Secondry school admissions

[Thaigal]

My local secondry schools are all hell-holes, therefore I will not allow my children to go to them.

So...what happens at the time if that is all they will offer me? Basically I will be making 3 choices, my first will be a small but excellent all boys school with no catchment area (voluntary aided city centre school). My second choice will be a nice school in the village just outside of the city (not in our catchment area but close enough to be realistic) and the 3rd is a decent enough school a few miles away, again not in the catchment area but close enough to be realistic.

So what happens if, at the time they offer my son a place at one of the 2 local chav hell-holes? Obviously I will refuse it but how much choice do I really have? Has anyone experienced this?

why don't you contact the LEA and ask what sort of numbers out of catchment go to the schools you have chosen?
You could also ask how big your DS's year is (some school years just have a lot more pupils than others which must affect this sort of issue).

(bit depressed by yr post tho tbh.)

I haven't directly experienced it, but a friend who lives in an area which doesn't really have a "catchment area" school (yes, we have such places in London) got offered all the hell-holes, appealed for first choice (20 minutes walk away - her son would've got in there had he been a Band 2 not a Band 1 - mad world!), was turned down and ended up going private. You're doing the right thing in not putting the hell-holes on your form, as if you were then allocated one you would have lost your right to appeal. I realise this is not what you wanted to hear, but you do need to consider what your fall-back options are. Home-ed? Private? Putting up with the hell-holes somehow?