Can I appeal?

[Claracracksthenut]

Dad has been offered his 3rd choice school that is our catchment school. 1st and 2nd choices are in same town very close to together ( all 3 schools in small city) but not our catchment school and we are no closer to them.
He has no medical or SEN issues.
We would prefer the other schools as they are slightly stricter more acedmic and do Latin. ??
I have no grounds to appeal do I? Do I just sit on waiting list? Do I phone the schools and beg and plead occasionally? Do I accept a place after they start year 7 if one pops up? ( yes I would move him)

What can I do?

DS not my dad!

Sorry to hear you didn't get your preference.
Yes you can appeal - it is about showing the prejudice of not admitting your DC is greater than prejudice to the school. So an appeal would need to focus on the the school you want not the school you've been allocated.
You mentioned Latin, is this something he does now - that would be a good potential route if so.

Good luck either on waitlists or if you choose the appeal route.

You can appeal, but it's unlikely you'd be successful on what you've said. Does your son already have a particular interest in Latin that you could demonstrate?

Do you have an idea of how long the waiting lists will be? There's no harm in going on them, people do move so you might get lucky.

Don't badger the school, it won't change your chances but if you did get a place will mark you as one of those parents!

Begging and pleading won't help. Make sure you are on the waiting list .You lose nothing by appealing, so it's worth a try.

First thing is to get him on the waiting lists for the schools you prefer. Then think about an appeal.

I have to disagree with Tomtontom. If your son wants to do Latin and the school you've been offered does not teach that subject, that is a decent case for appeal. If you can evidence his interest that would help.

As myrtleWilson says, it is about the balance of prejudice. That makes it unpredictable. Sometimes the school's case is so weak that almost any appeal will succeed. Sometimes it is so strong that even the strongest appeals will fail. All you can do is try. You don't lose anything by appealing so you should go for it.