Hi

I am trying to understand school allocation mechanism based on CAF form preferences

To explain my question, I will try with below example

School A (1st Preference) - Exams October, results November
School B (2nd Preference) - Exams October, results November
School C (3rd Preference) - Exams September, results October
CAF deadline set by county = 31st October (i.e. before results of School A and B)

Scenario/Question:
1. Child does not pass School A exams
2. Child passes School B exams
3. School B allocates seats to all eligible children who has put as 1st preference
4. Will child lose out in School B allocation as it was a 2nd preference on CAF form ?
5. Do different counties allocate schools differently?

3 no, schools all use the equal preference system and don’t account for position on CAF. Admissions criteria is the only thing that counts
4 No equal preference system means this doesn’t happen.
5 no, they all use the same system

You really need to read through all the the 'information for parents' on your LA's website, before completing your CAF. There are often worked examples, much along the lines of the scenarios you are thinking about.

As Tinkers says, all admissions authorities must adhere to the same system (although e.g. the number of preferences a parent is allowed can vary, so long as it is at least 3, plus schools have quite a lot of freedom over their oversubscription, so long as the overall policy and the individual criteria are legal). The Admissions Code is the 'bible' for admissions authorities, alongside other pieces of legislation such as the School Standards and Framework Act.

A little light reading :

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code

_________________
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx

Thank you for response and details.

Very useful and clear now.

Just for the record (for others reading this thread in the future), head teachers often cause confusion over this at open evenings by saying things like "If you want your DC to come to this school you must put it first on your CAF".
Either the head doesn't know what they are talking about, or what they really mean to say is "if this is genuinely your first choice, the only way to be sure of it being allocated it is by putting it first, otherwise if you are eligible for whatever school you did put first, you will be allocated that one, as the system assumes you have put them in the true order of preference".
Of course, there is the chance that some like to boast about how many first preferences they got, compared to the school up the road, but I couldn't possibly comment .