Late Grammar School offer: over the moon but stressed/flummoxed

[PermaShattered]

What a 3 days we've had - any insightful comments welcome. In short:

1. Our daughter was offered 3rd choice (her 11+ score was about 30 down on passmark);
2. 3rd school is outstanding but we appealed to 2nd choice school as was our preference;
3. Last Friday took calls from our local Ed admissions authority saying why appealed when have offer from grammar school?
4. Said we hadn't. She made further calls to other relevant admissions authority and came back and told us we definitely have an offer and it would be in post next day (Saturday just gone);
5. It duly arrived, and we posted our acceptance same day (they should have got it today) - verbal acceptance of place given by phone on Friday;
6. On Friday the Authority also withdrew both our place at 3rd choice school and our appeal to 2nd choice school;
7. Today i take a call from a friend whose daughter got substantially higher score than my DD - and she is 188 on waiting list;
8. I call our admissions auth to check they received our acceptance (they said still in posttray but will be dealt with this afternoon);
9. I query whether there could possibly an error and i'm told categorically 'no'. And if there was, we have a written offer, accepted it and they can't take it off our daughter;

10. Finally, my other DS is that grammar school.

I'm perplexed. What could be a possible explanation?

fiddly - it was the friend's DD that was 188th on the list. Somewhere upthread it was mentioned that the OP's DD was 300th on the list.

People are clutching at straws when they assert that the DD would have got a place in a different year.

Just to repeat, there is no flexibility in the Appeals Code that allows the panel to make what Yellowtip regards as a common sense decision (although I personally disagree - I think it is common sense that an incorrect offer must stand unless it is withdrawn quickly. What if the parent has already gone out and bought the uniform, for example, or made childcare arrangements depending on the school their child will attend? No-one is going to compensate them for that). The panel must first consider if the admission arrangements comply with the law and the Admissions Code and have been administered correctly and impartially. If they have not and the child has been deprived of a place as a result the appeal succeeds. End of. They cannot even think about whether or not the child is of the required standard. The Appeals Code does not allow them to do so.

Well obviously I missed a letter in typing but apart from that I stand by the statement LaV. But then as a callow youth I was rather into judicial lawmaking and I suppose I rather hope that the tradition stays strong.

Yes quite fiddly and Habba: no way no how would that score be quite likely to merit a place in proximate years. Perma sounds incredibly reasonable, so there's no personal swipe intended, but let's all face the truth: there really is not the slightest shred of a moral ground here to plead that the appeal should 'in fairness' be upheld. A week in a family's life was put under secondary school admissions related strain, but that's hardly life changing. This child did not merit a grammar school place, she knew before the cock up that she did not on the test score merit a grammar school place, so a few days of elevated hope shouldn't suffice to win a grammar school place with hundreds legitimately above her on the waiting list. Why then the moral outrage?

I'm afraid a close reading of the Code can produce very opposite views on the facts of this case. I do have to say again that I think the AP's reading is completely correct.

Oh come on prh, in April! What parent in April buys uniform in a seven day surprise window unless they're completely nuts? And do you really need childcare for a secondary child?

prh define precisely 'admission arrangements'.

OK yellowtip - you think the solution is fair. I don't myself, partly because they messed up her other appeal in the process and partly because despite OP asking and asking them if it was the correct decision they insisted that it was.

I suspect that if the first choice school had been an oversubscibed comprehensive in a non grammar area and the offer had been made say because the wrong distance had been measured and then withdrawn, that it wouldn't have generated so much disagreement.

I think you still need to organise post school care for an 11 year old, if you yourself are out at work until 6 or later at night.

Yellowtip Admissions Code Pages 8-17 sets out the rules for admissions arrangements, including Published Admission numbers, Oversubscription criteria, Consultation and Determination which must all adhere to the Code's rules and timescales.

Most people I know by uniform for high school as soon as they can so yes April/may time as if you wait much later its out of stock. High schools recommend ordering by may to make sure you have it for sept.

People are getting their knickers in a twist because this is a grammar school, but that ius irrelevant to the appeal in this case which is about maladministration. All schools and LA,s have to abide by the admissions code.

I've never known anyone buy uniform in April for a school start in September. It's a very silly thing to do; kids grow like weeds at that age.

It's irrelevant. She had every right to rely on the promise of a school place. It's established in LGO cases.

Buying uniform: I remember that we spread the purchase of mine out over a few months simply on cost grounds. Grammar school uniforms then had a habit of being expensive, slightly unusual colours, different style of skirt, all that sort of thing, which made them a bit more exclusive, but meant that you couldn't just get something from M & S, but required a trip to a special uniform shop. I don't know whether that is the case now.

My ds2 starts high school in sept, I have already got some of his uniform, ditto when ds1 started high school I had it all by may time. Just bought a size bigger than they were. High school uniform is expensive, rugby shirts, blazers, regular sports kit, trousers, shirts etc. Start ASAP and spread cost out but all uniform bought BEFORE the summer school holidays start, as shopping for school uniform in school summer break is a nightmare! I am not unusual in that, most parents I know have already bought uniform for next sept.

5mad things I'm quite prepared to be labelled slack mum but my eight DC have always, without exception, been bought their uniform in those few days after the Aug bank hol and before term starts. It's never been a particular problem. I'm not prepared to preoccupy my summer with school uniform angst. You should learn to relax.

Well I can't speak for all grammars but our grammar uniform is extremely cheap relative to other secondary schools, though it is supposed to come from a particular source. But it can be ordered online/ by phone etc. at minimal extra cost. Postage is less than petrol from a short distance away + car parking in the town centre, for sure.

Yellow,

School uniform is expensive (relative to many people's incomes). Many, many people buy it on a one or two items a month basis on those grounds alone, especially if they have more than one child. A single smash-and-grab raid in August just wouldn't be possible for many families. It's not a case of 'learning to relax', more 'needing to budget'.

Also, of course, many schools sell their own uniform - so e.g. sports shirts in secondary, sweatshirts in primary can ONLY be bought from the school and so MUST be bought before mid-July, often earlier e.g at 'new parent' events around Juneish.

hubba in a case where a DC simply wants to go to the same school as her sister Have I made out that's my argument? Really. So sorry. I missed that out of my appeal submission. Perhaps I'd have won if I had.

Seriously, what are you on? What thread have you been reading? She wants to go to the school that was her first choice and where she was offered a place and thought she was really going to for a week. Then the place was withdrawn. End of. The sibling factor is a small part of it.

I don't preocupy my summer with angst I buy it before the summer. There is one school u inform a shop in my city (to get logo stuff) and if I left it took Aug it would be hideous. Instead I gave got the link logo bits already is rugby shirt, blazer etc and will picked up trousers this week in m&s as they had an offer on, ditto shirts.

At toddlers today numerous mums are sating they had bought uniform already. Its normal IMO and it can be mayhem in the shops end of Aug, I would rather spend the weekend at the beach or out having fun, I want to enjoy the last few days of the summer break, not spend them in a heaving school uniform shop in town that has sold out if various sizes.

I am relaxed ask don't have to worry about it being sold out or go shopping when its hideously busy.

5Mad - Some parents might buy the uniform sooner rather than later but within 7 days of getting the offer letter???

I left it till August. I didn't want to put a few hundred on the plastic until I really had to. Plus kids grow a lot in 4-5 months. Also Tesco and friends do great back to school deals in the summer months

In any case, shops have been known from time to time to offer refunds on returned good :)

As for hiring childcare, do you know any parent that has entered into a contract that had no get out clause, all within 7 days of an offer letter?And unless the school is miles away, doesn't a 11 year old just walk home?

Sorry but arguing that someone should keep the school offer because they might have bought the uniform or made child care arrangements in those 7 days is a rather weak argument.

She had every right to rely on the promise of a school place. It's established in LGO cases.

Not for selectives it seems lougle. And the correct decision was issued on allocation day, the mark was known to be spectacularly below the cut off, there were no special circumstances, there was just a massive cock up which morally the OP and her DD have no 'right' to benefit from. The DD had her chance with the test and she fluffed it. As far as I'm concerned, without special circumstances, her 'rights' ended there.

Can't order online etc. Its a short walk into city center and its nor too expensive if buying for one child, it is as you know with eight expensive buying for a bunch of children at once.

And sizes being sold out is an issue come august.

teacher that's ironic, but I needn't explain why.

You can't get logo uniform in tesco and yes people buy within days of getting an offer of a place, not unusual at all.

Kids grow but I can judge if mine have just had a growth spurt, know if I need next size up etc.

Anyway this is irrelevant, the ops dd was offered a place and they left it to long (by case law) to withdraw that place.

Don't know where you live Habba but a good half of the children at the schools mine went to lived more than three miles away and had to be bussed in.

5madthings I have an interesting modern device called a Tesco Credit Card. I whack the whole lot on there in late Aug/ early Sept and budget from that. And of course you can return the items if unused. We need to inject real life back into this thread! (Not saying my slack habits are ideal, just that they work).