You will be in the waiting pool until a place becomes available. There are three points in the year when this is most likely to happen:

• Soon after offers are made, we ask students to accept or decline their place. At this point a few students may decide that EMS is not for them and places may become available for those in the waiting pool.
• In May, boarding students are asked to accept or decline their place in residential accommodation and to pay a deposit. At this point, one or two places may become available for members of the waiting pool.
• In August, when students receive their GCSE results, some may not meet the entry requirements and others may have a last-minute change of heart, we will then be able to offer places to students from the waiting pool.

We try to keep the waiting pool small enough so that students within it have a realistic prospect of a place at EMS. At the time of initially offering places, the waiting pool is likely to have less than ten students in it, often fewer. All the students in the waiting pool are those who have demonstrated that EMS is a good fit for them, it’s just that we don’t have enough space. If you’re in the waiting pool and are subsequently offered a place, rest assured that we believe EMS is a good fit for you.

Applicants from outside our catchment area will be placed in the waiting pool but will not be prioritised over those from within the catchment area who applied on time. Late applicants will also be added to the waiting pool, provided they perform at a high enough level.