Sec School Placing Request denied. Any advice?

[Cheerfullygo4]

Dd11 in P7 of denom Primary. Due to personal reasons we would prefer her to go to the local, in catchment, non denom secondary. Council has informed us that this is being denied due to sector change. The preferred school offers a sport that the local Denom doesn't that DD has a good talent and particular interest in. We also don't want her to go to a faith school, a faith that we have come to the difficult realisation is not for us. Has anyone successfully appealed a similar decision? Any useful advice welcomed. Thanks.

No experience of the denom/non-denom issue. In our council then that isn't really an issue as I think you can simply choose but appreciate that other councils are under higher pressures. Is there a way to be "unbaptised" and therefore not qualify for the denom school?

Unfortunately that's not an option. Thanks for the reply though.

Good luck Cheerfullygo Hopefully someone will be along with something useful. My Dss were placing requests due to to bullying but i think in the end the school had places anyway so we didn't really need a reason. Does DD play that sport at a high level? Is the preferred school a "school of sport"? Can you get any info on cases where "change of sector" has been allowed? Freedom of information request maybe?

Oh dear. It's most likely that there was simply no space.

I'd look at the handbooks and websites of all primary schools in the non-denom's catchment to count up the number of P7s. It may be slightly off but will give you an indication of the potential new S1 roll.

You can appeal, although I've never known anyone who has tried.

She does play at high level and preferred school is a designated school of sport but not THE school of sport. Hopefully we can gather some information and perhaps testimonial from sports club to support appeal. Fingers crossed.

Is it your closest/easiest to travel to school of sport?

It's our closest secondary which makes it even more galling.

The thing about High School as compared to primary is that the chance of pupil number changes and spaces being freed up is a lot higher than in primary. It might be worth trying to find out if sector changes are easier outwith the P7 to S1 transition? I think it's about emphasising why the wanted school is required (it's a need, not a want) and if possible establishing if there is a precedent where change of sector has happened previously. Also worth looking at other councils and what they do to show maybe that your council policy is discriminatory?

Is there any chance of getting a place for her in a non denom primary now?

I appreciate this would be a little disruptive for he P7 final weeks, but might be worth it as then the transition wouldn't be change of sector? I'm presuming this is Glasgow?

What council?

We are in East Dunbartonshire, lots of pressure on local secondaries which are very full. Lots of parents who attend the local RC primary don't want them to go to the catchment RC secondary - because it's a considerable distance away in Bishopbriggs. The local non-denom secondary is literally next door to the RC primary so most parents opt for that.

Had a friend in that situation. She was handed her son's transfer form in P7 stating "your catchment secondary is the RC one in Bishopbriggs". She crossed that out and wrote the name of the non denom secondary instead. She is in the catchment for the non-denom secondary. Son got a place.

It will all depend on the order of preference which the council employs. They will always accommodate children in catchment from non-denom feeder schools first. And looked after children. Then it really depends on the individual policy - whether it's siblings out of catchment next, or children from other schools living in catchment, or whatever. That information isn't secret and should be on the council website, if you dig for it.

Whether she gets a place or not depends on so many factors, it's not like England where you just put your name on a waiting list and move up that list as people drop out. One of DD's friends had an exceptionally strong case for getting a place in a non-catchment school and even with letters from GP, head teacher and everyone even vaguely official they could think of, they didn't place her.

Thanks for all the comments and advice. Will certainly take it on board. Criteria all laid out clearly except for sector transfers. It doesn't seem to happen very often. The thing that does irritate is out of catchment children who recently transferred into catchment school have places. I didn't want to disrupt her final year and perhaps a primary sector transfer wouldn't have been granted either. I'm sure it is quite unusual for appeals to get into our councils secondary schools. Most folk want out into neighbouring councils schools. Thanks all for comments.

I do know of people who've started the appeal process and then ended up getting in to the school anyway without needing to go to the appeal. Just as well, because as far as I could make out, it was just because they preferred the other school and were using the sibling rule as an older sibling was already there on a placing request) That was 7 years ago though (iirc, they wanted Wood Farm rather than Bellahouston).

Ds was a successful placing request to Shawlands Academy. If we hadn't got in, I would have appealed based on the sport (it was just becoming a School of Rugby). I know that since then it has become even more popular: iirc, last year they thought that they were going to have to have a waiting list and/or not all placing requests were successful, but actually at the beginning of the school year, everyone who wanted to had got in

Ds is now in his 1st year at Uni though, so I'm not as "in the loop" about what is happening there now.

I would try appealing based on both your dd's sport and that you are in catchment - but you may find that your dd gets a place before the appeal even gets heard.

I'm hoping that will be the case that she will get in. Once the neighbouring placing request letters go out then hopefully it will free up some spaces. Will need to keep mithering the Council. Thanks.