Moving house - appealing place?

[jenduck]

We are in the process of moving house. We have not yet exchanged contracts but have a completion date set for 3rd June or before by agreement. We may (but really don't know) be able to exchange within the next week.

We were awarded our 2nd choice place for DS1, which is the school where we are living now. Our 1st choice would be the school in our new village. The addresses & schools are approx 3 miles apart. Both our current house & the one we are purchasing are within 300 yards of their respective schools.

At the time of putting in the application we had not offered on a property in the new village, but our house was on the market & we put in this information. We also put my parents address in the village as an address we would move to were we not able to find a property by May.

So, we rang the admissions people at our council yesterday & were told that we should do nothing until Wednesday, when we will find out our place on the waiting list.

Obviously if we exchange contracts in the meantime we will update the admissions people with this information & proof in writing.

Is there anything else we can do? My parents have suggested we contact the Headteacher of our preferred school to plead our case. Is this a good idea?

Any ideas would be much appreciated

The head teacher has no role in this, and will not be able to help you.

Is this for Reception? If so, then infant class size rules apply and the chances of successful appeal are very low (mistake in processing application which deprived DC of place, unlawful entrance criteria, or a decision so perverse it cannot be allowed to stand - the bar for this is very high, think child or witness protection issues).

You cannot secure a school place onthe basis of where you might be living in the future. Even though you know things are going well with your planned move, as you have not yet exchenged contracts, let alone moved, this will carry no weight at all.

It sounds as if you have been correctly allocated the school highest up your preference list based on the relevant address at which you lived during applications process (and which is still the only address you have), and the school in new location will have had its places filled by those who qualify under its criteria right now. It's a bugger from your pov, but it would be more unfair to deprive a child who qualifies for a place on the grounds that someone might be moving in a few months time.

Your best chance is via waiting list. Make sure you are on it, and update your address as soon as you exchange (if they will accept that) or the day you move. That should put you at or near the top of the waiting list, at which point you have to cross your fingers and hope for movement.

You

I doubt there's anything they can do until you've at least exchanged contracts. But if you let them know as soon as you do, you should hopefully find that your DS goes to the top of the waiting list. Obviously the sooner you do that, the smaller the chance of someone moving into a house even nearer and beating you to the top of the list.

Thanks guys, this is what I thought, but just wanted to canvass general opinion anyway. My parents seem to still live in the age where you just turn up at the school/council offices/wherever & ask loudly & it will be done

We are in contact with our vendors to try & exchange contracts ASAP, so fingers crossed on that.

It is such a pain that it's all happening at the same time, stressful isn't the word!