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Can a school withdraw a place if you don't accept in their timescale even if you have accepted through the LA?

7 replies

Thereisahappyland · 14/04/2012 15:07

Help please! First time MNetter here.... Our situation is that after accepting school through 1 march offer, we were offered through LA a waiting list place at preferred school (hooray) just before Easter. But unbeknownst to us, school - which is an Academy - also wrote to us on March 29 giving one week to accept the place directly through them. Their letter states the offer only stands for one week, until April 6. But they didn't put on enough postage and post office wouldn't deliver until April 11, after we had paid fine, so we've missed their deadline. The school wasn't helpful when I rang on Friday to check we still have offer, and insisted on email. When I did email asking them to confirm the offer they just emailed saying they looked forward to receiving the form back by post, and wouldn't answer my question about the place. I think we should be OK as it was their error on postage - and I have their envelope to prove it - but as they are an Academy, can they withdraw the offer even when we have accepted through LA? I would welcome MNetters advice before I pursue again on Monday!

OP posts:
titchy · 14/04/2012 18:09

No they can't withdraw the place. There are very few reasons why a school or lea may legitimately withdraw a place and this is not one of them! (if they prove your application was fraudulent, or if they offered a place in error but tol you within 24 hours those afaik are the only situArions when a place can be withdrawn) so relax!

gazzalw · 14/04/2012 18:27

Well aside from the postage issues which were totally the fault of the Academy, I really don't think a school can just assume that you will be hanging around over the Easter hols on the off-chance that you are going to get another offer. You could well have been away for the entirety of the holiday period. This is where the whole notion of making the official offers by letter falls down - it requires someone to be physically in your home to receive the letter! I would imagine that the postage issue would have applied to anyone else offered a place at the same time (thus delaying others from responding too) and it is also quite likely that others will have been away (and still might be) so have yet to even register the arrival of a subsequent to 1st March Offer!

I think you will find that most of school admin staff have been off for virtually the entirety of the Easter hols so would have thought it unlikely that they have even processed all the acceptances and declines from this second round of offers.

Hopefully, your written response will have arrived by Monday. I would phone again the Academy again mid pm when they've had chance to get up to speed with all the post, and see how the land lies.... One would really hope that as it was their error they will be flexible. I am pretty sure these deadlines aren't as set in stone as we might all fear.

Good luck but I guess that's little consolation whilst you are waiting...oh dear...

DS was offered a place at his second choice school (letter arrived on 26th March) and we had about four day's 'turn around' to print off, complete and send back all the relevant forms. It did cross my mind at the time that it was quite possible that families with children at private schools might have already gone off on skiing trips by then....

prh47bridge · 15/04/2012 18:11

The school cannot withdraw the offer. The admissions code says that if you do not accept the offer within a reasonable time they must write to you again giving you at least a week to accept the offer.

Thereisahappyland · 15/04/2012 19:10

Many thanks for the helpful advice. I feel in a much better position now and shall phone with confidence tomorrow!

OP posts:
gazzalw · 16/04/2012 18:36

THereisahappyland, hope you've got the response you were after from the Academy....!

Thereisahappyland · 16/04/2012 22:28

Yes - thanks for asking. All is now sorted. As you suggested, the full admin staff only got back today, so I spoke to someone sensible and they confirmed our acceptance of the place. Panic over!

OP posts:
gazzalw · 17/04/2012 06:19

excellent news Grin. School holidays can leave one in a horrid limbo, unable to resolve anything... Glad that it's upwards and onwards.

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