Find out what “too far away” actually means
A family may be outside a fixed priority area, or inside it but farther away than the last child offered a place. Those situations are not interchangeable. A school can also use distance only as a tie-break after score ranking.
Read the school’s entry-year policy from the first oversubscription category to the last. Identify your child’s category, the rule within that category and the final tie-break. The catchment guide explains the common terms.
An example of qualification followed by distance
Imagine a school that gives qualified children inside its priority area precedence over other qualified applicants. A child outside that area may score more highly than a child inside it and still rank lower for a place. This fictional example only applies where the school’s policy orders applicants that way.
At a school that allocates mainly by score, the result could be different. Never transfer one grammar school’s rules to another, even if both use the same test.
Check the measurement and the historical data
- Official address: confirm the address used and any residence-date requirement.
- Distance method: check whether the policy uses straight-line distance, a specified route or another definition.
- Allocation category: an in-catchment distance is not evidence about out-of-catchment applicants.
- Allocation date: National Offer Day and later waiting-list offers can produce different figures.
- Policy changes: an old allocation is less informative if places, boundaries or priority groups changed.
If you think an address or measurement is wrong, ask the admissions authority to explain its calculation. Save its reply and the relevant policy passage.
Before applying and after a refusal
Before the CAF deadline, you can include a genuinely preferred school while also naming schools that are more realistic under their own policies. Putting a hopeful choice first does not reduce your priority at a lower preference; equal preference is explained here.
After a refusal, follow the offer letter’s waiting-list and appeal instructions. An appeal needs reasons for this particular school and any relevant evidence; passing alone does not establish that another place can be provided. Accepting another offered place does not prevent an appeal. Keep that place secure while you investigate your options.
A FEW MORE ANSWERS
Still wondering?
Does a higher score cancel out living outside catchment?
Only if the school’s policy gives that score the relevant priority. In a qualification-then-distance system, additional marks may not improve allocation priority.
Is last year’s furthest offered distance the catchment boundary?
Usually these are different things. A fixed catchment is defined in the policy; the last-offered distance records how far a particular allocation round reached within a category.
Will joining the waiting list solve the distance problem?
A list can move when places become available, but it normally uses the same admissions criteria. Joining does not remove catchment or distance priority.
Official sources
Checked 28 Sept 2026