We are moving house during the school summer holidays and are currently in the nightmare of trying to sort out schooling for our 3 children in our new area. We are moving about a 30 minute drive from where we live now, so really need to change their primary school, especially as my youngest doesn't even start until September 2018 so we have many years of school runs ahead of us.
The school in the village we are moving to has a PAN of 30. I have researched and visited the school and would be really happy to move the children there. My son is currently in Year 2. There are only 25 children currently in his year, so he will have a space available in September 2017. My daughter is in Year 3 (so moving to year 4) but her year is currently full at 30.
The school currently has approx 180 pupils so there are definitely spaces in several of the years (and for example 5 in year 2). But there has been no class which has breached the PAN of 30 which apparently the governors have agreed to stick to (it is an academy). However there has also in the past been no waiting list and there have been no appeals so not particularly any challenge to accepting an extra child.
I obviously ideally want my 2 children at school together, and as I said I loved the school and think it would suit both of them brilliantly. My youngest will also be at the pre-school within the school grounds, and hopefully join her older brother there in Sept 2018. There are spaces at 2 other local schools - the closest is 2 miles away but only has 55 pupils in the entire primary. I think this would be very hard socially for my daughter as the chances to make good new friends would be limited, and I don't think it would be academically good for her either (she is and has always done very well at school and I think challenge from her peers is important which would be very reduced with only 6ish children in her year group). The other school is approx 4 miles away but an academically better fit. But this would mean a round trip of 25ish minutes in the car at either end of the school day without factoring in the impossibility of being in 2 places at once. This just seems completely unnecessary when there is a good school less than half a mile away we would walk to.
I am hoping for some advice on the chances of the school agreeing to breach their PAN and admit my daughter without appeal. Or if we go to appeal do we have any relevant grounds. I understand logistics of getting 2 children to school and wanting siblings to remain together are not usually good reasons. I do think the academic fit of the school would be good for her - can I mention this? She is a very able pupil and this is a school with great results and outstanding teaching, especially challenging for more able pupils. I also would like her to have the chance to make new friends where we live before she moves to secondary. And to have the independence to be able to walk to school in year 5/6 in preparation for secondary which would only be doable at this school. What appears to be a minor point (to me) is she currently has flute lessons at her school which she could continue at the village school but are not offered at the alternative option (which I understand could be relevant).
Thanks for reading - sorry it's so long!