Primary school catchment - error in measuring distance?

[screamingtheplacedown]

DD has just been turned down for our first choice school (and offered a place at a poor school that is miles from home). The catchment area for the good school is 0.18 miles this year as it is very popular, and there is a record number of siblings this year. We live 0.183 miles from the school, so as you can imagine we are absolutely gutted.

My question is this: some near neighbours have been offered a place, and I am convinced (after some comical sessions with an OS map and a ribbon) that we are actually closer to the school gate, as the crow flies. Does anyone know how schools measure distance and has anyone successfully appealed on the grounds of inaccurate measurement? How did you gather the evidence for your appeal? (surely it ain't the ribbon method!)

By the way I absolutely HATE how this admissions system is making me so suspicious and envious of my neighbours who are lovely people and deserve the place just as much as we do, it's horrible!

I can't find anywhere that they list the requirements of the footpath. I know neighbouring authorities state they must be paved and lit, which these aren't, but nor is the road!

it's a community school which comes under the authorities admission criteria.

Neighbouring authorities state the route must be paved and lit at intervals, but can't find out about our authority. The footpaths are muddy and boggy and in reality I wouldn't use them but nor do half the parents who drive their kids to school even though deemed to have a suitable walking route. The footpaths do show up on os maps but not on any on-line distance calculators I've tried using.

Hi, I'm new to mumsnet. I would be really grateful for some advice/guidance. We have applied for a reception place to start Sep '12.

Our first choice of school is actually our closest school. This year their catchment after SEN, medical and siblings was 0.545miles. We are 0.545miles away according to the LA measurements. However, we did not get offered a place because there was another family with the same distance and the addmissions dept went to the fourth decimal place.

The family that got offered a place are 0.5447miles away and we are 0.5448miles away. That is 16cm!!
I really think that they should have selected between us using random computer selection. I have been trying to find out about the accuracy of measurements without any luck. How can they accurately measure 16cm??
They use geocodes and it's 'as the crow flies'.

I'm really stuck. I think for a successful appeal outcome we would have to prove that they should have used random selection. But I need to prove that the margin of error in measuring 0.0001miles is too great to consider.
Any ideas?

Lilmum - it's probably worth you starting your own thread so that your post appears at the top. It may well get missed otherwise.

thanks for the tip :)