Just been told by Admissions that i can not send my child to the 2 closest schools as they are not in my catchment area!

[Totallyfloaty35]

The one in my catchment area is a huge school,its a very good school(used as a selling point by estate agents around here) but not suitable for DD in my opinion.
The 2 closest are church schools (we attend church)i like these better but i was told by one of them i would not get to see the school until all the local families had had an invite.
Im so confused,i thought the nearest schools were ones you went to

Ask them for admissions criteria and see if there are any options for you. I think it's very odd that you cannot even see the school. Surely anyone can apply. Do they not reserve x places for church goers regardless of catchment / distance?

How old is your DD?

I phoned back and spoke to someone else asking for admissions criteria( thanks Strix) and as we attend church in the parish we are second on the list however im still not allowed to view the school until after the catchment families(weirdly some of the streets they gave me as being in catchment are over a mile further than my own).

totallyfloaty....your situation sounds very similar to mine.....what location are you in?....north London?

If that was me I would immediately discount that school as a place to send my kids. You should be able to go to any school and ask to look around. Any half decent school is going to show you around and yes they will then point out that you might well not get a place. But to just say no is actually very rude and also by only allowing visits from catchment families is getting very close to breaking the admission code in my opinion.

I would also phone and ask to talk to the head, just in case they don't know this is what the office staff said. But I have discounted a school in the past because they wouldn't let me visit outside the open day (I wanted to check schools before moving house).

Saying you can't even visit is strange and would really put me off. When we moved I visited lots of schools and at the time we were in our old house. I would have discounted any school not willing to let me look round.

I agree with Noah. I would send an e-mail to the head teacher and tell him/her who told me this and ask if this is really the case. It would make me want to vist the school more, and send my child there less.

The church school near us never lets any parents look round - I think the first time you see an actual classroon is after you accept your place. Also, there should be a catchment area map somewhere - ask for that.

can't you ask in church about it?

It is very odd, but my friend is in catchment and they told her she cant come until she has an invite.The school is listed as outstanding but i do like to check for myself.
Already called the vicar and he says we are top of the list so im not to worry.
Pixie they are having open days but i do not like open days i prefer to see a school in action.
Sonsmum we are on the south coast.

In reply to your original question which i ignored in my haste to decry the school not allowing visitors. Community schools are likely to have catchment zones, so you will be in zone for a school but church schools do not necessarily have a catchment zone. If they do it is likely to be a catchment in terms of parishs served by the church to which the school is attached and could be much wider than the catchment zone of the community school.

The catchment is probably covered by the admission criteria rather than being specifically stated. So it will give priority by saying something like pupils living in the parish of St X who are regular attenders of St X, followed by a definition of what they mean by regular attenders.

Do not rely on what the vicar says, they do not (in theory) have a direct say on who gets a place or not, it is the admission criteria and who gets priority from that, that dictates who gets places. I have lost count of the number of admission appeals where a parent has relied on the vicar / priest saying it will be all right and felt soemwhat cheated when they don't get the promised place.

So you need to check out the criteria and make sure you meet that criteria in terms of being a regular attendee of the church.

if as is possible you are in my neck of the woods then the Community primary you are referring to is Coleridge which is unusually large at four form entry. The church school may well be St Michels C of E in Highgate in which case their admission criteria are published on their web site,

Its a points system in which you get points for where you live, maximum points being in a designated set of roads in Highgate plus points for church affiliation and a couple of other things I forget. Although complex it is commendably transparent.

If its not the right area my example is only relevant in the sense of saying that church schools use LOTS of different systems.