Last Friday, thousands of parents were nervously waiting by their email in-boxes. All with the same question, all anxious. Did we get in?

The whole school admissions process is a minefield of emotion and worry, particularly within the primary sector and notably across North London. It seems everybody wants to live here and they come with kids. I’m no exception to this. Like many of my friends I moved to London, met my future wife (who had also moved to London), bought a tiny flat and started a family. Despite being ‘in the system’ and having advised parents for years on the admissions process it did nothing to reduce our concerns. Simply put, I wanted my child to go to a good school (ideally outstanding) that was local to our home. Too much to ask? In London, possibly.

The birth boom over the last five years has been well documented as has the expansion of schools. I have personal experience of this as it is my joy to be running one of Barnet’s new flagship schools, Millbrook Park, as an answer to the Barnet boom. Indeed, there are signs that the birth boom is slowing. That said, house building is not and whilst we may not be experiencing as many births in the capital we certainly will continue to have families moving in.

If you are unlucky enough to have not got your first preference first of all don’t panic. Try and find out where you are on the waiting list. One of the school’s I run is extremely popular but there is always a healthy shake-down between January 15th and September 1st for a whole variety of reasons. Depending on the size of school the basic rule of thumb is that to fill a very popular class of thirty children a popular school needs to offer to forty. If you are therefore in the following ten you have a sporting chance of getting in. This general scale can be multiplied by the number of forms of entry the school offers.

Secondly, don’t discount the school you have been offered. If you haven’t seen it then ask to view the school before making a final judgement, particularly with new schools. My experience with our new school was that when parents visited it not only did this completely change their minds they also became evangelists for Millbrook Park and brought other parents with them. In short, it could be the right school for your child that you never knew.

Finally, time is on your side. Between now and September there is a lot of mobility within the class lists as families decide on whether they move out of London, enter the private system or accept places in other schools. Try and keep a calm head and understand that schools and admissions boards fully understand your worry; they will be doing their very best to find the best possible school for you child in an unfortunately crowded system.