I’ve heard conflicting advice on the school application process.

Some say a school won’t penalise you if not first on your list, others say they do.
The dilemma is do you put a school you have a 10% chance of getting in to first or a more sure bet, even if you prefer the other?

They operate an equal preferences system & do not know where you put them. You should put them in the genuine order of preference. If you can't be offered your first choice they move on the your second, and so on. You will be offered the highest place your DC is eligible for according to the admission criteria. This should be detailed on your council website.

thanks, that is what I believed..but one school was telling me different to my face.

It would be very interesting to know which one and what they actually say..

They do often tell you to put them first if you want them most, because otherwise, as stroudydad says, if you qualify for the one you did put first, then you get it even though you qualified for others further down your list too. If you have plenty of spaces, don't be nervous about putting one first that isn't a sure bet but would be your ideal. But if they were saying you'd be actually penalised for not putting them first, that's wrong and very wrong of them to be giving out that impression.

They confuse the issue by saying "If you want a place at this school you must put it first" when what they should say is "If you want a place at this school above all others you must put it first".

But what they should really say is ‘put the schools you are eligible for in the order you want to go to them.

I'm going to guess this was a rugby loving Sidcup based one? My MIL told me they were spinning this lie around back in the 80s when they were looking at schools for my DP. I said, of course they wouldn't be like that these days. Reader, they are! It's completely put me off the school.

As others have mentioned, it's absolutely B*****ks. The equal preference system is just that. You put your first choice down, if you don't qualify it moves down the list. The schools won't have a clue which parent put what as a preference. As a school admin officer working in Bexley I have never heard anything different to the admissions code happening.

Just to clarify, this is how I think the choices generally go in Bexley:

For your first/second choices you put your pie in sky ones. This might be the Dartford Grammars because of the high scores required or Bexley Grammar which has a smaller catchment area. Or St Olaves because it's super selective etc.
The you put your more realistic choices which are Beths, Townley, Chis and Sid, which have the larger catchment areas and probably Wilmington in there too.
Then if you have a 6th choice left you put in your local comprehensive.

If you don't get in your pie in the sky choices then generally if you live in Bexley you have a good chance of getting Beths and Townley.

Dude, BGS head said in his speech that he's heard this was happening at another grammar and that it's not true. I kinda wanted to see a head teacher cage match ensue but none did, sadly.