Free school place guides
Plain-English guides for parents in England. Free, with no email and no card.
School application guides
Applying for a primary or secondary school place in England? These eight guides explain how the application really works, before you press send. Free, with no email and no card.
1How the order really worksThe thing almost every parent gets wrong2Use every slot you are givenAn empty slot is a free chance thrown away3What happens if you get none of themThis is the outcome the whole form exists to avoid4The rules schools use to chooseThey are published. Almost nobody reads them.5Being late is the one you cannot undoLate forms are looked at after every on-time one6Get your address rightIt is the address on the day they decide, not the day you apply7The extra forms some schools needNo form, no rules applied8Before you press sendTen minutes that can save you a year
School appeal guides
Refused a school place in England? These eight guides explain how appeals actually work, in the order you need them. Free, with no email and no card.
1Your datesEverything else on this site depends on one date, and it is on your letter2Accept the place you were offeredThis is the mistake that costs families a school place every single year3Which kind of appeal are you inThere are three, and they are not the same fight4Who you actually appeal toIt is not always the council, and sending it to the wrong place burns days5How the waiting list really worksFor a lot of families this is the better route, not the backup6The two halves of a hearingAlmost every appeal argues the second half and skips the first7What a panel is not allowed to considerThis list is where most appeals quietly die8When not to appealSometimes the honest answer is to put your effort somewhere else