to school. Typically in many parts of London, parents apply to several schools and they can only accept one of them! Assuming their child was offered a place from at least 2 of these schools, you can see how important the waiting list becomes.
So what can you do if you are on the waiting list?
Do let the school know how keen you are for a place - but don’t go over the top. Checking in with admissions every 2 or 3 weeks lets them know that, if they do offer a place to you, you’re very likely to accept.
Be careful when you communicate with the school as they will be forming an opinion about you. Come across as too intense or needy, and they will be thinking is this the sort of parent we want at our school? Get the balance right.
If you are on the waiting list for your target school, but are offered a place somewhere else, time things carefully before paying the acceptance fee for the second school. Hold off, but don’t miss their deadline. Waiting list names can be contacted at any time. Be clear on what is expected from you. It is a balancing act but you don’t want to be out of pocket unless you absolutely have to. Make a note your target school’s deadline for accepting offers as this is a time when they often go to the waiting list in the following days.
Make sure you have a plan B. If you are only serious about one school - what are you going to do if you don’t get offered a place? Are you considering a good local state school? If so, make sure you application is in before their deadline approached.
Waiting lists commonly run right up to the end of the summer holidays right before term starts. Notably, parents declining places in the summer has increased in the last 5 years so don’t rule it you. You still may get that golden phone call you have been waiting for!
If you have any questions about school admissions or would like like to know how we can support you in your application or preparation for entrance assessments, get in touch! We’d love to hear from you!
