Losing my mind over secondary application

[peeriebear]

I genuinely don't know what to do here.
DD2 didn't get her first choice of school and was allocated the all-girls school DD1 is leaving in May after her GCSEs. DD1 hates the school, so do I and DD2 does not want to go.
We received a mass email from another school we had originally discounted because of the distance- it's a 25-30 minute bus ride away. This email said "Didn't get your first choice? Apply to us!" Upon closer reading the school actually looks very suited to DD2 indeed and there is a bus pick up point a 10min walk from our house. We applied straight away, and the administrator I spoke to said there was a "very high" chance of a place.
Last week I checked the online LEA allocations page to see when places were being sent out, only to find that it said "[niceschool] is oversubscribed and cannot offer DD2 a place". No email, nothing. Obviously I called the LEA helpline to be told that the online message must be an error because places were being allocated today (the 9th).
So fast forward to today and there's nothing changed, no email, it still says "oversubscribed". I called the helpline again and they were so unhelpful... They said that they were only just processing applications from today and would send out letters in the mail "sometime this week". But the appeals deadline is the 16th!! And the relevant office the woman on the phone wanted to transfer me to refused to take my call.
So I am left with either- the school is oversubscribed, someone put it online before the allocations date (surely not allowed?) and I was misinformed last week, when I could have been organising an appeal I have been sat thinking it was a mistake when it wasnt. Or they haven't even processed out application yet and if she doesn't get a place we have no time to appeal. DD2 will have to go to a school she hates when she thinks she will be going to one she loves the sound and look of.
DD2 has mild autism but no IEP as she does very well academically- it just affects her emotionally/socially. She only has a couple of good friends- one is going to the first school we applied for, one to the school she now wants to go to. The school she has been allocated is rife with bullying, bitchiness and generally a mean atmosphere. She is so gentle and naive the thought of her having to go there makes me sick.
So sorry for the essay. I am also on mobile and didn't get much sleep so sorry if it's a bit of a stream of consciousness -_-
What can I do?!

Hello,
Hopefully proper advice will come to you soon.
Have you visited school 25min away?
Guessing holiday now so tricky.
Although not part of admin process, could you email school for info and advice?
Good luck.

I am sure one of the proper appeals Mumsnetters will be along soon but if your current allocation is for School 1 can you just appeal for school 2 anyway and withdraw the appeal if they make an offer in the meantime?

You can still lodge an appeal for your original 'first choice' school - your application to the school 25 minutes away doesn't stop you doing that.

You have nothing to lose from putting in an appeal now - you don't have to have all your information now, just register your intention to appeal.

What is going on with the other school is confusing to be honest - it could be that they were undersubscribed in the first round and had spaces, or had offered all their spaces but were expecting (based on previous experience) a fair number of declines.

They would need to allocate spaces based on their admissions criteria, though they may still be chasing up some responses. I would give them a few days, but as said, you can appeal now anyway.

Don't wait to find out what is happening with this other school. Submit your appeal for the schools you want. If you get a place at this other school and are happy with it you can withdraw your appeal. But, with only one week to the deadline, you should concentrate on getting your appeal submitted.

Thanks all. I have emailed the school and said I may need to appeal. Somebody did actually phone me back from the LEA helpline- she spoke to me like I was a child and said that I would just have to wait for the postal allocation.
School 1 which we originally applied for has a prejudice on it already and there are scores of people appealing. And our only reasons being "its reasonably close, mixed gender and has good ofsted" not being enough for appeal!

For a secondary appeal you would need to show that it is worse for your daughter not to attend that school than it is for the school to admit her. You would need to look for things this school offers that others don’t which would benefit your daughter - e.g. if she has an aptitude for languages, does this school offer the option to do two at GCSE, do they offer clubs in a sport she plays or an area she has shown a particular interest in? If you reead through threads on this board you’ll see lots of excellent advice.

The only thing you would really have to lose by appealing would be your time and energy.