Offer of a school place

All admission authorities use an 'Equal Preference Scheme'. At the first stage of the process, each of your preferences is considered, regardless of your ranking or preference order, alongside all other expressions of preference for the school. All preferences expressed for a school are ranked purely against the school's oversubscription (admission) criteria.

• If a school is oversubscribed (there are more applications than available places): Places will be offered strictly in accordance with the admission criteria stated in the admission policy for that school
• If a school is undersubscribed: Places will be offered to all applicants
• If you could be offered a place at more than one of your preferences: A place will be offered at the school which you have ranked highest in your application. Lower ranked offers will be returned to the system to be offered to other applicants for those schools
• If your child did not receive a place at your higher ranked school: They will be placed on the waiting list for the schools ranked higher in your application
• If a place cannot be offered at any of your preferred schools or you did not complete an application form: A place will be allocated at your catchment school, if a space is available
• If there are no spaces available at the catchment school: A place will be allocated at the nearest community school to your child's home address with spaces available, or the nearest own admission authority school which is prepared to offer a place

After the offer date, we can detail schools with places available at that time of asking. For community and voluntary controlled schools, the admission policy is that of the local authority - Southampton City Council. For academies, voluntary aided schools, and trust schools, the admission policy for the school is that of the Academy Trust or Governing Body of the school, which for each school is their own admission authority.

The admission policies set out the priorities against which preferences are ranked and places offered.

You will be given reasons why a place could not be allocated at your chosen schools. Your child will be automatically added to the waiting list of your higher ranked school(s) where your application has been unsuccessful. When a place becomes available, it will be offered to the child who is at the top of the list at that time. The waiting list is ordered in accordance with each school's admissions policy.

You also have the right to make a formal appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel. The decision of the Independent Appeal Panel is final and binding on both the admission authority and the applicant. The decision letter will also include details of how to appeal.

If through the process of oversubscription an applicant is not eligible for a place at any of their preferred schools, they are offered a place at the nearest school to their home address with a space available. 

While applicants have the right to express preferences, and these will be met, if possible, through the process of oversubscription, this is not the same as having ‘choice’.

It is the duty of the Local Authority to provide a state-funded school place to every child who requires one, but it is not bound to provide a school of preference if this cannot be offered due to oversubscription. It is also not suitable for applicants to refuse a school offered on the basis of it not being a preferred school.

Local Authorities cannot be compelled to provide a school of preference when another school place is available, or to provide home tuition in lieu of a school place.

Waiting lists are kept in the order of a school’s oversubscription criteria, rather than the length of time a child has been on that list. Because of this, waiting lists are re-ranked with each new applicant and an applicant can move down, as well as up, a waiting list.

Read more about waiting lists.

Always accept the offered place

We advise that you accept any school offer made to you, even if this is not a school of your preference, to ensure that your child has education secured for September. It may be that a school of preference has a vacancy that your child can be offered from the waiting list between now and September, but this is not a guarantee.

Our advice is always to accept the offer made to you now so your child is not without a school placement if a preferred school does not become available.

Refusing a place may mean you miss out

If you refuse an offer made to you now, there is no guarantee that the same offer can be made to you at a later date. If this school fills its vacancies you may be given a school further away from your address.

Accepting a school place at another school will not affect your waiting list position with preferred schools or stop you being offered a higher preference school.

If you are declining a school place, you will need to inform us how your child will otherwise be suitably educated. It is a requirement that parents ensure their children are suitably educated. If you do not accept the school place offered to you, you must establish with us how you otherwise intend for them to be educated.

Our duty as a Local Authority

The Local Authority has a duty to provide a school place to every child who requires one, but that this does not have to be at a school of your preference, if this cannot be offered due to oversubscription. It is not appropriate to refuse a school place and not otherwise source education for your child simply because you have not been offered a school of preference.

The Local Authority cannot provide home tutoring in lieu of you receiving an offer to a school of preference. You must accept the school offered to you or otherwise secure appropriate education.