Stockpot Appeal support

[Sbashir]

Please could I have some help from Admissions in 2010 you helped another parent to win her appeals case and I am the same issue with Stockpot council. I have applied late but live in the catchment area I am aware they other people have been given a place out of catchment. I have checked and they have placed my son at the bottom of the waiting list. I have emailed them saying they are not following the School code admissions but they say this does not matter and if they move him up it will disadvantage other students. I feel they are breaking the law but they will not change their mind any advice on this would be great thank you.

Just sent PM thanks

The decision that PRH refers to is obviously very old. No matter the outcome of that decision what is now necessary is for the LA to be operating their admission system as defined in the admissions code of december 2014.
The response from the LA says
"All applications received after the closing date must therefore, be considered after that point in line with the published oversubscription criteria and allocated places or placed on the waiting list, after those received by the closing date, in oversubscription criteria order."
My reading of that sentence depends entirely on an interpretation of what " after those received by the closing date" means.
I believe that it should be meaning, as specified by the admissions code, that after the initial allocation of places, all those that are late applications and all those that request going on a waiting list are formed into the waiting list in admission criteria order and not in date order. If you are being put on the bottom of a waiting list on the basis of date order then that in my opinion, is against the admission code.
As PRH says it would appear that the LA are making their own interpretation of the admission code para 2.14.

Following on from this thread, I investigated Stockport further. They have tried to work around the Admissions Code by adding a category to their admissions criteria specifically for late applicants. I referred this to the Schools Adjudicator as it is clear that the only reason for this category is to allow them to continue to put late applicants at the end of the waiting list, contrary to paragraph 2.14. Sadly, and wrongly in my view, the Adjudicator has found in Stockport's favour. They can, therefore, continue to penalise late applicants twice - first by not looking at them until after all the on-time applicants have been dealt with (as happens everywhere) but then a second time by putting them at the end of the waiting list.

It is possible that a judicial review would change things - after all, the Adjudicator's decision allows Stockport to drive a coach and horses through paragraph 2.14 of the Admissions Code. However, this would be expensive and is not guaranteed so I'm not going to go there.

The only other way to get this changed is for local parents to campaign for Stockport to fall in line with other LAs.

Hi, please may I get some support on the Stockport high school appeals? My child has been offered third choice of school instead of the first two which were in my catchment area too! I applied for the schools in time of the applications date too and wondering whether I can get somewhere if I appeal? I am on a waiting list for the first two schools but no idea as of yet what position I am in as that will be told to us around 16th March. I’d really appreciate any help.
thank you

Your offer letter will include details of how to appeal.