Many admission authorities give priority to those who make a school their first choice and there is little point in choosing a school at which your child has little chance of being accepted. For example, if a school is very popular and its main rule for allocating places is that a child should already have a brother or sister at the school, there would be little point in putting it as first choice if your child has no siblings there. So make sure your first choice is one where you have a decent chance of being offered a place. If your child is not offered a place at your preferred school, you can appeal the decision. Some state schools are selective and, if you choose one of these, your child may have to sit an entrance test.
Some schools select only some pupils by ability or aptitude, others select all pupils by ability.
Some comprehensive schools use banding to ensure their intake has a spread of pupils of all levels of ability. Children applying for a place are tested and placed into an ability band based on their test results.