No school place AT ALL in my county. I have to apply to neighboring county

The LA has offered spaces at the nearest school with places.

If OP wants a nearer school she can
(A) appeal
(B) see if it is possible to invoke FAP
(C) apply to schools in Essex that might be nearer

and during A, B or C, either accept the places offered or home ed, if she accepts the places she could definitely make a case for paid for transport, and throughout ensure she is on the CI list at all schools of interest.

Daphne, have I missed anything that you think the council or OP can do?

I expect there is a bike rack, but that's not much help at the other end.

Oops! Getting confused here. Bishop's Stortford High School is 1.1 miles from Bishop's Stortford High School. If the OP lives in Thorley (and I don't know she does), it's at least another mile in addition to the 1.1 miles.

No bike rack at the station? There is at ours.

I use that train route twice a week and there are restrictions on bikes.

Yes, that's what I used.

I doubt if the OP lives 1.1 miles from the train station. The SCHOOL is 1.1 miles from the train station. The school itself is about a mile from the train station. I actually did that walk today (by coincidence) and it took me 40 minutes.

It's 24 miles on AA RoutePlanner, Fanny. I assume that the OP isn't proposing to drive across fields.

daphne, I think you'll find people were very sympathetic at first, but that the OP has been very, umm, vitriolic towards a lot of people on it.

She is in a very difficult position, I agree. Part of it is her own making - she moved house without having any idea which school her GCSE aged son would go to! I mean, just WOW!

But then, she has alleged that the reason she cannot get acceptable (to her) places at schools for her DSs is because of corruption and laziness amongst council staff and school admissions staff. She has insulted people like PRH74Bridge, who is unfailingly helpful on these threads.

You can't believe the "vitriol"? I'm amazed people have put up with her for so long!

Incidentally, Broxbourne Station is 1.1 miles from Sheredes School - 20 mins walk. If the OP lives 1.1 miles from the train station, she could drive her DC to it, if she is concerned about the walk. They could ride bikes to the staion, or possibly catch a bus, if that is not possible.

I understand that she feels the school is unacceptable. But the local authority only have an obligation to find a school place. And they have done that. So now, it's up to her.

The walk/train/walk journey of about 1 hour, as laid out by daphnedill (and very similar to other posters) is rather different from the 7-9 forms of public transport taking 3 hours as described by OP.

Not really the point, but daphne a random address on Thorley to Sheredes school is 16 miles not 24.

If the OP posted for advice on any appeal, I'm sure the appeal could then be made as strong as possible. No guarantees but certainly gives her a shot.

Without an appeal, or invoking the FAP, there are no ways of making a full school create a place, and for whatever reason the schools ARE full. Appealing may be demoralising but it gives the OP a chance at least.

Campaigning to change admission criteria may be worthwhile longer term but the education is needed right now!

If OP does not want to appeal because she thinks it will be too stressful, then the waiting list will be her only option.

The law does not state a right to 'choice', only the right to express a preference.

Those who have evidence of 'back door selection' need to get on to the ombudsman.

meditrina,

Have you ever been to an appeal and suffered the stress they cause? And then still lost, even though the balance of prejudice is definitely on your side? I have and it's not something I would recommend without caution, especially as the OP doesn't have a good case.

I wouldn't be surprised if there's a "I went to appeal and lost" club in Bishop's Stortford. It's that kind of place; school admissions have been a shambles for ages, caused by being on the county border, laws which state people have a right to choice and backdoor selection by at least two of the schools in Bishop's Stortford. I certainly didn't realise how shambolic they were until I heard various stories from other people. As somebody earlier stated, even those with DCs transferring into Year 7 aren't guaranteed a place, in spite of Hertfordshire claiming that there ARE enough places in Bishop's Stortford. There were plans to provide extra places, but the planning permission was refused a couple of years ago.

By the way...

All potential Hercules Poirots take note...

A random address in Thorley (Bishop's Stortford) to Sheredes in Hoddesdon is 24.5 miles according to AA Route Planner (not 15 miles).

Bishop's Stortford High School is 1.1 miles from the station, so if the OP lives a 15 minutes' walk from the school, it is very likely that the walk would take over 30 minutes.

The train from Bishop's Stortford to Broxbourne takes from 20-24 minutes.

Broxbourne Station to Sheredes is 1.5 miles, so a 20-30 minutes' walk.

Allowing a few minutes at the station to make sure the train isn't missed adds up to about one and half hours.

I can't believe the vitriol on this thread!

We don't know how likely successful appeal might be. It would all come down to balance of prejudice.

But if you don't try, you definitely can't win.

But surely the above doesn't apply? What grounds would she have for a successful appeal?

Xoa,

That is (sadly for her children) the conclusion I have come to, too.

OP, by 'appealing', we do not mean it in the 'non-technical' sense - just as a synonym for 'asking'.

We mean the formal, well-established process of making formal appeals for school places, to be heard for each school by an independent appeals panel.

The web page to start from is:
www.hertsdirect.org/services/edlearn/appealpanels/inyrapp/

The following text from the 'Guide to Parents' may be helpful:
"In-year applications
Following unsuccessful in-year applications, parents wishing to be considered for any subsequent places that become avail
able at their preferred school(s) MUST specifically request to have their child’s name placed on the CI list for each school. For additional information please go to www.hertsdirect.org/admissions"

and

"In-Year Admission Appeals
If your child has been refused admission to a Foundation, VA, Trust school or an Academy and no alternative school has been
suggested, you should contact the Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043 or 0300 123 4041 text phone, to find out
which Community or VC schools in your area have available places. This might be in any one of the following instances:
•
You want to move your child from one school to another within
Hertfordshire and have been refused admission to the school you want
or
•
You have moved into the area and you have been refused admission to the school you want for your child because the school is full
or
•
Your child has a disability and you believe he or she has been unlawfully
refused a place at the school you want because of this
(Please see section 8
of this booklet).
These appeals must be heard within 30 school days of being lodged but we will try to arrange them sooner wherever possible. We
must receive your completed appeal form within 12 school days of you receiving it."

OP, you have had well over 30 school days since you moved and were told that the schools that you wanted were full, so if your appeals had been lodged correctly within the 12 day deadline, they could all have been heard by now.

Caoimhe several of us have explained. But she takes no notice. It seems likely she hasn't made any formal appeals.

Based on the OP's responses here I am wondering how the Home Educating will go. Not an easy thing to do for any age but at GCSE level in several subjects? Hmmmm.

I'm shocked that you would move house without sorting this out first. We had to move house and the new place was just a little too far to commute to school. Before we moved we went to visit schools and found two that we liked which were not full, we applied and got the acceptance before we moved. It took a couple of weeks. We would have gone for a different house in a different area if there were not school places - better a longer commute to work than a school run that was impossible.

I am beginning to wonder if the OP actually understands what other posters mean when they refer to appealing for a school place.

Put your children's name on any CI lists.

Be prepared they may not be at the same schools. (Dd3 is in a different school to her siblings)

Be prepared to travel.

Appeal.

See what schools are on the local train route. Dd1 cycles to the station here and gets the train to the next town for her school.