We didn’t get any of our choices - appeals & what next

And who can blame any parent the OP included for trying to avoid it. I think people are dumped on on MNs because they are trying to operate in a system that prioritises catchment, religion etc etc

Who wouldn’t do the best for their child? And not all children are the same. Some kids have the confidence & social skills to manage situations others find very difficult.
I was bullied by the roughest crowd in my school. I’ll do a hell of a lot to protect my kids from that.

Knife crime and carrying amongst teenagers is HIGHLY ALARMING AND UNACCEPTABLE especially with the record of students ending up dead

Lougle has posted above about the nationwide numbers of knife incidents. She has noted that 150 were stabbings - however, I believe few of those were fatal stabbings. To note, 53 teenagers were stabbed to death in a similar time period (see below) but a fair number of those would have not been at school (see article linked which includes 9 fatal stabbings of teens in London in 2024)

In 2023-24, 53 of 64 homicide victims aged between 13 and 19 - or 83% - were killed with a sharp instrument, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/24855840.10-teenage-homicide-victims-london-2024/

It's sad that presence of knives is considered as not a big issue you can exist around in schools.

Who doesn't consider it a big issue?

It's difficult for it to be a basis for an appeal, because of course every parent would like to send their child to a "knife free" school, but some children will have to go to the schools which have such problems.

Well we are going theAppeal process, been allocated a school with well documented knife problem (knife problem isn't just if child brings a knife to school but also the knife culture fostered amongst the students in front of the school and outside). It's sad that presence of knives is considered as not a big issue you can exist around in schools.
Knife crime and carrying amongst teenagers is HIGHLY ALARMING AND UNACCEPTABLE especially with the record of students ending up dead

Yeah I think the way the OP put it as the catchment school having 'a knife problem' sounds more vague bad rep rather than the 1000s of students passing through there witnessing knife crime as part of their school day. Obviously even one knife incident is too many but chances are a kid could go through the school without any whiff of this knife problem, and equally they could encounter trouble borne of crap parenting (or any other cause) at a school with no prior knife problem.

To add (because you can't edit twice, it seems!) that of those 1304 cases, only 150 resulted in a stabbing.

It isn't necessarily knife crime. Our local secondary school has had a couple of instances where a child has been bullied and has taken a knife to school in the misguided belief that it might protect them. Someone has spotted the knife in their bag and told a teacher. The child has been permanently excluded and sent to the PRU. Is it a 'knife problem'?

According to Google, there were 1304 knife incidents in England and Wales in schools in 2024. There are 11.5 million children in full time education in England and Wales, and 26,000 schools. So only 5% of schools will have had any knife incidents, on average. Although, some schools are likely to see more than others, granted.

I’m not even in the UK but I find threads like these interesting as often people are piled for simply wanting the best for their kids.

Children witnessing knife crime should not be part of their school day. I’m personally increasingly sick of dealing with the outcome of other people’s crap parenting & I wouldn’t judge anyone for trying their upmost to avoid it.

You are unhappy with the catchment school (so didn't list it, but it was allocated) and didn't correctly submit the faith supporting documents for your third choice. However, you can't turn back time. Now it is about how you move forward from this situation.
*In your OP you mention remortgaging and private school. You need to think hard about whether private school (fees and availability of places) or home schooling are realistic options. Unless you are absolutely sure you can and will opt for one of these options (if a preferred school isn't offered) you must be relentlessly positive about the offered school. If your son is going there in September you need to be positive and supportive.

*I would double check with the LA about how you join waiting lists on the date given. Check the procedure for joining them and whether there is a limit on the number you can join. I would then research all the schools your son can practically access (think about transport) and be ready to join the waiting lists not only of the schools you originally applied to, but any others that you view as better thsn the offered school. I would also double check that your now submitted faith documents will be accepted and considered once the waiting lists open. I would request formal confirmation of this (e. g. an email) if not already received.

*You can appeal to the three schools you applied to. For the many reasons stated on the thread, I dont think that either the grandparents location or illness during the banding test would be taken into account. Appeals experts might know more, but neither seem relevant. The performing arts aptitude/interest could form part of an appeal to school 1. You need to look at what is offered by the other schools and see if you can generate a case that thise schools would specifically benefit your son. The case may not seem that strong, but you have nothing to loose by trying. You are appealing for a school not against one, so comments about the suitability of the allocated school are unlikely to be helpful. Beyond that, panel members may have connections with the school or children at it. Rubbishing it is unlikely to go down well and wont strengthen your case.

Nobody wants an unsuitable school (unwanted) for their kid. That's life. Most parents play the elementary school game and OP lost. Maybe she could have played it wiser. That's life too. No news under the sun tbh.

Then you either take the place or see what the waiting lists offer. Most time it works out fine as a lot of school are underestimated by parents.
An appeal case is unlikely to very successfull but you can try.

OP: "I’ve not once used the phrase ‘unsuitable school’."

Also OP: "have been allocated an unsuitable school"

😂😂😂

Erm, you literally asked this question in your OP

is it worth mentioning in the appeal that we didn’t receive any of our choices and have been allocated an unsuitable school.

Sorry but to be blunt you are daft for only considering “outstanding” schools and not even considering “requires improvement” schools nearby. What makes a school good for your dc is different to what makes a school good at ticking ofsted boxes! If you are stuck on ofsted ratings did you actually read the reports? Some can end up RI for reasons that won’t affect most pupils, such as SEN provision.

No outstanding schools within a few miles of here so we visited the most local ones and made a judgement based on those visits.

I'm confused about the religious elements. If you are a religious family who go to church weekly and wanted a faith school for this reason, why didn't you put it first? And why didn't you apply correctly with the supplementary information? Did no other parents in your church community explain or remind you? The priest? Was there not a register and form signing process? People round here love a religious priority and go to great and complicated lengths to get it - so the churches are very set up for all of it and you couldn't have missed it if attending and part of the group really.

You are really cross about your allocated school but so far you have only said you feel it isn't for you because it is RI? And because your dh has improved a school from RI? Those aren't reasons why your son can't attend though? The universe doesn't owe you an Outstanding school for your dh efforts any more than my Grandad shouldn't have got cancer after spending decades researching cancer.....

“is it worth mentioning in the appeal that we didn’t receive any of our choices and have been allocated an unsuitable school.”

This is a quotation from your OP.

Nobody should blame you for wanting your son to attend the best school in your area. The only fault - and with only 3 slots on the form I can see it’s an emotionally difficult thing to do - is that you didn’t also put a ‘banker’ school, one that you had an extremely good chance of getting into.

It was an understandable, but high risk strategy, especially as by not applying to your catchment school you may also have affected your eligibility for school transport to your allocated school.

Your original post quite literally says you have been allocated an unsuitable school

Im not sure if every area is the same, but for our area each church keeps and submits registers and you need to go 3 out of 4 Sundays from year 4 to year 6 to meet the faith criteria here.

Is the one you have been allocated better than your catchment school?

@viques of course there are schools that people don't want their children to go to. Schools they might consider 'bad'. It isn't something to say at appeal, because all schools are deemed suitable for all pupils if they are open, but the reality is that nobody wants their child to go to a school that has a knife problem. I guess my question is how much of a problem is it? But I can understand @Switchy111 's disappointment. She clearly had a plan in her mind that her DS would be going to a certain school, or at least a certain set of schools, and that hasn't come to pass. It's a shock, and I can see why it feels unfair.

I am not saying there are not bad schools, and of course parents want the best for their child which is why most take great care with their application form, but I am pointing out that using the phrase “an unsuitable school” in an appeal is not going to win friends or influence the panel favourably . And the OP used the term “nice village” before saying that the nearest school was 7 miles away, which most people would have realised might cause issues both with school allocation and travel for secondary school.

As this is a new school, it is entirely possible that catchment/distance has changed since the OP first moved to the village.

This post is just dripping with derision. There is no need to be snarky about the ‘nice village’ in which the Op lives. It is understandable that a parent would want to secure the ‘best’ school she can for her son.
And frankly - some schools are unsuitable. Generally, due to badly behaved, badly brought up children, lacking parental guidance and involvement. You can pretend that isn’t the case but it is.

Whatever your appeal, please do not use the phrase “an unsuitable school” when talking about the school you do not want your child to attend. It might not meet your criteria, and it is a shame that despite your husbands experience as a head teacher you were unable to fill in the application form correctly to get the religious, rugby playing school you think is suitable for your child, but other children will be attending the “unsuitable” school and for all you know a member on the Admissions Panel could have close associations with it.

And surely, living as you do in a small “nice” village , you must have realised that travelling to school in Y7 and beyond was going to come up as an issue. I imagine all the secondary age children in your little village have to travel considerable distances to school.

Coming from such a small school, it's easy to see why RI and 'knife problem' are alarming you, but really do go and see it if you haven't. It's easy to be scared off by such reputations when the daily reality for the vast majority of pupils is fine or even better. Course you want outstanding, we all do, but I still think your top 3 strategy was risky rather than just getting an unlikely/unlucky result. What his classmates/team mates get is irrelevant unless they live in your house and have the same banding test outcomes etc. It still makes sense to put a catchment school when the alternatives are so sought after. Your best bet was the church school, so the application screw up was the unlucky thing. You've had advice on the appeal cases, which are unfortunately not strong, but it's always worth a try.

The waiting lists are more likely, but you should get on more than just those you (and everyone else) wants and try to be open-minded not alarmist. Nice villages can be bubbles and most kids cope better beyond them than we give credit for.