I'm looking at other options for my dd1 who is about to finish year 9. Her current school is struggling on various fronts and the final nail in the coffin is they can't accommodate her twin passion of art and history at GCSE, which she's properly gutted about.
The trouble is I can't find anyone to talk to about what options any potential new school could accommodate. We are in London and my search is straddling several boroughs. The council admission teams have generally been helpful at helping me identify potential schools but obviously for more detailed questions they refer me to the schools themselves and I'm getting nowhere with my approach of emailing and asking for an appointment to discuss.
I won't hear whether we have actually been allocated a place at any school until after term ends which is why I'm so keen to find out some information in advance so we can make an informed decision before accepting. Part of me feels the lack of responsiveness is a red flag but it also seems to be universal. Can anyone advise? One of the potential schools has a summer fair on today and I'm thinking of turning up and seeing if I can find anyone to chat to. Is that wise?
Alternatively if anyone has any tips about how to persuade her current school to let her do art I'd be grateful too. Her art teacher seems quite shocked but is getting the same computer says no response from the head of year. That might be because there are so many parents in a similar boat and they're working through the issues but that in itself has shaken my already faltering confidence in the school, as the timetable for options allocation has slipped massively and none of the promised conversations have happened.