Hello,
I am another desperate Mum currently preparing an appeal for a secondary school place for my son. I am so stressed and harassed :-( We live in Harrow and we always thought that we would get into my son's preferred school. Last year we'd lived within the boundaries of the school we wanted but this year we missed out by about 0.3 mile....so many more kids applied! My son's primary is one of the 3 feeder schools for the one we want, not sure if that has any relevance?
The one he got allocated was not amongst our choices, it's the worst school in the borough with 31% pass rate at GSCE level...nightmare....My son has been since the start one of the two best performing kids in his primary and can't stand being bored and not challenged - which he has often had to endure at hid middle-of-the-road primary.
The allocated school hasn't had the record of bullying as far as I know, it is just really, really bad academically. Now, I am not sure how to approach this appeal in the best possible way...We do not have any family in this country, not one, and for my son going to a school where almost all of his friends are going is so important - on top of the academic reasons.
I really wanted to know whether enlisting a professional is worthwhile? Just to help out with the statement, I want to attend the hearing myself. I just do not want to miss out on putting an argument forward which can make all the difference! I can't decide and need to act quickly!
I have ordered a book which is good, apparently, but I so desperately need to give this appeal the best possible chance of succeeding!
And also, my son passed 2 entrance exam for independent schools, as we were led to believe that family income would qualify him for a bursary. He was offered a full paying place which we couldn't afford, so we had another major disappointment to contend with :-( Not sure of we can use this fact to our advantage in the appeal?
Any constructive advice would be very very welcome!
Thank you.