Morning. Year 6 parents have three weeks to apply for secondary school, and the council's own figures show which local schools are getting harder to get into. Then the roads and the weekend.

Applications for Year 7 in September 2027 close at 11.59pm on Saturday 31 October. That's every child born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016. You apply on the eAdmissions website through the council you pay council tax to, even for schools in another borough. Children with an EHCP don't apply; their parents talk to the assessment coordinator instead.

The order of your six schools doesn't count against you. Each school ranks applicants on its own rules and never sees where you put it. The order only matters if more than one school offers a place, when you get the highest of them. Achieving for Children, which runs admissions for Kingston, advises using all six and including your nearest school that admits by distance. Some schools, such as those that give priority by faith, also want their own supplementary form, returned to the school.

How far the last place went, on offer day, in the council's figures:

• The Hollyfield School: 1.13 miles (1.817 km) for this September's intake, down from 1.33 miles in 2025 and 1.37 in 2024.
• Tolworth Girls': 1.63 miles (2.621 km) this September, from 1.73 and 2.45 miles.
• Southborough High and Chessington School: room for every applicant this September.
• Richard Challoner, Holy Cross and both Tiffins don't publish distances; ask the school.

Past cut-offs are a guide, not a promise, and they usually stretch a little by the end of the process. Offers arrive by email after 5pm on Monday 1 March.

Portsmouth Road: Sarah, who saw closure signs there on Tuesday, says they had gone by Thursday. The council's roadworks list, still dated 2 October, shows no closure on the Surbiton stretch.

Hook roundabout: Sarah also reports the lane closures have moved to the outside lanes. The council lists UK Power Networks signals and closures in one direction at points between Upper Brighton Road and the roundabout until 25 October.

Today: rain clearing this morning, then sunshine and heavy showers this afternoon, with a risk of hail and thunder. Very windy, 18 to 19.

Saturday: a dry, sunny start, then blustery showers in the afternoon that could be heavy. 15.

Sunday: fine and dry, with lighter winds. 16.

Next week: rain early on Monday and again on Tuesday morning. On Friday 16 the cornerHOUSE holds its quarterly poetry reading, with a cheese buffet, 7.30, £6. On Saturday 17 the farmers' market is on Maple Road from 9 to 1, and Corinthian-Casuals host Wallingford & Crowmarsh in a cup tie at 3. That evening, at 7.30, violinist Kryštof Kohout and pianist Edward Leung play Prokofiev and Franck at St Andrew's for Thames Concerts, £22 on the door, and the cornerHOUSE stages SEEGER, a solo multimedia show built on Pete Seeger's songs, £20.

Coming up: the clocks go back on Sunday 25 October.

Have a good weekend.

Mike