In Maidstone, Valley Park, one of the most oversubscribed schools in the county, told the appeal panel it could take in an additional form of entry and only had 22 appeals. A late appeal, or a late application followed by an appeal may well bring an offer of a place. Parents on appeal at Cornwallis Academy also in Maidstone have told me a similar story arising from their appeal experience yesterday. Mascalls in Paddock Wood, also well oversubscribed, was happy to admit more children than the number of appeals taking place, so this is well worth trying, perhaps from Tunbridge Wells where there is still great pressure on some schools.  It was a great surprise to me that St Gregory's in Tunbridge Wells had vacancies at the beginning of March. Every appeal at Hayesbrook School in Tonbridge was successful again, so a late application could prove successful - although as elsewhere, you will need to follow through with appeal process. Westlands School in Sittingbourne took some 60  additional children in March, completely outside the legal framework but will have lost some of these, so could be worth a try - oddly many of these children will have come from the thriving Sittingbourne Community College with which Westlands is going into Academy partnership - surely not the basis for a good relationship! In Folkestone, a late application and appeal to Folkestone Academy may well be worthwhile.

You will find the level of oversubscription or vacancy information as it was on the 1st March for every secondary school in Kent and Medway, in the Individual Schools section, link to the right of this news item.

I am happy to correct any errors in the above, or to make any additions of which I am informed.