feat(admissions): surface easy-to-miss deadlines as callout boxes

The selective-school registration and faith-school SIF warnings were
added as prose in the criteria steps, where they read as ordinary
sentences and were easy to skim past. Pulled them into structured
callout boxes with an amber "note" treatment (using the page's own
gold accent tokens), a warning glyph, and a bold lead-in — so the two
deadlines parents most often miss actually stand out.

- Added a `callouts` field to Step; render as a callout group between
  the body and the tool link (both primary and secondary timelines).
- Reverted the warning text back out of the step bodies so it isn't
  duplicated.

Verified with tsc --noEmit and next build.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_0146VHeLAWjDVE2B5uU67jCB

e2e/tests/journeys.spec.ts

@@ -438,6 +438,18 @@ test('compare chart on mobile shows school chips with tap-to-focus', async ({ pa
   await expect(chips.first()).toHaveAttribute('aria-pressed', 'false');
 });
 
+test('admissions guide renders its key milestones', async ({ page }) => {
+  // Static content page — assert the guide loads and the load-bearing
+  // milestones parents rely on are present (dates are statutory, so these
+  // strings are stable invariants, not data-refresh-sensitive).
+  await page.goto('/admissions');
+  await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /School Admissions Guide/i })).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /Primary school admissions/i })).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /Secondary school admissions/i })).toBeVisible();
+  // National Offer Day is the milestone the whole guide builds toward.
+  await expect(page.getByText(/National Offer Day/i).first()).toBeVisible();
+});
+
 test('rankings page loads a populated table', async ({ page }) => {
   await page.goto('/rankings');
   await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: /rankings/i }).first()).toBeVisible();

nextjs-app/components/AdmissionsView.module.css

@@ -442,6 +442,58 @@
   line-height: 1;
 }
 
+/* ─── Easy-to-miss callouts ──────────────────────────── */
+
+.calloutGroup {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 0.5rem;
+  margin-top: 0.7rem;
+}
+
+.callout {
+  display: flex;
+  gap: 0.55rem;
+  padding: 0.6rem 0.75rem;
+  background: var(--accent-gold-bg, rgba(201, 162, 39, 0.12));
+  border: 1px solid rgba(201, 162, 39, 0.28);
+  border-left: 3px solid var(--accent-gold, #c9a227);
+  border-radius: 8px;
+}
+
+.calloutIcon {
+  flex-shrink: 0;
+  width: 1.05rem;
+  height: 1.05rem;
+  margin-top: 0.1rem;
+  border-radius: 50%;
+  background: var(--accent-gold, #c9a227);
+  color: #fff;
+  font-size: 0.72rem;
+  font-weight: 800;
+  line-height: 1.05rem;
+  text-align: center;
+}
+
+.calloutText {
+  min-width: 0;
+}
+
+.calloutTitle {
+  font-size: 0.82rem;
+  font-weight: 700;
+  color: var(--accent-gold-text, #7a6800);
+  line-height: 1.3;
+  margin-bottom: 0.15rem;
+}
+
+.calloutBody {
+  font-size: 0.82rem;
+  color: var(--text-secondary, #5c564d);
+  line-height: 1.5;
+  margin: 0;
+}
+
 /* ─── Tips ───────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 .tips {

nextjs-app/components/AdmissionsView.tsx

@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@ interface Step {
   title: string;
   body: string;
   highlight?: 'deadline' | 'offer';
+  /* Easy-to-miss, deadline-sensitive warnings surfaced as callout boxes
+     rather than buried in the body prose. */
+  callouts?: { title: string; body: string }[];
   /* How SchoolCompare helps at this stage of the journey */
   tool?: { label: string; href: string };
 }
@@ -62,6 +65,16 @@ const SECONDARY_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.',
+    callouts: [
+      {
+        title: 'Selective schools register earlier',
+        body: 'Grammar and other selective schools need separate entrance-test registration months earlier — often by September, well before the 31 October deadline.',
+      },
+      {
+        title: 'Faith schools may need an extra form',
+        body: 'Many faith schools require a supplementary information form (SIF) sent directly to the school, on top of the council application.',
+      },
+    ],
     tool: { label: 'Find schools & view their admissions history', href: '/' },
   },
   {
@@ -73,14 +86,14 @@ const SECONDARY_STEPS: Step[] = [
   {
     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.',
+    body: 'Submit your ranked list of schools — most councils allow three to six preferences (London boroughs typically six). Councils treat all preferences equally, so list schools in the genuine order you want them, not strategically.',
     highlight: 'deadline',
     tool: { label: 'Compare performance to order your preferences', href: '/rankings' },
   },
   {
     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.',
+    body: 'Your allocated school appears on the council\'s online admissions portal and is sent by email. Release times are set by each council — often from late afternoon, though some publish overnight — so check your council\'s page rather than refreshing at midnight.',
     highlight: 'offer',
     tool: { label: 'Look up your allocated school', href: '/' },
   },
@@ -101,6 +114,12 @@ const PRIMARY_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.',
+    callouts: [
+      {
+        title: 'Faith schools may need an extra form',
+        body: 'Many faith schools require a supplementary information form (SIF) sent directly to the school, in addition to the council application.',
+      },
+    ],
     tool: { label: 'Find schools & view their admissions history', href: '/' },
   },
   {
@@ -144,7 +163,7 @@ interface Tip {
 const TIPS: 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.',
+    body: 'Councils consider every school you list before making any offer, then give you the highest-ranked one you qualify for. Your order only decides which qualifying school you get — you can\'t game it, so list schools in the order you genuinely want them.',
   },
   {
     heading: 'Late applications go to the back',
@@ -307,6 +326,19 @@ export function AdmissionsView() {
                 {step.date && <div className={styles.stepDate}>{step.date}</div>}
                 <div className={styles.stepTitle}>{step.title}</div>
                 <p className={styles.stepBody}>{step.body}</p>
+                {step.callouts && step.callouts.length > 0 && (
+                  <div className={styles.calloutGroup}>
+                    {step.callouts.map((c) => (
+                      <div key={c.title} className={styles.callout}>
+                        <span className={styles.calloutIcon} aria-hidden="true">!</span>
+                        <div className={styles.calloutText}>
+                          <div className={styles.calloutTitle}>{c.title}</div>
+                          <p className={styles.calloutBody}>{c.body}</p>
+                        </div>
+                      </div>
+                    ))}
+                  </div>
+                )}
                 {step.tool && (
                   <a
                     href={step.tool.href}
@@ -355,6 +387,19 @@ export function AdmissionsView() {
                 {step.date && <div className={styles.stepDate}>{step.date}</div>}
                 <div className={styles.stepTitle}>{step.title}</div>
                 <p className={styles.stepBody}>{step.body}</p>
+                {step.callouts && step.callouts.length > 0 && (
+                  <div className={styles.calloutGroup}>
+                    {step.callouts.map((c) => (
+                      <div key={c.title} className={styles.callout}>
+                        <span className={styles.calloutIcon} aria-hidden="true">!</span>
+                        <div className={styles.calloutText}>
+                          <div className={styles.calloutTitle}>{c.title}</div>
+                          <p className={styles.calloutBody}>{c.body}</p>
+                        </div>
+                      </div>
+                    ))}
+                  </div>
+                )}
                 {step.tool && (
                   <a
                     href={step.tool.href}

nextjs-app/components/RankingsView.tsx

@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ export function RankingsView({
       <header className={styles.header}>
         <h1>School Rankings</h1>
         <p className={styles.subtitle}>
-          Top-performing schools by {metricLabel.toLowerCase()}
+          Schools ranked by {metricLabel.toLowerCase()}
           {!selectedArea && rankings.length > 0 && <span className={styles.limitNote}> — showing top {rankings.length}</span>}
         </p>
       </header>
@@ -143,7 +143,10 @@ export function RankingsView({
         <p className={styles.metricDescription}>{currentMetricDef.description}</p>
       )}
       {isProgressScore && (
-        <p className={styles.progressHint}>Progress scores: 0 = national average. Positive = above average.</p>
+        <p className={styles.progressHint}>
+          Progress scores: 0 = national average. Positive = above average.
+          {isPrimary && ' KS2 progress isn’t published for 2023/24 or 2024/25 (there’s no key stage 1 baseline) — pick an earlier year to rank by it.'}
+        </p>
       )}
 
       {/* Filters */}
@@ -218,7 +221,11 @@ export function RankingsView({
         {rankings.length === 0 ? (
           <EmptyState
             title="No rankings found"
-            message="Try selecting a different metric, area, or year."
+            message={
+              isPrimary && isProgressScore
+                ? 'KS2 progress scores aren’t published for the most recent years (2023/24 and 2024/25) because there’s no key stage 1 baseline. Select an earlier year to see progress rankings.'
+                : 'Try selecting a different metric, area, or year.'
+            }
             action={{
               label: 'Clear filters',
               onClick: () => router.push(`${pathname}?phase=${selectedPhase}`),