To be frustrated we might not get a place at this primary school?

[coffeeforone]

We live very close to the school (about 200m). School has a defined catchment area which is quite big. We are of course within it. Unfortunately, based on previous three years, not everyone in the catchment gets offered a place. Looks like the 90 places are all used up part way though criteria 4 of the below list:

1. LAC
2. Exceptional Need
3. Siblings
4. Children living in the defined catchment area of the school*
5. Nearest School

*"If the number of children in the defined catchment area is greater than the number of places available at the school, places will be offered to those living the furthest distance from the school, measured in a straight line”

in the past two years, the closest the allocation has been about 240m and 340m, so it appears we might live too close! AIBU to be disappointed by the realisation that DS's chances are so slim? Its such a great school

OP I would aske MN HQ to move your thread to Primary Education. There are some very canny and experienced admissions experts on there who wIll, if you ask them (you could pm them) have a look at the admissions criteria for the school and LA and advise you how to proceed, i.e. whether to contact the school, the LA or the local government ombudsman.

Friends DC goes to a school with a furthest away has priority admission rule too, it is a thing (seems bonkers though- she is far too far away to walk to school, and presumably most the pupils will have to get there by car too).

The only time they have given a "furthest distance allocated" was 4 years ago where a couple of places were allocated under criteria 5 too (nearest school but outside catchment). Distance was 678m.

The school is just inside the border of the catchment. So those on the other side of the catchment (but still very close) would only get a space under criteria 5 if there weren't enough applications in the catchment (this happened in 2016, but not in the more recent 3 years.

@MrsMaiselsMuff yes it's Surrey!

I wonder whether this is to do with the distribution of schools in the area, and if they didn't do furthest first those people would end up in a black hole.
Sounds very unusual.
No doubt @prh47bridge will be along in a while.

I think that’s an error. It’s always closest when distance is used.

Teen - yes I'm thinking it must be something like that. As there is another school close enough for us - it's just not as good so very frustrating.

I was going to suggest it may be because the other school has no defined catchment and it's to avoid having pupils admitted over 2 miles away (to the other school) (because then la have to provide and fund transport for children up to 8yo).

epsom-ewell-libdems.org.uk/en/article/2008/0035666/reverse-catchment-when-southfield-park-expands-in-2009

There was also a recent petition to extend the catchment to a new development just outside the catchment.

How interesting. You learn something new every day.

I think TeenPlusTwenties is right. Especially as the school is on the border of the catchment - clearly that and the bizarre admissions policy is to compensate for there being an uneven geographical distribution of schools in the area.

Thanks @Comefromaway . So there appears to be a logical explanation and unfortunately the wording is correct

It’s just badly written. Those living closest will get a place first.

Read the thread Herky!

Eh? What a bonkers idea! Why should people who live closer to the school be at a disadvantage? If DD hadn’t been admitted to our first choice because we were ‘too close’, I would have kicked off.

I can sort of see why children should get priority if they’re further from another school (not just their second/third choice as I can imagine people playing that system) but only to a point. If their next closest school is 600m, it’s surely not an issue.

If it is SP, then it's entirely deliberate, because of the admissions hole that those furthest from the school fall into otherwise. The school was built to service the new (well now 20 years old in parts!) developments and people weren't getting in, and lived so far from any other school that they were being allocated schools a long way away. So the catchment was created and the admissions designed that way.

If you are just off the south end of catchment, you should get SG or EP. Both good schools.

Thanks - EP is our second choice which is fine. It was just disappointing to realise as SP is better and it's so close!

I tried to change a few details in my OP (intake and exact distance) as not to out the school/myself but it's probably now possible to pinpoint my address 🙈

It is odd, especially as this is a community school. Most LAs use the same admission criteria for all community schools. I've come across some odd criteria such as the LA that gave places based on which child lived furthest from their nearest alternative school, presumably an attempt to minimise travelling distances but it was fairly easy to show that in some circumstances their approach maximised the amount of travelling. However, I've never come across one that awarded places to the children living furthest away before.

Why do they do it? I don't know. My guess is that this might be an attempt to stop house prices in the roads immediately around the school rocketing, but it could equally be to stop admissions black holes as TeenPlusTwenties suggests. As it is a community school, the council should be able to explain the reason. Unfortunately the consultation when they introduced this rule doesn't seem to be available online.

The Catholic secondary in our town offers places on furthest distance first. Presumably to keep the town centre riff raff out and let the kids from naice villages in.

Most years everyone in the catchment seems to get in. This year it even went part way up Manor Green Road which is very unusual! It is a really lovely school and the headteacher is amazing.

London based here. I don't know if it is relevant but my niece goes to a flagship academy which is heavily oversubscribed. She lives in the borough of the school but on the outskirts of the borough and the school had to take a certain amount of kids who fit that criteria and that is how she got her place. I also know from her application process that some people might live closest to a school which is in fact outside their catchment area or borough. My niece fits into that category because her closest school is in the neighbouring borough therefore if distance was prioritised over borough/catchment area, she would get the place over a neighbouring borough resident. I think they generally want people to go to as local school as possible within the council they reside in.

My niece's situation seems to fit 4 and 5.

Another friend recently appealed her child's primary school place and they found they'd given a place to a "sibling" of a child who had left in the previous year so would now be in Year 7.