Successful appeals - Richmond upon Thames borough

[ineedsomepeaceandquiet]

Hi - just wondered had been/ knew anyone who was successful in an appeal for a Primary place in Twickenham/ Richmond? A friend of mine wanted a church school but instead was offered a place in a school they didn't want. What are their chances of getting a place somewhere else?

Very low to fairly high, depending on how long she is prepared to stay on the waiting lists for. There is a lot of movement in the lists between now and next academic year - I know people who got offered places in schools that they liked better than the initial allocation just before the beginning of September last year. But there are plenty of children in the borough with no place at all so really your friend might just need to get a grip! As there are no really bad primary schools in Richmond, I'd suggest to your friend that she puts her kid on the waiting lists for the schools she likes and tries not to stress. Even the worst primary schools in this borough are good schools (and my daughter is currently attending one of the unpopular ones, having a whale of a time and learning loads).

It also depends on where exactly she is in the borough. Twickenham and Hampton can be a lot trickier than Kew, for instance.

Why is she thinking of appealing? If it is just that she doesn't like the school she's been offered, she'd be better off just staying on the waiting lists and hoping something turns up.

She's been offered a place in Healthfields/Heathlands in Whitton and lives near Twickenham Green. I am not sure now much harder/easier that makes it.
She said that the school is bad, I know nothing about it and she wants her DS to go to a church school. She is also due to give birth to DS2 the first week of September so thinkind she may want it sorted sooner rather than later

Heathfueld Infants.
Bet she wanted Archdeacon Cambridge.

She wanted St James' which I think is hard to get into. What is Heathfields like? I know nothing about it. As Haberdashery said - There are no bad schools in the Richmond borough

There is movement on the waiting lists for community schools. This approach is suitable for those with nerves of steel. Your friend should be able to discover from the council where her child is on the wait list. DS1 was 17th on the list for a 2 form entry school in Richmond and was offered a place before the start of September term.

However I think the church schools run their own wait list, and their own appeals. The RC school near me went through a rather dodgy phase in admissions a few years ago, but they seem to be following their own rules now.