HELP: APPEAL Impington or any advise for appeal

[yanad]

Hello,
If you told me a week ago I would be this stressed I would not have believed you...

I blame myself and feel let my son down. When picking 3 schools, the 1st choice was Impington, which I thought was our catchment school... but wrongly as it turns out catchment starts less than 100 meters from our door step :-( literally takes 5-10 seconds for me to run across to catchment.

Three chosen schools were:
Impington: right outside catchment as turned out
school 2: outside catchment
school 3: within catchment but heavily oversubscribed

We were offered none of above but a school very far away... My son is upset...I am upset and guilty for letting him down and fear the possibility of him going to a school none of us heard of or ever visited.

The two choices are:

1. Appeal for Impington (oversubscribed)
2. Fill in a new application form for a second round of offers and include a local school we never choose as son didn't like it but we live 0.8 miles away from (its oversubscribed), as I found out you cant put your name on a waiting list for a school you didn't select initially...have to do second round of application which removes you from waiting lists from initial preferred schools

I try and think with my head and not heart...and decide which way to go. Reading on appeal process and evidence that has to be presented and cases people have are a lot more compelling than ours and I wonder if we stand a chance... I didn't chose Impington, my son did, none of his friends are heading there but he wants to go there. Impington has a specialist language academy status and offers IB in 6th form as well as Russian in yr12. My son is bilingual (English/Russian) and wants to learn German in secondary, option not available in school we were offered. Bus stop to Impington is 2 min away and takes 10 min to get to school, with offered school its a different story but from what I read they don't consider how convenient it is for you to travel. We are 24th on a waiting list for Impington....we might get it before September .... feel if we were that 100 meter closer we would have been offered a place or been much higher up on a waiting list.

If we do second round of applications, we will chose Impington and a very close catchment school that's oversubscribed... but is it a good idea? we lose a place on waiting lists from 1st round, we might not get any of selected schools and might be offered a school even further away... we will still go on waiting lists again but I believe we would have even less of a chance as most places would have been offered by then....

What are your thoughts??? Do you think I have a case for appeal, considering we just 100m out of catchment area and my son is so keen on languages? Do you think we will be in more disadvantage applying 2nd round?

Would appreciate any advise and if anyone done appeal for Impington, won or lost, please share your thoughts. Thank you

You won't lose anything by appealing so you may as well try. At best you will get a place for your son. At worst you will be in exactly the same situation as you are today. They cannot treat you differently in the 2nd round just because you have appealed.

Looking at the points you have given, your son being bilingual and wanting to learn a language that is not offered is a good starting point. Get some evidence about your son's linguistic ability (e.g. a letter from his current school) and include that as part of your case.

The fact you are just out of catchment is not relevant for appeal. What would be relevant is anything else this school offers that is not available at the offered school and which is particularly relevant to your son.

How far away is the offered school? If it is over 3 miles your son will be entitled to free transport. However, if it takes over 1 hour 15 minutes each way that is unreasonable and would be a point to bring up at appeal.

I'd focus on the fact that your son is bilingual, or any insurmountable issues with transport, but really, I can't imagine that the school you've been offered is bad. None of the secondaries in and around Cambridge are bad.

I definitely think it's worth appealing on the grounds of your son's language skills and the school being the only one offering Russian. Are you avoiding saying which are the other schools in case you are identifiable?

Catchment areas and linked primaries are quite clearly laid out in Cambridge
Where is everyone else going?

Moving school for 6th form is normal in Cambs so unless they offer Russian earlier I doubt this will help your case

I believe that Cottenham has places available? Is that where you have been offered or is it an alternative if not one of your original choices?

My understanding is that you can accept the place you have been offered and stay on the waiting list and it sounds worthwhile appealing if IVC is the only local state school that offers Russian.

Good luck I feel for you. I have friends that haven't managed to get their preferred choice (Soham). Let us know how you get on. As a local if you want to PM me feel free to do so.

He could still go to Impington for Year 12 and do IB in the 6th form, so don't worry about that.

Sorry I thought you meant they offered Russian prior to year 11 so it remains the case that he could go to Impington or Hills Road at 6th form to do Russian.