I have added two grammar and two state schools in CAF preferences. All schools are in catchment. Someone told me that if you dont qualify for grammar school, sometime council offer you some random school near your house due to limited spaces in your state school preferences.

Is it correct?

I can only find two good school state school in my area and dont want to add any bad choices(this will give them option)?


Can anyone please guide?

If you don't qualify for the 2 GS then these will be ignored and your 3rd and 4th choices will effectively become your 1st and 2nd. If you are eligible for a place at one of these, you will be offered it.

If you aren't eligible then you will be offered a place at the nearest school that has a space - might well be some distance and a school you may not like.

Best to fill all the spaces on the CAF to have as many options as possible

And, just to be clear, grammar schools are state schools

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mad?

You say you are in catchment but are you nearer than recent allocation distances? It's safer to put down schools you want that you live near enough to.

There is a description of the equal preference system on the Buckinghamshire Council website.

And you will find the previous distances allocated here. These can of course change every year but they should give you a good idea whether you stand a chance or not for a particular school.

Thanks All

Just to re-emphasise what others have said, you can't stop your child being allocated a school you don't want by only putting schools you do want on your CAF. If your child doesn't qualify for the schools you've listed on your CAF (eg because the score wasn't high enough or you don't live close enough) you will be allocated a place at a school that has free spaces, and that school could be a long way away.

Always put down a school that you are you are confident you will get, even if this is a 'least worst' option - better to choose a place at the poor school down the road than be allocated a place at an equally poor school on the other side of the borough. Note that even schools you think are poor can be oversubscribed, and if they are you won't be offered a place there even if you live next door unless you've put it on your CAF.

and remember, if you put four schools on your CAF and then a fifth “back up”
school number five, you can go onto the waiting list for a school you are unsuccessful for BUT once you have an offer, yoi can’t go on a waitlist for the ones you put below it.

so if you went 1) Grammar A
2) Grammar B
3) Comprehensive that’s okay
4) Grammar C
5) mediocre Comp round the corner

and you get offered school 5, you can go on the waiting list for schools 1-4
If you are offered school 3 (comp) , you cannot go onto the waiting list for school 4 (grammar C) even if you pass the 11 plus, because the offered school
was
above it on the CAF. ALWAYS put schools in the desired genuine preference BUT put one definite safe offer at the bottom that you would be okay with.