moved out of area, can we still go to school

[justinemelanie]

i'm not sure if this is the right place to be asking, but we recently moved from one borough to a new one, can my daughters secondary school make us leave & go to a school in the new area we live in? my daughter is in year 9 & has attended from year 7. we don't have any problems getting to & from school. I also still work near to where my daughters school is. I did try to look up on the direct gov site , & have come up with as long as my daughter can easily get to & from school daily & is registered at the school she can stay there, is this right? I am worried if she cannot attend the school due to being out of catchment, it will jeopardise her education, as she will be starting her gcses in september, also socially be very upsetting for her. I would be very grateful if someone could advise me. thank you

My understanding is that once in, they are in, so in all likelihood if you like the school she can stay. If the sixth form has a separate route however I would check how that works. What could change is sibling entitlement. Many schools offer sibling places regardless of where you've moved to if you have one child still at the school, however some see this as unfair so some schools are changing this requirement so it can cause confusion about the implications of moving away.

thank you, for your advice, she is an only child so no worries about siblings. the school has left me a message regarding our recent address change, they were unavailable when I called back, so I am quite worried about what they will say !!

any more advice or similar circumstances greatly received . thank you .

No, they can't make you leave. It's up to you where you live now, as long as you can make the journey.

It is, unfortunately, not unknown for schools to try to force pupils out in this situation but they have no right to do so. Your daughter has a place. They cannot legally take it away from her.

thank you for the advice.

Her place is secure. Please stop worrying.