Perfect school no chance of getting in

[kn1ghty]

We are looking at propective schools for our daughter to move up to in September 2011. unfortunatly for us we live right on the edge of Tameside therfore only one secondary school in our cathcment area which is ok - but there are two better schools on ein particular we would love to get her into - it is always oversubcribed, it is 6.6 miles aways from us (last year the furthest public lived 2.19 miles away), she has no siblings that go there, it is not her primary schools feeder school. i am at my wits end trying to think how to explain and the reason i wnat my daughter to go to his school, becuase it seems obvious reasons are not good enough, great grades, girls only, good facilities, great teachers. I just don't know what I can say to make them consider us? I am willing to do anything join to PTA, do all the school trips when they need parents, do everything but i feel like we just don't stand a chance - please help

[Ladymuck]

What are the admission criteria?

[pooka]

If admission is based on proximity first, going on the previous "catchment" and how far away you are, then I'd think the only solution would be to move house.

[seeker]

Move.

Or give up and apply all your energy and enthusiasm to the school your dd is going to go to.

[cory]

You need to see this from the pov of the admissions officer/LEA setting the admissions criteria

"it seems obvious reasons are not good enough, great grades, girls only, good facilities, great teachers"

These are obvious reasons for you, as your dd's mother, to want this school. But they are not obvious reasons for the LEA to think that your dd deserves to enjoy them more than some other child. Which is why they stick to strict admissions criteria.

The only way you could hope of getting in despite proximity/catchment criteria would be if you could show that your dd had particular needs which set her apart from other children and which could only be met by one particular school.

[prh47bridge]

Admission is based entirely on the admission criteria. All that matters is which admission category your daughter falls into for this school and, since they use distance as a tie breaker, how far you live from the school. Unless your daughter has special medical or social needs which mean she needs to go to your preferred school, I'm afraid there is nothing you can put on the application form that will make any difference. Sorry.

[mummytime]

But you might win an appeal. The girls only could be a factor, as would any special status. But it is risky. However people have won appeals into my DCs oversubscribed school from longish distances.

[cory]

Yes, mummytime, but you need to have some kind of grounds for an appeal. When we appealed for dd's secondary, I think there were about 45 families appealing to get into that particular school. The vast majority of them had no better reason than that they wanted their child to go to the best school. They lost their appeals. We won ours because we were able to show that dd's needs were so serious and important that the damage done to her if she was not admitted would be greater than the prejudice done to the children already admitted by going over capacity.

[DancingHippoOnAcid]

Sadly unless you move RIGHT NOW into the catchment area your DD will not get a place. You won't be able to do anything about it as LOTS of other parents desparately want their DDs to benefit from this school and there are a finite number of places.

You really need to just accept reality and make the best of what choices you actually have.

[GrungeBlobPrimpants]

I'm sorry OP but I also think you are going to have to accept that she's not going to get in there. Admissions rules are the rules - SEN, siblings and distance usually. The fact that you think it is best isn't relevant for an appeal either, sorry.

Try to think positively about the schools you can apply for, what the weak points are and what you can realistically do about that (join the PTA there etc)

[cumbria81]

Do you really want your child to go to school 6 miles away?

I think that the commute to school would be a right pain in the arse for all concerned.

Is it really worth it?

I don't think you stand a chance of getting in unless you move.

[fanjolina]

Agree with the others. if the school is that important to you, move.

if thats not an option, devote your time and energy to schools she is likely to get into

[YakkinTosh]

Move, then go on the waiting list and hope a vacancy comes up

[kn1ghty]

all great advise and thanks for your comments moving isn't an option as we would not get a mortgage in the current climate, i thinks what erks me the most is that you spend all this time and effort looking round schools which the local council tell you to do so that you can see the options open to your child but in reality it doesn't matter what we want (i know my daughter doesn't deserve the place any more than anyones elses) so why do they do it. like i said i live right on the edge of the district (one of the better areas of the district/there arn't many)realistically we only have a choice of one school - why if i lived 4 miles down the road in a poorer area i could get her into 3 much better schools?

you can not say that, that is a fair system (like i said i understand the need for the system - doesn't mean i have to like it).

but a resigned me, says putting all my energy in to the school that she wil more than likely get into is probably the best way forward.

thanks

[henna2]

Hi,on what grounds did you appeal for your child? I need to appeal for my two kids, yr 9 and 10 to a school in my catchment area. They don't have special needs and they school is oversubscribed. They have given an option school which is much further away and not good and will issue them a bus pass, I refuse to let my kids travel by public transport when they have never travelled on it before to a not so good area.

[henna2]

Any idea on how to get information to strengthen my appeal for a secondary school in Milton keynes. Where can I obtain information about class sizes, pupil-teacher ratio, numbers in yrs group,etc, because the school won't disclose this info to me.

[maggotts]

Your public transport argument won't work. Loads of children use public transport at earlier ages than this. My Year 5 uses public transport to get home from school. Year 9 and 10 would be no problem. Will need to appeal on different grounds.

[lowrib]

If you really want your DD to go there, and you won't get a mortgage, then rent a place near the school, and rent your place out until you can get a mortgage.

I've done this (not to get into a school, but because we've moved to attend university as mature students).

You would have to actually move though. You can't just rent a place and say you live there, they do pretty thorough checks these days I think.

Or, if you're not prepared to do that, than it'll have to be the local school.

[cory]

maggott is right, henna: highly unlikely that you will win an appeal on the public transport argument, when vast numbers of children of that age travel on public transport and it is considered a very normal thing to do at that age

if a Yr 10 child is incapable of travelling on a bus, how do they manage their social life? and how will they cope with going to uni and living independently in a few years' time?

the only way this appeal would work is if you could prove (medical evidence!) that there is a special reason why your children cannot manage what most children their age can

[prh47bridge]

Henna2 - As others have said, it is very unlikely that you will win an appeal on the basis that you refuse to let your Y9 and Y10 children travel by public transport. You would need to show that there are particular reasons why it is more of a problem for them than for other children. The "not so good area" argument also doesn't work.

You need to find reasons why your children's education will be prejudiced if they don't go to your preferred school. That means looking at things like facilities the preferred school has which are missing from the allocated school and which are of particular benefit to your children. After school clubs are also worth checking.

If you are appealing the LA (or the school if it is a faith school or academy) MUST provide you with the information you reasonably need for the appeal at least 3 working days before the hearing. Having said that, most of the figures you mention for the school for which you are appealing should be in the LA's written submission to the appeal which you will receive at least 10 school days before the hearing.

[DancingHippoOnAcid]

henna, I'm shocked that your yr9 and yr10 DCs can't use public transport. Unless they are SEN they are well behind their peers in practical life skills. If you make an appeal on that basis you will be laughed at.

I do sympathise at not getting your preferred school, but the school is oversubscibed and unfortunately that is life.

[cory]

Again, with the special facilities the school has to offer, you would want to explain why your children need these facilities more than other children. "particular benefit" is the key words here.

Try to think of it from the LEA's pov. They no doubt know that some schools are better than others, but they have to try to be fair to all children.

[Hullygully]

what lowrib said.

[kn1ghty]

i still don't see how it is fair to all children if those that are not in the catchment area do not even get a look in.

[bebumba]

Which school does your DD want to go to? Where will her friends from primary school be going? Is she happy to move to go to the other school? You may find she settles well locally and if she is happy at school she will do well. Unfortunately the admissions process is not always fair.