Choose an alternative you would actually accept
Visit local non-selective schools while researching grammars. Look at their curriculum, support, results, activities and journey using the same care you give a selective option.
“Backup” is a planning role, not a judgement on educational quality. It may turn out to be the school your child prefers. Describe it positively and specifically when discussing choices as a family.
Check how realistic the place is
Read the policy for the entry year. Establish the relevant catchment, sibling or other priority category and the distance method. Use official previous allocations where available, while recognising that demand can change.
Do not rely on a neighbour’s older offer or the assumption that the council must provide the nearest school. If none of your preferences can offer, the council provides an alternative place, usually at the nearest school with spaces; that may be different from the local school you had in mind.
Give it the correct place on the CAF
Put the schools in genuine preference order. If you prefer the grammar school, you can place it above the comprehensive without reducing your admissions priority at the comprehensive.
If you prefer the comprehensive, put it higher. The normal coordinated process offers the highest preference that can offer, so an artificial “safety first” order can result in receiving a school you wanted less.
Read the second-choice explanation for the difference between preserving priority and guaranteeing a place.
Avoid a list with the same risk repeated
Several grammar preferences can all depend on one test result or the same difficult catchment position. Naming more of them does not necessarily create an independent alternative.
Check what would happen if your child did not qualify, or qualified but missed every grammar under the allocation rules. Which remaining school could offer and would you accept it?
Before submission, confirm that the form contains enough acceptable choices within your council’s limit. GOV.UK says listing only one school does not increase the chance of a place there. Complete any required supplementary forms and save the final preference confirmation.
The school comparison page and your council’s published admissions guide can help you put grammar and non-selective choices into one coherent application.
A FEW MORE ANSWERS
Still wondering?
Does putting the comprehensive lower reduce our priority?
No priority is lost simply because of its position on the CAF. The school applies its criteria, and the council offers your highest available preference.
Does being our nearest school guarantee a place?
No. Check its actual policy, priority groups and oversubscription history. The nearest school can still be full.
Can we prefer the comprehensive to the grammar school?
Yes. If you would choose it when both could offer, put it higher. School type does not dictate the order of your preferences.
Official sources
Checked 28 Sept 2026