Made a stupid mistake

[Adizzy]

I made a stupid mistake and put a school I didnt on want on my preferred choices.

I’m such an idiot. I’ve been upset all night over it.
I tried calling admissions to remove it after I spotted but it was after the deadline and the lady said it would be treated as a late application.
I thought it would be better to let it go through and hopefully I would get in my other choices.
We didn’t get our other choices.
Now we have been offered the school I put down as a mistake. It’s a school that’s not got a good reputation and even his teacher told me not to apply for that school. He is the only one in his clas going to the school.

I feel gutted and I’ve let my son down. He’s upset.
How can I have made such a stupid mistake? I just feel I’ve made such a mess.
I’m going to have to go through the waiting list process. I can’t appeal as I put it as my preferred choice.
I’m just so upset and beating myself up about it and feel ashamed to even admit to anyone what I did. I wasn’t paying attention and paid the price for it.

In regards to Middlesbrough they have literally not been offered a place and have been told to ring neighbouring authorities, those I know in that position were too shell shocked to do anything particularly worthwhile on Friday.

I am not sure why, it is 87 who applied with no place and another 20 who did not submit an application. There are no private schools in the town, so not likely to be much movement of places.

One of the reasons given is that children from outside the area have places, distance wise they can be closer than others in the town. Probably the main reason is all the new houses being built and no infrastructure going in.

There are also some who have a school place but are deeply unhappy.

Why is it that despite all the advice given, by people who have been there and know what they're talking about, that some people still insist on declining a school place?

I truly understand that you don't want your child to go there, but if you decline, the LA has discharged their statutory duty to provide your child with a place. That's it, they don't have to help you any further!

You didn't make a mistake - if you hadn't put this school down you could well have been offered a worse school which is also too far away.

Whatever you do accept the school offered at least for now. And then reassess your other choices. Go on waiting lists, including any "too far away but still better choices in retrospect" schools. Consider appealing.
And teachers often don't understand admissions much better than other parents - I have heard awful advice from deputy heads before now.

My dd is now in Y7.

Originally we put down three schools. All are popular and oversubscribed.
We were offered a poorly rated school which was two bus rides away. This school's gcse pass rate was 27% A-C. It had concerns from Ofsted about attendance and bullying.
We went on the waiting list for the three schools we liked. We told the offered school to Foxtrot Oscar. We decided it would be far better to home school, and wait for a place, than send dd to that shitpit.
I also put dd down for two other schools that we weren't strongly convinced by, but had good reports and we thought, why not?
We got into one girl's school on the waiting list quite quickly but dd wasn't fussed about it. We got an offer from another girls school and accepted a place. It was out of borough, but a few primary school friends went there and the reputation was good. Also, I was impressed by the Head, who wanted only the best for her students. Attendance was high, low bullying rate, pastoral care was good, and the GCSE rate was 76% A-C. She's been quite happy there.
Soon after she started there we got an offer from one of the three original schools that we had applied for. But dd decided to stay at her girls school that we hadn't even given too much thought to in the first place.

(This is in South London)

The parents in Middlesbrough should go back to the LA and remind them they have an obligation to find their children places (possibly via bulge classes).
But practically I would look at schools in neighbouring areas and apply for any I liked and/or was especially convenient to get my child to eg. Close to grandparents.

Lougle. Yes we did.

I think the LEA are talking to the schools - a lot of schools have reduced the PAN over the last few years, which was very short sighted.

It is a huge number that need to be placed and given that there won't be any quick answers. They are apparently doing what they can, but who knows what will happen.