School Placement Day - Happy or Distraught ?

[rachel19784]

Many Parents will have woke up this morning with extreme anxiety, I was no exception I felt sick with worry as I would find out what school my son has been given.
I was worried that my youngest son would end up in a school where he knew no one and would be deeply unhappy.

I suppose I was one of the lucky ones, we were given his first choice, but it wasn't in an ideal world my first choice.
Ideally we would live in a leafy picaresque village with a small school that was filled with the best teachers and in the Ofsted report was achieving excellent in every subject and school criteria.

We do not unfortunately live in a place of my dreams where all children get along, bullying doesn't exist and my son comes home each day so happy and loves the idea of going to school.

So this morning no school in my area would live up to what I believe my son deserves , so I wasn't deliriously happy when I opened up the email telling me the fate of my son for the rest of his school years.

I know some parents will have moved areas, lied on there applications, and practically drawn blood to try and get there children into there first of even second choice schools.I really feel for those parents who will have woke up this morning happy enough to be left disheartened and distraught by simply opening an email or a letter in the post.
The sheer thought of the fight to appeal against an organisation that sees your child as a reference number rather than a scared and disappointed child, do they care that your child will be the only one from his or her school year at the school they gave you and expect you to be happy with that?

I think my fear is for selfish reasons I just don't want my baby going to the big bad world of High school.
No more primary school life, weekly assemblies, pumps,instead carrying bags all round a vast school getting lost and been alone unchaperoned by a teacher with 16 year old boys and girls, well young men and women really sharing the same routes as my young naive 10 year old.

In my ideal world he would study from home staying safe from harm and cruel words, would this make him happy?
Maybe at first he would lavish the idea of no school and been content in his own home, It wouldn't be too long before he missed the interaction with other youngsters his own age.

It is down to me to learn the skills and coping mechanisms to have my primary school child take the giant leap into secondary school and help support and guide him with whatever comes his way.

I will just have to put a big brave smile on my face the first time I see him in his uniform on his first day and keep that smile there until at least 8.50 am when the melt down will begin.

If this wasn't hard enough I have to get my children through Stats and GCSE exams and support My eldest son as he leaves high school to start a very adult life at college.

On September 5th the tissues better be ready!

I hope any parents reading this will have breathed a sigh of relief when they opened there placements today and if unfortunately this was not the case just don't give up and fight for the School you deserve.

[happygardening]

OP we live in a leafy picturesque market town where everybody knows everyone else and no one locks their doors we have an "outstanding academy" on our doorstep with vacencies but it still isn't the perfect school you describe.
Good luck to you and your DS you sound a lovely supportive mum I'm sure he'll be fine.

[Shellywelly1973]

I got my email at 5pm this evening. My dd has been given a place in our 1st choice school.

I live in London, in one of the most deprived Boroughs. It will take dd at least an hour to get to school.

There isn't a community school or church school in the area i would even consider sending her to. Dd is my 3rd dc, but dc1 &Dc2 are in their 20's. I did the same with the older dc.

At least 12/13 years ago the system meant you had some limited choices, whereas the way the allocation system is now, parents end up with one or no choice. Neither of the systems are fair...

The older children did very well, uni etc. Now possibly it could be argued they would have done well where ever they went but I wasn't willing to risk it!