Put the schools in the order you prefer. Each school will decide if they can offer you a place based on their oversubscription criteria and they don’t know where you ranked them on your CAF.
So there is no harm in putting a optimistic choice first as it will not impact your subsequent choices. So long as you list the schools in your true order of preference the LA will offer you the highest school on your list that you are eligible for.
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School admissions across the country
School admissions are coordinated by local authorities to ensure that children across the country are offered a single school place on the same day. This system is fairer, with more parents being offered one of their preferred schools earlier.
All applications are considered at the same time. Admission rules are applied equally, regardless of how you ordered (ranked) the schools on your form.
We will only use your order of preference (rank) if it's possible to offer your child a place at more than one of your preferred schools. If this is the case, we'll offer you a place at the highest ranked school possible.
The allocation process is automated for all community schools. Officers aren't involved and don't influence decisions. The only exceptions are when deciding whether a child qualifies for a place under Rule 2 and when allocating a school not ranked on your application form.
Schools and academies responsible for their own admissions provide us with a list of pupils they will offer places to.
We offer all places on behalf of all schools in Hertfordshire.
Don’t forget the lower choices on your CAF need to be increasingly realistic and it is prudent to list your local catchment school.