Summary
Waiting lists and tie breaks are crucial when a school is oversubscribed. In England, admission authorities must keep a clear, fair and objective waiting list until at least 31 December in the year of entry. The list is ranked again under the published oversubscription criteria when new applicants join, so a child’s position can move down as well as up.
Tie breaks decide between applicants who cannot otherwise be separated by the criteria. They are often based on distance, but policies can use other clear methods such as random allocation where permitted. A buyer should check how the waiting list works, whether late applicants are included, how address changes are handled, and whether the final offered distance in a previous year is only descriptive rather than a guarantee.
Definition
A waiting list is the ranked list of applicants still seeking a place after offers have been made. A tie break is the rule used to separate applications that are otherwise equal under the oversubscription criteria.