My child is in year 5 and I'm massively freaking out.
We moved to this local authority seven years ago for a couple of decent schools that we are between 2km and 4km from. At the time they would have gotten in to those schools and if it looked like they wouldn't have, we intended to move. But then the nightmare mortgage stuff happened, so moving isn't an option anymore. I feel so guilty about that and like we've let our kids down, although our house is nice and in a nice enough area.
For various reasons the population here has rocketed... over 500 more kids applied for secondary schools in 2023 than five years previously. Now our first choice schools are so out of our reach in terms of distance... not giving spaces for kids further than 1.5km away. A friend with a child in year 6 this year who is about 0.5km further away than us from our number one school has just found that her child is number 59 on the waiting list as of last week.
Our most local school- 0.3km- has a decent OFSTED but a shocking reputation socially and I don't think my child would be suited to it. They have some learning needs, although not yet at the point of an EHCP (although it's something that I'm pushing for). No other schools are closer than 1km away from us and they're all massively oversubscribed; I'm talking 800+ applications for 150 places.
Partner and I are both teachers and I'm massively spiralling, looking at progress 8 data obsessively and really freaking out. Partner is much calmer and keeps saying what will be will be (but he's a calmer person in general!)
A relative owns a house that they don't live in about 1km from the school we want and they've offered it to us. I would be happy for us all to live there for a year even to get my child into the school, but it looks like despite being an honest and wholesale move, if we keep our house without renting it out, that might be fraud.
I'm looking for people's experiences and to be talked down off the ledge. I'm losing it now and we aren't even at the point of application yet! TIA.