After you get your school offer

4. Waiting lists

What is a waiting list? 

You can add your child to a waiting list for any of the schools in your original application. 

If a space becomes free, the school uses its admissions policy to decide who they can take. 

That means: 

  • it will look at things like how close your child lives and other individual factors 
  • it won’t decide on a first-come-first-served basis 

Admissions rules – how places are offered in East Sussex 

How to join a waiting list

We are responsible for the waiting lists for local authority controlled schools and manage the waiting list for the following academies:

Primary:

  • Breakwater Academy
  • Burfield Academy
  • Chantry Community Primary School
  • Christ Church CE Primary and Nursery Academy
  • Churchwood Primary Academy
  • Dudley Infant Academy
  • Hawkes Farm Academy
  • High Cliff Academy
  • Hollington Primary Academy
  • Hurst Green CE Primary School
  • Langney Primary Academy
  • Little Common School
  • Newick CE Primary School
  • Ninfield CE Primary School
  • Northiam CE Primary School
  • Parkland Infant School
  • Peacehaven Heights Academy
  • Phoenix Academy
  • Robsack Wood Primary Academy
  • St Andrew's CE Infants
  • St John's Meads CE Primary School
  • St Leonards CE Primary Academy
  • St Paul's CE Academy
  • Sedlescombe CE Primary School
  • Shinewater Primary School
  • Silverdale Primary Academy
  • Telscombe Cliffs Academy
  • The Baird Primary Academy
  • The Haven Voluntary Aided CE Methodist Primary School
  • West St Leonards Primary Academy
  • White House Academy

Secondary:

  • The Hastings Academy
  • The St Leonards Academy
  • The Turing School.

For all other own admissions authority schools, please contact the school direct.

To join a waiting list, please email your child’s:

  • name
  • date of birth
  • address
  • relevant siblings and
  • the name(s) of the schools whose waiting list you wish to join

Phase transfers waiting list -for children joining a secondary, primary or junior school in September 2025.

In year waiting list email - for all in-year applications.

We won't be able to tell you where your child is on the waiting list for starting school in September 2025 until after the deadline for accepting places.

What happens if your waiting list application is successful? 

Before your child starts school

  • we’ll automatically withdraw your original allocation and replace it with the new school 
  • we’ll let you know in writing that we’ve changed your child’s school 

After your child starts school: 

  • we’ll give you 10 school days to accept or refuse the place 

If you wish to withdraw from a waiting list at any time, you must do so in writing to the Admissions and Transport Team.

Staying on waiting lists

You need to renew the request each term to keep your child on a waiting list. If you don’t renew we’ll remove your child’s name.

For local authority controlled schools and the academies listed above, please email in year waiting list giving us:

  • your child’s name and

  • reminding us of the school(s) in question.

For all other schools, contact the school directly.

Example (for schools controlled by East Sussex County Council):

Jack, who lives outside a school’s community area, joins their waiting list in January. Jenny lives inside the school’s community area and joins the waiting list in February. A place becomes available in March. This will be offered to Jenny first as she has a higher priority according to the admissions rules.





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