11 Plus Exams Forum

I am looking for some advice here.
Our daughter has received 2 confirmed offers and 1 offer to be placed on a waiting list.
The waiting list offer is our preffered school, of the other two offers one we are certain to reject and the other we will consider as an alternative.
Does anyone have any experience how waiting lists work, how likely is it to be offered a place if we are on the waiting list? How soon before or after the deadline dates are waiting list places offered? Your thoughts on this will be greatly appreciated.

It strikes me that with so many people applying to so many schools, that a waiting list place might very well turn into a proper place. If I were you I'd call the school and see what they say.
The school my son applied for asked us how many other places we were applying for, I guess to help them judge the munber of offers to make.
Good luck.
How did some of these poor children (or lucky I guess if they have c 1/2 dozen offers) manage to fit in so many exams?

Had our letter on the 22nd and have also been told my DD is on a waiting list. She's a bit disappointed, and puts it down to an uncongenial comprehension passage on the English paper. (Personally I put it down to her maths, which was a huge worry all along - for me at least!). She's not devastated because what she really wants is a place at our local grammar and she's 100% confident that she'll get one. I, on the other hand, am 90% confident that she won't. So we've got another week's waiting until the state school offers, then (probably) bitter disappointment, then a further week's waiting until the private school deadline for acceptances on 10th March and then MAYBE an offer.

Having got that off my chest, I do think that if you're on a waiting list there's a good chance of getting a place. Looking at other threads on this forum, there are people who've been offered two or three schools so will obviously be turning down one or two places, and of course anyone who gets offered a grammar school place on 3rd March will almost certainly take that in preference to an offer of a private school place. I suspect (though this is pure guessing on my part) that the size of the waiting list is based partly on the school's experience of the number of places likely to be freed up. I don't think they would put you on a waiting list of, say, 50, and tell you about it if they rarely make more than 15-20 further offers. At least, so I tell myself every night while I'm trying to get to sleep.

Until now I've always felt that some people make an unnecessary fuss and get far too emotional and over-analytic about this whole schools admission business - but this is torture!

We received our post on the 22nd, just to find out that my son is on a reserve for MTS & John Lyon School. This was quite disappointing as there was no firm offer. I did phone the schools & was told to wait & see how many rejections they get, but the chances are fairly good.

Is anyone else in the same boat or does anyone have any experience of outcome for reserves.? The anxiety & the waiting goes on! Thanks.

anneka wrote:We received our post on the 22nd, just to find out that my son is on a reserve for MTS & John Lyon School. This was quite disappointing as there was no firm offer. I did phone the schools & was told to wait & see how many rejections they get, but the chances are fairly good.

Is anyone else in the same boat or does anyone have any experience of outcome for reserves.? The anxiety & the waiting goes on! Thanks.

there will be movement, anneka, after the state offers.

A friend's son was 35 on the waiting list for Habs Boys, did a late test for John Lyons (after all offers went out already) and got a place there.

doing very well there. So don't lose hope or feel too despondent.
Good Luck.

there really will be heaps of movement now - particularly next week. I think everyone we knew on waiting lists a few years ago got an offer, some even from schools where they hadn't asked to stay on the lists, and in the summer holidays! Wait listing means you're up to standard and in the end they all offer a lot more than there are places because they know some children are getting six or so (particularly easy in the consortium where you can pick up lots but only sit 2 sets of exams). But it's very hard to judge hence great variations in school intakes year by year.
Then the state selectives come in and then people drop out of music and drama places too so they come up and more movement, so honestly I would be fairly confident - say goodbye to those you really don't want (if only to help those others waiting but it also helps move the process along)and ring the favourite school and be Really keen.

We are in the same position, with a waiting list offer for King Edwards School.

My little boy was disappointed by this as he really likes this school, but is an optimist so is quietly confident he will get a place in the end. I, on the other hand, am quietly gibbering with fear that he won't

I do so hope he gets a place and am quite heartened by people saying he has a good chance.

independent schools tend to have loads of movement on waiting lists - my kids have been at independent primaries where several of the kids have had up to 3 places confirmed at independent schools - obviously they only take one so quite a number are turned down,

The first of these schools was in an area with no grammar schools and there was still movement - I reckon it will be even more in the grammar school areas where some kids will give up all the independent places next week.

I have heard of someone who was wait listed but panic got the better of them so they sold their house and moved to near their 2nd place school during the summer... just before the start of the term in September they received a letter from their first choice school, itself around the corner from their old house!

There will be loads of movement and it won't happen until the deadlines start to expire. I think state offers do not have to be accepted until 2 weeks after March 3rd. The big movement should therefore be towards the end of March.

Good Luck.

Regards
SVE

Thanks for all the views expressed. The general consensus is that, a waiting list offer, more often then not will get my daughter a place at the preffered school but the time scale of when that will happen is not assured. The dilemma that I am facing is that, If I accept and pay a deposit to the school that has given a confirmed offer and then if the preffered school does make an offer later on, I should be prepared to lose my deposit. It would be great if the waiting list offer is confirmed by the 3rd March but somehow I can't see that happening. Waiting for a final confirmation seems too risky as we may end up losing out on our other option. Is there another way ?