Maelor School Wrexham - info please!

[YesSheCan]

Hi, just done in-year transfer application for DD going into yr 8 in Sept. We're moving to N Shropshire over the holidays. No places but been advised can appeal. What I really want to avoid is sending DD to the not very good school within our catchment while waiting for place to come up at one of our preferred schools then her having to move again, as I'm trying to minimise the amount of disruption to her...home situation is already stressful enough and the move will be a big change for her. Anyone got advice on the most helpful info to give the appeals panel? Will they need a supporting letter re the domestic situation? DD is v academically able and needs to be somewhere which can cater to that (extension tasks, streaming for maths etc) and also a school with good pastoral care and not too massive. My two preferred schools are both relatively small and rural with excellent Ofsted reports as that's similar to the one she's currently attending. Is it worth asking her current headteacher or head of year to write a supporting letter? They have said anything they can do to help but just wondering if appeals panels take notice of this sort of thing...not had to do this before. TIA

If the panel is following the guidance then they should not be giving any weight to a letter from current headteacher or other teachers but it does no harm if the letter is readily available. You very definitely should include any issues in home life, accepting that this is frequently not very easy to talk about. However panels do tend to have more sympathy with pupils who have issues at home.
Given you are talking about Maelor and you are in north shropshire you might want to look at Bishop Heber in Cheshire West as a possible alternative, though they also are likely to be full. Given the timing of this, there is a fair likelihood that any appeal will not now be till September, so worth considering all local schools, no matter what you have heard or read about the individual schools.

Thanks v much for the advice. BH is actually one of my other choices but they are full too. Haven't had official decline letter from them yet. Can I appeal to two schools at the same time?

Yes you can appeal for as many schools as you want at the same time. Appealing for Maelor, Bishop Heber and another in north shropshire will be interesting if no other reason but to see the differences between the way the appeals are carried out.

I know both schools, Maelor better than BH, there is a lot of movement in Wrexham schools especially over the summer but they close in 9 days for holidays so things slow down a bit, admissions are working but the school staff are not all in. It’s also worth bearing in mind that BH & Maelor have different School Holidays as different counties. I have friends with children in both & they differ quite a lot, worth checking if you have any primary age siblings. Maelor doesn’t have a huge amount of Afterschool activities as a lot of the students are bussed to schoo but it’s a great school.

Realised I didn’t really answer your question! Maelor School do their own appeals despite your initial application being processed by the LA, it’s worth contacting them & asking what their numbers currently are for each year, they have historically taken extra in year 7 on appeal without seeming to bat a eye. People fight hard for a place at Maelor School, they even move their children to feeder schools in a Year 5 to get in but then realise in Y7/8 that the cost of travel can be quite a challenge, circumstances change and they move their children closer to home.

Good to know, Elephants. Thanks for that

Have you considered Thomas Adams in Wem?