NO PLACE haringey/islington (wanted coleridge/ashmount) PANIC

[schoolpanic]

we applied to four good schoools in haringey -hoping to get into the nearest, coleridge - didn't get offered any of them. we also applied to ashmount, which is a good school near haringey/islington border. everyone told us this was undersubscribed and we'd get in for sure - even the head when we visited.

we haven't got a place.

we've been offered a place by haringey at seven sisters (no idea where it is or what it's like yet)

we've got no grounds to appeal on distance. i checked the stats for coleridge last night, cut off is 0.376 and we are 0.421 (by my calculations). no surprise we didn't get into colridge but very unwelcome surprise that we didn't get ashmount.

i have no idea what to do other than go on wait lists for ashmount and coleridge, hope for the best and home school until something comes up.

if that sounds calm - i'm not! anyone got any advice?! might an appeal work (on what grounds?)

Is it infant school? If so look at all the other threads, it is very hard to win.

Now find out where you are on all the waiting lists. How many schools did you apply to? I am confused as here you can only apply to 3 schools (regardless of location) except priate of course.
Find out about the school you have been offered, it might be okay. Go and visit. Do not panic, and you may get a place, people do move (or keep state as a back up to private).

Given the admission numbers at these schools any appeal will be infant class size, which means you have to show that the LA has made a mistake but for which your child would have been admitted. Your chances of success are low but you can always have a go - something may emerge at the appeal hearing which persuades the panel to admit. Even if you lose you are in no worse a position than you are at the moment.

I can't see anything in your post that indicates a mistake was made in refusing admission to Coleridge. Ashmount is, as you say, more surprising especially given that they only admitted 47 last year against an admission number of 60. Islington's distance measurement says they use the "shortest safest walking route" which is not a very good definition and is, in my view, asking for trouble. Where there is a choice, do you go for the shortest route or the safest route? And who decides which route is "safest", using what criteria?

I would ask Islington for detailed reasons why you didn't get in to Ashmount, including the cut off distance. I would also ask them what route they used to get from your house to the school. These answers will tell you whether you might be able to argue that a mistake was made. For example, Haringey may have failed to pass on your application to Islington or there may be a shorter safe route than the one Islington have used.

If it were me I would go for an appeal even if I couldn't find evidence of a mistake with the expectation that I would lose but hoping that something might turn up.

we applied to four in haringey and one in islington.

i can't pretend i see grounds to appeal. the last estate agent to cross our threshold - when i was pregnant with dd1 - advised us not to renovate but to move cos we'd never get into a decent school from here. how right he was. we live in the wrong place - outside all catchment areas and this year is particularly bad.

i think all we can realistically do is go on waiting lists. it's sad cos dd1 is desperate to go to school. can't tell her where she'll go or if she'll go - we might have to home ed. for a while at least.

or do we try for the stroud green waiting list?! we didn't apply there so not sure if we can go on list or not. and we didn't apply cos we preferred other schools.

v useful info about islington and walking distance. i'll start plotting and buy a trundle wheel! the shortest would be along parkland walk i suspect but not sure that will be 'safe'.

what a mess.

I live in a different part of islington and it's amazing how much movement there is and how spaces come up in quite sought after schools. Lots of parents have little intention of going state but, quite reasonably, apply as a back-up. However, quite unreasonably many of them don't bother to tell the school that they don't wish to take the place as there's no financial penalty as there would be when holding a private school place.
People are always moving too, from more inner city areas.
These places may not become free until the last minute so it's worth visiting all your nearest schools and ringing up even as term starts.

Oh and I think lots of people go private from coleridge in yr3. I know that's of little consolation now but it does give you an option for later and any younger children you have would then be top of the list if dd got in then.

i can't quite believe we're in this situation. i'm gutted. all we can do is go on wait lists and hope. what sort of system is that?! ffs.

this year is bad cos baby boom and credit crunch (fewer going to private).

poor dd1 she so wants to go to school and i so wanted to show her ashmount today and start talking to her about it. how do i prepare her for maybe going to this school, maybe going to that one or maybe to none at all?!

labour just lost my vote. gordon brown would have a few choice words to say after i'd finished with him the way i feel right now.

How about StJ? That should be near you and has been undersubscribed in previous years despite an outstanding Ofsted. We got offered there (despite not being regular attendees) but will turn it down as we are offered a school in a neighbouring borough.

don't know that one - what school is it? we applied to st peters and st aidens but didn't get either of them (no surprise we're not catholic for st peters and although st aidens is our polling station we are way outside tiny catchment area)

There's probably a good chance of Ashmount due to it being on the border of 3 authorities. We applied to 2 authorities to keep our options open, so I would expect significant movement on the wait list.

Its in Islington at the top of Highgate Hill. It has a wide catchment due to lots of people going private and a rather child-unfriendly church service. It is a good school though.

please god. but everyone said we'd get in, no problem and look how wrong they were! can i really pin my hopes on lots of kids not turning up?! i mean what am i going to do, really?! sitting still and hoping could go badly wrong. no one can tell me anything positive with any certainty.
the head teacher said we'd get in. apparently they're as surprised as anyone. still, good for the school and she's an excellent head to i don't begrudge it. just wish we'd got a place!

thanks roastchicken will check it out. we are not remotely religious but am now feeling very very worried that we could end up with no good options.

st judes oversubscribed last year. maybe (another) one for the wait list...

I meant St Joseph's in Islington. It was undersubscribed last year, but may get more popular due to its last Ofsted.

You can apply to go on the waiting list for any school you want, whether you applied for it originally or not.

I would personally accept the offer made, simply so you have a place and also get on the waiting lists of all schools you want to as the first priority. Then start looking at the school offered and see what you think of it plus any others like St Joseph's that might have places. Keep as many options open as is possible by being on waiting lists.

There are always movements in the waiting lists but it obviously depends where you are in the waiting list order. As PRH says you need to investigate the reasons why you did not get a place at Ashmount especially in relation to what the LA think is a safe walking route. If all the schools are full and any appeals are infant class size then your chances of success are low especially if you can see no obvious reason for suspecting the admission arrangements have been wrongly implemented.

we're 7th on list at ashmount but can't judge how likely that is to get us in as this is a school which hasn't had a waiting list before so who knows?!
haringey, true to form, can't tell me where i am on their school waiting lists.
i am minded to not accept the offered place. it's too far away, we just can't do it.
i think i'm going to grit my teeth and hit the waiting lists. with home ed as back up i guess.

not happy about it but seven sisters wouldn't make me any happier - how would we do it and get to work?!

Hi schoolpanic,

I'm in almost exactly the same situation. We live in a 'dead spot' so not close enough to any schools to get a place and I was devastated to have been allocated a very poorly performing school.

Our plan of action is: (i) go and see the school and hope it's not as bad as it sounds (ii) put DD on every waiting list we can get our hands on (iii) check out private options (despite being anti-private in principle and hating the thought of all that money that we can't really afford...)

I'm interested in the prospect of homeschooling, although I'd be worried about lack of socialising opportunities and could also only do it for a year which would potentially leave us in exactly the same position in a year's time anyway.

I should have rented a place near a decent school for a year, like everyone else round us. Feel like I've let down DD by not playing the system :-(

Is Ashmount two form entry? Our (islington) school is and 7th on the waiting list would definitely have got in by term starting.

yes, moonsquirter (good name) i feel your pain.

my plan would be to home ed until a place came up in one of schools so not a long term option for us - and not something i'd ever thought about doing tbh.

i can't do private. i just can't. we don't have the money and i believe it's deeply unjust . though now i completely understand when people say they can't afford principles. of course, if we could afford private school fees we could have afforded to live in a decent catchment area...

and yes, i think ashmount is two form entry. it has been one in past but that was due to low numbers (i think?!)

i am wary about getting hopes up about waiting lists - for obvious reasons. the worst really can happen - as we just found out.

ps not calling you unprincipled. i too have thought about private this morning and who knows if we really don't get offered anywhere. it'll be either move or pay. but prob move as school fees are nuts in london. still, nice to feel you have a choice between betraying your child or your principles. perhaps that's what they mean by parental choice.

schoolpanic - we are in the same borough and in much the same situation. Haringey is notorious for this kind of thing, I'm afraid.

Your options are not going to be great. The decent schools (and some of not so decent ones) are oversubscribed and the others are undersubscribed for good reasons IMO. So much for parental choice, those promises don't mean much in this part of London... Oh, one option might be to ask the council about faith schools. Last year Our Lady of Muswell had a place or two at the start of Sept iirc and I really don't see why those places should go empty while children (of any faith, or none) go to crappy schools so it might be worth investigating if you can bear religious education.

Don't dispair yet, though. There will be movement between now and September, people will choose to go private or will have offers from other boroughs. Haringey will be able to tell you from 25 May where you come on the waiting list and you can plan from there. Also, you don't have to educate your child until the term after he/she turns 5 so you may have more time to sit on waiting lists than you think.

I understand why you might reject the place that was offered but I would recommend acceptance. If you reject this place the LA is under no obligation to find an alternative. Also, if you do appeal the panel might not like it if you've rejected the offered place. They may feel that you are trying to blackmail them into admitting your child. And if you don't find any better alternatives you may find that the offered place has been allocated to someone else leaving you with an even worse option.

Accepting the place doesn't mean you have to send your child to that school. It doesn't affect your place on the waiting list and it doesn't damage your chances at appeal. It simply means you are keeping that option open in case all others fail.

To me, it is a no brainer. However much you may hate the offered school I would always accept the place.

I am very confused. I live in Surrey but we got our school places under the Pan London admissions system. However you lie in London and aren't part of this scheme. It seems bizarre.

Mummytime - Pan London Admissions covers all 33 London boroughs plus Surrey. However, it only provides a co-ordinated way to apply online and get information about all schools in London and Surrey. You still apply to the individual council and they are responsible for processing your application. You don't have to apply using the Pan London Admissions website. You can still apply direct to your council if you don't want to use the online system.

we did apply online using the system but that's by the by at this stage!

i can see what you mean about accepting the offered place IF i consider it the least worst option but i'd rather home school than accept that place so why pretend?
as for the local authority thinking i'm trying to blackmail them well they've got to be kidding. who's got the power here? it's certainly not me.
I won't be appealing to haringey as i've no grounds to appeal. i would hope, however, the appeal panel would try not to be over emotional about the situation and sulk on the grounds that i should be grateful to be offered anything at all.

i'm not having a go, and i do understand your logic, but we simply couldn't manage our commitments to other children, childcare and work if we went to seven sisters. ashmout is far enough but at least it's in the right direction!