Secondary school admissions help

[SpringBloomSunshine]

Hi,

I applied for a grammar school place in Birmingham back in October as my son got a really good score in his 11+ exam and was confident he would get his first choice school since he is PP, lives in catchment and achieved above the qualifying score.

I was contacted 27 October for proof of address and replied on 28 as requested along with extra supporting evidence. I didn’t hear anything back from admissions, despite chasing whether everything was in hand in December and again January.

By February I was getting more anxious so sent a third email chasing it and again heard nothing until i finally phoned only to be told my application wasn’t processed because they never received my proof of address before the deadline of 31 October.

I have been relentlessly trying to resolve this because I sent everything by email as requested on 28 October. They said they didn’t receive it until December which is absurd.

I’ve since been emailed to say the application will be processed as a “late application” and on 2nd March, next week, I won’t receive any offers. This has practically shattered my world after my son prepared for the test for 2 years. It was a lot of hard work and emotional turmoil. The chances of him getting a space at grammar now is slim because we’ve been told he will go onto a waiting list for each of the grammar schools we applied for.

I have escalated it to a formal complaint with the council and am yet to receive a response from their “stage 1” process.

Can anyone suggest what else I can do or give me any reassurance about what might happen. I’ve been at my wits end for weeks trying to push for it to be processed as “on time” and to get offers made on 2 March, but since the formal complaint takes 15 days for a reply, I’m now at the realisation that the application won’t be processed as “on time” despite it being no fault of mine.

This sounds very stressful, I’m so sorry.

Do you have anything that shows you sent the proof of address in October? Can you see the email in your sent items, does it definitely appear to have gone through ok? There was no bounceback message and it didn’t get stuck in outbox due to size or something like that?

Also your follow ups in Dec and Jan, were they emails and can you see in your sent items that they went through?

If you have these emails in your sent items then print them off and keep them, you may need them for appeal. I would also forward all the emails to the council right now to show them that you did send it on time.

At appeal, if you can demonstrate an admissions error (eg, they didn’t count your application as they thought they hadn’t received address proof, but actually they had) and that your son would have got a place without the error, then you should win the appeal. Appreciate that is not as good as getting a place next week.

Thank you for the reply. Yes, I have screenshots of everything - all the emails sent from the original email with proof of address sent in October, and the follow up emails in December and January - all the screenshots show the emails as having been sent and I have forwarded everything to the admissions back office, along with screenshots of the actual proof of address aswell.

I’m wondering whether someone received my email in October and deleted it. The back office are saying they simply didn’t receive it, which makes no sense at all because I diligently sent everything and read everything back for days in my sent folder to ensure I had included everything correctly, as you do as a worried parent.

I’m currently awaiting a response from the complaint team but it seems they have no sense of urgency because their response so far has been that it will be 15 working days. I doubt they can offer me a place now on 2 March because it would have a ripple effect on thousands of other offers they have already made.

You may have a case for appeal. And your son being admitted as an extra pupil.

Thank you for your reply - that’s useful to know - I didn’t know “extra pupil” was possible at grammar schools.

As a lay person, it seems to me that if you can evidence you sent the info on time then this would be a clear error on their part and you should get a place without even having to go to appeal, though they might make you appeal. Especially so as they didn't chase for the info again.
If you wait patiently i expect an admissions expert will be along shortly, they are normally very helpful.

I totally agree with you - I shouldn’t have to go through an appeals process due to an internal admin error. I hope they go through all my screenshots of submitted documents and see that I sent everything on time and conclude that I shouldn’t be penalised… look forward to getting some feedback or input from an admissions expert, thank you …

This does appear to be a clear error on their part. Assuming your son would have been offered a place had they not made this error, they should award a place without any need for an appeal. Indeed, as offers haven't gone out yet, it is possible they will sort this before offers are made, although that is unlikely given the limited time available. However, some LAs are pretty obstinate so they may force you to go through an appeal. It sounds like you have good evidence of the mistake so, provided your son should have been offered a place, you should win your appeal if it goes that far.

I didn’t know “extra pupil” was possible at grammar schools.

Yes a school admiting an extra pupil is possible if you win an appeal or in the case of a clear proven mistake. As @prh47bridge (who is expert) says, the authority shouldn’t make you go to appeal if it’s clear there has been an error, but they might. Or half way - they may make you put in an appeal but then not fight it.

Keep pushing and phoning! I’m sure you will. Make it clear you will appeal on grounds on error if they don’t sort it asap.

I appreciate the response @prh47bridge Today was the last working day before National offer day, and to my dismay I didn’t receive a response from the Complaints Team. This means I more than likely won’t receive any offers on Monday 2 March. Truly devastating.

So now, it could go either way - complaints team get back to me before the deadline on 5 March to say they made an error so the place will be offered to my son (perhaps as an “extra pupil”), or they conclude their stage one process and maintain that no proof of address was received so my application will be processed as “late” and so my son will have to go through the waiting lists.

I’m assuming the latter is when I would have the chance to appeal? When does this appeal take place and do they “save spaces” for people who win the appeals? I’m trying to work out how they would allocate spaces to those who win an appeal if all the spaces at a school are already allocated on National Offer Day and accepted?

Also, is the appeal in person? Or by email?

Thanks a million. Honestly, posting on here and the replies since yesterday have helped share the weight from my shoulders.

@minipie knowing about the possibility of getting a place as an extra pupil has been so helpful in calming my nerves, because I genuinely thought if I didn’t get an offer on NOD, that was the end of the possibility of attending that school

@SpringBloomSunshine - You will receive an offer of some kind in the near future, although it clearly won't be the one you want unless the LA accept they have made a mistake. The offer letter will also tell you how to appeal, so you can appeal straight away. You don't have to wait for the complaints team to get back to you.

There will be a deadline for lodging appeals. Your appeal will be heard no more than 40 school days after that deadline, which probably means May or June.

They do not save spaces for people who win appeals. If you win your appeal, your child will be admitted even though the school is already full. The school has no choice in that.

Appeals are generally heard in person. In theory you can ask for your case to be decided on the written cases, but it is usually better to go for a hearing. That gives you the chance to put your case to the appeal panel and for them to ask you questions to clarify anything that isn't clear. If the case is dealt with on the written cases, the appeal panel won't be able to question you so you could lose simply because they didn't understand your case.

@prh47bridge thank you.. if my application is processed as late, when is it that they normally make offers?

Just to add to the above - in my area appeal hearings are usually by video call.

You and the admissions authority will both put written cases in ahead of the hearing - your case will be all about demonstrating that you did provide proof of address, and therefore there has been an error. (Provide all the emails!). The school may deny it. The panel will ask you both questions as already said.

There is no standard for that and Birmingham don't appear to give any dates. In all honesty, I would ring Birmingham next week and ask them how you can go about starting the appeal process if you don't hear anything from them on Monday.

@prh47bridge so you recommend I call them to enquire about starting the appeals process ahead of waiting for the conclusion of the formal complaint?

Yes, I would. With no clear timescale as to when they will get back to you, I wouldn't wait.

Apart from this do consider that even as a late applicant going via Waitlist your son might get a place given his score + proximity as his place in the WL will be determined by the score (if that’s the admissions criteria) or proximity (if that’s the criteria). His position might be high enough for him to get in with a little movement in WL. This might not even go to appeal. However it’s not something you can control but you could hope for.

My DD got her place in autumn term at grammar via WL.

Have you rung the King Edward VI Foundation and explained the situation to someone? Could you ask for the direct email address of someone at the foundation, and them send them the evidence you have (email receipts, screenshots of sent messages)?

I will keep my fingers crossed for you @SpringBloomSunshine

I don’t have any experience in your local authority (I’m in another big 11+ area) but, if things don’t resolve over the next few days, perhaps contact your local MP.

If you can prove your situation then a local child in receipt of the Pupil Premium not being given a grammar place because of an LA admin error would be a very interesting case for your local MP and staff to look into. And possibly your local press, if needs be.

@gldd at this stage I don’t think the schools themselves can do anything because it’s the council who allocate the spaces - is this correct please @prh47bridge ?

Thank you @Ohcrap082024 … I didn’t receive any offers on National Offer Day today, and it feels gutting to be in this position when everyone around my son is getting their results. I did consider speaking to a local councillor to see if they could help. I think the first step is for me to await the outcome of the formal complaint - because I’m hoping they will allocate him a place as an “extra pupil” due to their internal error. If they don’t do this then I will have to consider other options :(

But the Foundation oversees the process, no? And would it not be worth at least trying to speak to someone there? They do answer the phone I believe...

No, the Foundation does not oversee the process. The Foundation's role is to take the list of applicants sent to them by the LA, sort them into order using their oversubscription criteria and return the list to the LA. The LA, in its role co-ordinating admissions, oversees the Foundation, not the other way round. It is highly unlikely the Foundation can help at this stage. All they could do is ask the LA why OP's son wasn't on the list, in which case it is likely they will be told that OP's application was late. They won't have the information to figure out what really happened and they cannot offer OP's son a place at this stage. All offers must be made by the LA.

@SpringBloomSunshine - I would recommend contacting the LA today and asking them how to appeal. It may be that your complaint will result in them allocating a place to your son, but the worst thing that could happen is that they reject your complaint and take so long over it that you've missed the deadline for appeals by waiting. They would still have to allow you to appeal, but your appeal would be heard after all the on-time appeals, which could reduce your chances of winning.

@prh47bridge Thank you for clarifying the role of the Foundation. The deadline the formal complaint team gave me is this Thursday 5 March and they said I should receive a reply by then - should I still contact admissions today to ask about how to start the appeal process or wait until the 5th to see the outcome of the complaint? I’m hoping there may be a chance that the result of the investigation and complaint is that I get offered a place and don’t need to go through the appeal?…

Thursday is close enough that you can wait. The deadline for appeals won't be that soon. So yes, I think you are sensible to wait and see what they say. However, if they reject your complaint, you should definitely start an appeal.