Crying - Wrong Preference

[Tazbo]

Hi All,

My wife and I were separated at the time we applied for our daughters primary school place as she was suffering from severe depression. We were both going through a divorce and I somehow (stupidly) ordered our school preference in the wrong order. We today were offered a place at a school which should have been our third choice and since my application I have heard nothing but negative things about the school. I was in tears when I realised my mistake today.

My wife and I have since got back together and what should have been our second choice option is walking distance from our home, I called my LA and they have said you can't technically appeal as your second third choice was never offered due to the second choice being accepted. I have been in bits all day and sat in a car park with my head in my hands. I have no idea what to do as according to the Manchester City council website the school of our choice says 90 places and 90 places offered (155) applicants. I don't think I have a chance now of getting her in. Can anybody please help a father who has possibly made the biggest mistake of his life.

Good. Unless you are willing to home-educate or go private, you need to hang on to the offer you have, so that your child has somewhere to start school in September.

Here's hoping the waiting list works for you.

Tazbo, accept the third place school for now. Try not to let it all get you down.

It was a mistake but there was a lot going on at the tin in your life. I have worked in many schools and honestly, the ones that have the great name aren't always the best. Your child might have a fantastic teacher and a diverse group of friends.

Could you visit the school to put your mind and concerns at ease. Also don't forget you are the child's main educator and you will do all you can too.

In a school with an intake od 90, and in an urban area, my guess is that there will be lots of movement on waiting lists. And if you live very close you will be very high up the waiting list.

Places even come up 2 weeks after the start of term.

Make sure you are on the waiting list of your favourite school and every acceptable other school, and something will come up!

Chin up and good luck - and good luck to you and your wife, too. Don't let this pull you apart again - home life (however it is set up) is a far bigger factor in the success and happiness of our kids than the school, so don't go to bits.

Please, please please tell me you have this in writing from a named person in the school admission office.
If not you have put yourself in a very difficult position. You now do not have a place and in theory the LA can just say no places available in the schools,go to appeal (and probably loose) and you will have no school place. Yes Manchester LA will find you a place eventually but Manchester LA is a very large place and it could literally be anywhere and actually they do not need to do that they could just leave you to sort it out.
If this was verbal then on Tuesday morning at 0900 you need to be on that phone and be telling the LA admission office you do not want to have the place withdrawn or if the LA insist, wrongly, on the stated course of action that they put it in writing to you before you agree to it.
I will guarantee 100% that if you go to appeal saying I withdrew the place because that is what the admission office told you to do, then the presenting officer for the LA at the appeal, who will not be from the admission office, will say that the admission office would not have given you that advice and you are screwed!

Admission don't worry, the OP says he thought the advice to reject the place was not good advice (and that's putting it mildly) and I believe thankfully he hasn't followed it.