2013 primary school applications & catchment nightmare

[petal33]

Hi

I'm looking for a bit of advice for next year's primary school intake/applications. I'm currently in the process for appealing for DD1 as she didn't get into either local school. There is currently a catchment boundary change in progress (long & rather annoying story behind that one!) as the council recognise we are in a school black-hole - weird C-shaped catchments either side of a large park & we sit at the top iykwim, so are as far as you can get in terms of distance from either school & children out of catchment live closer to the schools (& closer to other schools too).

However, despite the council's attempts to "better align the catchments to school places" and increase all class sizes to 30, which they thought would be a secure plan until 2014 admissions, there already aren't enough places in both schools for catchment children for 2012 admission. DD2 is due to start school Sept 2013, & I can see us being in the same position as this year with no school place at all.

Any advice on anything I can do to change the situation would be gratefully received? (the sibling category thing may not be any use as if we don't win the appeal & get a place, our options realistically are HE or private & even if we do DD1 will be in a school where there usually aren't any places for children out of catchment regardless of whether they have a sibling connection or not).

Thank you!

I think you should email the LA and point out that you are in a black hole with no realistic chance of getting a place at your catchment school or any other local school. If they then do nothing you can argue at appeal that they have acted unreasonably. I can't guarantee that would win an appeal or with the LGO but it is worth a try.

Thank you!

The school we're appealing for won't be our catchment school next year, schoolsnightmare. It has refused out of catchment siblings for the 3 years previous to this year...

& thank you prh, I'll get on to them. I'm sure they're sick of me already, maybe the thought of another year of my continual calls & emails will make them do something!