{type:'offer',track:'Secondary · Offer Day',milestone:'Secondary National Offer Day',month: 3,day: 1},
];
interfaceStep{
date?: string;
title: string;
body: string;
highlight?:'deadline'|'offer';
}
constSECONDARY_STEPS: Step[]=[
{
title:'Check entry criteria',
body:'Look at each school\'s admissions policy — catchment areas, faith criteria, sibling priority, and aptitude tests vary widely. Use school detail pages on SchoolCompare for admissions history.',
},
{
date:'September',
title:'Portal opens',
body:'Your local council opens its online admissions portal. Register early to avoid last-minute technical issues. You apply through your home council even if you prefer schools in neighbouring boroughs.',
},
{
date:'31 October',
title:'Application deadline',
body:'Submit your ranked list of up to six schools. Councils treat all preferences equally — list schools in the genuine order you want them, not strategically.',
highlight:'deadline',
},
{
date:'1 March',
title:'National Offer Day',
body:'Results are published online, usually from 12:01 am. You\'ll receive an email or letter with your allocated school.',
highlight:'offer',
},
{
date:'~15 March',
title:'Accept or decline',
body:'Respond by the deadline your council gives — typically around 15 March. Accepting does not prevent you from keeping a place on a waiting list for a preferred school.',
},
{
title:'Appeals',
body:'If unsuccessful, you can appeal within 20 school days of the refusal letter. Secondary appeals consider whether prejudice to the school outweighs your case — success rates vary.',
},
];
constPRIMARY_STEPS: Step[]=[
{
title:'Research entry criteria',
body:'Faith schools, language units, and distance-based catchments differ by school. Start by reading each school\'s admissions policy on their website or the council\'s website.',
},
{
date:'September',
title:'Portal opens',
body:'Apply through your home council\'s portal, even if your preferred school is in another borough. Most councils accept applications from September.',
},
{
date:'15 January',
title:'Application deadline',
body:'List up to 3–6 schools (the number varies by council) in genuine preference order. The equal preference rule means all preferences are considered before any offers are made.',
highlight:'deadline',
},
{
date:'16 April',
title:'National Offer Day',
body:'Results are published online. Reception offers are sent on 16 April (or the next working day if that falls on a weekend or bank holiday).',
highlight:'offer',
},
{
date:'~1 May',
title:'Accept or decline',
body:'Respond by your council\'s deadline, typically around 1 May. Accepting secures the place while you wait to see if a preferred school\'s waiting list moves.',
},
{
title:'Appeals',
body:'Infant class-size appeals (Reception to Year 2) have a very narrow legal test and a low success rate. For Year 3+, appeals follow the same process as secondary.',
},
];
interfaceTip{
heading: string;
body: string;
}
constTIPS: Tip[]=[
{
heading:'Equal preference rule',
body:'Councils rank offers by your eligibility for each school, not by the order you listed them. You cannot game the system — put schools in the order you actually want them.',
},
{
heading:'Late applications go to the back',
body:'Submit before the deadline even if your child does not turn the required age until later in the year. Late applicants are only considered after all on-time applications.',
},
{
heading:'Waiting lists',
body:'You can go on waiting lists for multiple schools simultaneously. Lists are ordered by admissions criteria, not when you joined. They can move significantly over the summer.',
