I’m absolutely devastated about our school placement

Walking distance and local friends together with good teaching is actually a win.

Sounds you like the idea of nice polished school, but those parameters don't say that much about the every day experience.

Some of the disadvantages are things you can cover yourself - is there a public library in your area? Make it a habit going there twice a month together.

Call me old fashioned, but a school within walking distance with better than average results sounds fantastic!
I know what it is to be disappointed with a school placement, OP, but the school sounds fine and I hope your DD (and you) enjoy the primary school experience there.

The pros are brilliant, and definitely outweigh the cons! OP, your child will get a good education, in a caring school, close to home. Bingo!
I think you need to put your reservations to one side, see the positives and encourage your child so that they look forward to joining the school.

Being being able to walk home with your mates is one of my fondest childhood memories, we played out on the street together, walked to each other houses etc. Also, our library was tiny, however we funraised money to have a renovate it, buy new books and to install a computer (the early 2000s lol).

Also I went to a religious secondary, and religion only makes up a small percent of the school day. You just roll with it even if you do not believe, just teach your child to be respectful of others beliefs.

I know you've heard this a lot but it would 100% have been my first choice as it's walking distance. That is so, so nice and will benefit your child in so many ways. She'll have local friends and when she's old enough, she'll be able to walk herself to school and to her friends' houses. The physical environment isn't as important as the other people in the space with her so I'd go again with an open mind and find some more reasons to be excited about this for her.

@Itsallaboutme2021

It’s hard to get above average results so they are obviously doing something right. It’s walking distance. I would go back for another visit as it sounds like it will be fine. Not having to drive there is a huge bonus.

Sorry to hear about your disappointment OP. I think some posters have been rather harsh. I am sure that you know full well that not getting a place at your preferred school is not the end of the world or analogous to living in a war zone but I also think most of us have had experiences in life where something feels like total disaster and our initial emotional reaction is strong. I hope you're feeling better today.
Try to focus on the positives of the school you've been offered. It might not be the place you imagined your child attending but it does sound like a decent school with lots of positive attributes and in time you may indeed come to prefer it to your first preference. I think it's perfectly natural to feel sad about not getting something you'd really been hoping for though.
You're not the only one to be feeling like this at the moment I'm sure. And if you check out the Secondary and Higher Education pages at the right time you'll find parents who are distraught that their children haven't got into their preferred secondary or have had University applications rejected too. These things are rarely as bad as they seem at the time but when you're in that moment it's hard to see that. And you are allowed to feel upset! Just try not to let it dominate your thoughts too much or for too long, and try not to let your child realise that you're disappointed. It's a stressful time but also an exciting one. I hope your little one loves their new school and that everything turns out well.

Cheer up. Your child can WALk to school. That is so great.

The cons are not so bad.
Remember, the school is already better than when you saw it last because .. your daughter will be enrolled and you will be active, constructive and involved parents and help all children get the most out of their education there.

Be the best parents you can be in supporting your child's homework, volunteering for classroom chores and participating in fund raising for important improvements, camps etc. for the school.

Due to being so close to school your child will be less tired from travelling to school. She will be able to enjoy clubs and extra curriculum activities without feeling so weary.

I'm not a parent but I live in London where you often see primary children using local parks and I think it makes them better citizens. Ditto being educated in a more multi-cultural environment!

Obviously way more than 2000 families applied nationally!

Numbers are falling, but Gov.uk gives these stats for last year.
555,600 applications were received for a place at primary school in 2024 (2024/25 academic year)

This year.
Almost all children in London who are due to start primary school in September have been offered a place in one of their preferred schools.
Out of a total of 80,706, 96.6% of pupils were offered a place at one of their top three preferences of primary school, according to London Councils.

2000 applications nationally? For school places? There must be more than 2000 kids due to start reception?

Make sure you understand the process for getting on a waiting list.

I know how you feel and you are allowed to feel how you do. My son didn’t get his first choice secondary and he was upset and I was devastated at the time. He didn’t get his first choice for 6th form either and he was gutted at the time, but he got his first choice of uni and is just coming towards the end of his 3rd year. It all turns out okay in the end OP.

Don’t underestimate being able to walk to school. I live in a large village with a couple of schools and the traffic and parking is hell!

My children went to a school without green space (London). They used the park around the corner and have really fond memories of the excitement in summer when they were taken to have their packed lunches on the field on hot days. It honestly has not affected them at all.

this is it - most people would look at catchment and put the nearest school first. that's why most people don't get their third choice.

btw the gaza comments are just pointless and rude - this entire site would be shut down if people had to have worse problems than people in gaza.

Possibly because quite a lot put the school that they were in catchment for?

if the first 3 are further away I can’t see how you have any grounds for appeal. By all means waitlist but other than that school 3 is your closest school (and that is a huge factor in a positive school experience).

the strange thing is we can never know what the best school for our children are. We loved into our street for a Primary neither of mine went to and a single sexed boy high school DS has not gone to (but weirdly DD will in September).

hi Op.

Firstly it's natural to worry about a huge thing like where your child goes to school.

secondly - you should remember that the reason very few families got their third choice school is because most people will have put a 'realistic' choice first - ie. their local school.

We have an illusion of choice at primary ! You don't really get to choose - you get your nearest school in most cases. You would only get an out of catchment school if it was so unpopular the people nearest it didn't want it! So very few people would choose it.

I can tell you there are HUGe benefits firstly to going to your nearest school and secondly to a more diverse school.

I lived on the same road as our primary and just made so many great friends - and playdates/ helping other parents out is just so much easier. If you are sick and can't walk your kid to school - there will be a parent on your road who will help out. etc.

We then moved and couldn't fit into the nearest primary and I really noticed how much harder it was to get to know our neighbours because we were not in the local primary.

however, the bonus this time was we got the more diverse school - and I think children learn so much from being in an environment with different families and children

All you can do is take it and if you are not happy after reception year - look to move. But give it a chance.

@Itsallaboutme2021 - we were the same with regards to the stats, we were the only ones who didn’t get our first choice initially in the county!!
which is why you have a high chance of getting in via the waiting list
our waitlist position wasn’t available until May in our area which I think is a good thing as I was fixated on it 🤣
I had come around to the idea of the school we were allocated and had met the teachers and done the paperwork and then I got a call!
Take no notice of the rude and unhelpful comments