Introduction

This page is about waiting lists for Merton community schools only.

If your child's name is on a waiting list for a faith school, an academy, a free school, or a school in another borough, the waiting list arrangements will be different, and you should contact the school directly to find out how their waiting list works.

Check your waiting list position

If your child is already on a waiting list for a Merton community school, please use your application reference number to find out where they are placed on the waiting list:

Check your waiting list position

Please note this waiting list will not be updated between 16 April 2024 and 17 May 2024 while the Reception second round of allocations is being prepared.

Please be aware that School Admissions does not hold waiting list information for Church Schools, Academies, Free Schools or schools in other boroughs and you will not be given waiting list information for those schools.

Renew your place on a waiting list

When to renew your place

The renewal form is available for a month up to the waiting list closing date each term. The timetable is detailed below.

• Spring term:
  Renewal form is available from 1 March to 31 March. 
  Waiting lists close on 31 March.
• Summer term:
  Renewal form is available from 1 July to 31 July. 
  Waiting lists close on 31 July.
• Autumn term:
  Renewal form is available from 1 December to 31 December. 
  Waiting lists close on 31 December.

What happens after you submit the renewal form

You will receive an email confirming that your request has been received and will be processed. The email will confirm that School Admissions will contact you if there are any queries regarding your request. The email will also confirm when you will need to submit a new request if a place cannot be offered.

If you don't renew your place

After the waiting list closes, the names of any children where the parent has not written in will be removed. If at a later date you decide that you would still like your child to be considered for the school for which their name was on the waiting list, it will be necessary for you to complete a new transfer form.

How waiting lists work

Joining a waiting list

If you apply as part of the main round of applications, your child's name will be automatically added to waiting lists for any higher preference schools than the one offered. You must complete the online renewal form each term if you want your child's name to stay on the list.

If you are not yet on a waiting list but are considering a change of school for your child, you can request a transfer.

Your position on the waiting list

Waiting lists are held in order of the admissions criteria for the school - these are the same criteria used when a school is oversubscribed and they are ranked for offers.

This means that any new application is added to the list based on the same criteria so you can go down the list as well as up. If someone is added to the list who lives closer or who meets a higher criteria, they will be placed above you on the list. Further information about the admission criteria can be found on the relevant pages of our website:

• Nursery Applications
• Reception Applications
• Transfer to Secondary School Applications

When we offer you a place

If a vacancy arises at a school, the place will be offered to the child whose name is first on the waiting list at that time. If this is your child, School Admissions will contact you with further details. You may be asked to arrange for your child's current school to complete a transfer form as part of this process.

If you are waiting to hear about a transfer and you already have a local school, your child should continue to attend their previous school until an offer is made elsewhere.

Contact us

If you have any questions please contact:

School Admissions Team 
Civic Centre 
Morden 
SM4 5DX

Email admissions@merton.gov.uk