A coup, getting school place first (6)
I believe the answer is:
putsch
'a coup' is the definition.
('putsch' can be a synonym of 'coup')
'school place first' is the wordplay.
'school' becomes 'sch'.
'place' becomes 'put' ('put' can be a synonym of 'place').
'first' says to put letters next to each other.
'sch' put after 'put' is 'PUTSCH'.
'getting' is the link.
(Other definitions for putsch that I've seen before include "A sudden political uprising" , "Coup dtat" , "rising" , "Violent revolt" , "Change of government by force" .)