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What hope is there when schools put completely wrong admissions info in their prospectus?

6 replies

FraterculaArctica · 10/04/2018 12:48

Just a rant really. Currently researching primaries ahead of a possible house move. One very good looking school (LA controlled) but then I read its online prospectus and it has as an admissions criterion 'Children living in catchment who list School X as first preference'.

Completely at odds with what the local authority says, of course. Why don't schools understand their own admissions arrangements?

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meditrina · 10/04/2018 12:54

Yes, complain about that. ASAP - so there is time for all hard copies to be retracted, and new Ines printed and distributed, and all online versions corrected; before the next applications window opens.

It's an equal preference system and it would be a breach of the Admissions Code to give priority to that. Appalling of the LEA to have let that error through.

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MrsTylerJoseph · 10/04/2018 12:58

Secondary school near here did this.

They changed their admissions criteria, didn’t tell anyone at the open evening, didn’t tell primary heads and kept the old criteria on their website. A lot of local kids unexpectedly didn’t get a place when the local primary used to get priority....parents hadn’t bothered putting a second choice as it had previously been 100% sure they would get in. So kids ended up at really shit schools, miles away.

Apart from they all appealed and won and school had to admit 40 extra kids that year!

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prh47bridge · 10/04/2018 17:45

Well done that appeal panel.

And as meditrina says, complain. That is a clear breach of the Admissions Code.

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Lifechallenges · 10/04/2018 22:56

Suspect that the person writing it had no idea on how admissions work. They need to retract asap

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FraterculaArctica · 10/04/2018 22:59

Would it be OK to report it to the local authority and let them investigate? I'd feel weird contacting the school saying I think there's a mistake in your prospectus, but I live 200 miles away and have no current interest in your school (and the admissions policy wouldn't even be relevant to us as we'd be an in year application). Think they'd say keep your beak out!

It's an Ofsted Outstanding school as well. I would have expected them to have their paperwork in better order!