Our catchment secondary school is in special measures. Has been for 18 months and is now on their 3rd head teacher. Up until 2 years ago we could get into the school in the neighbouring catchment area, and in fact all 3 children in our road of secondary school age go there. The head teacher had never turned away a child from our village. Because the catchment school is in special measures (SM) we now can't get our kids into it unless they have a sibling already there.
My DC is year 5, so we'll be applying in October, but he is a much better fit for the neighbouring catchment school than he is for the catchment school, even before they went into SM. I'll be appealing if we don't get him in, but we also have to be realistic that we probably only have a 25% chance of getting him in on appeal and we have no other school to send him to. We can't move at present so the only other option is the SM school.
This school's failings include the inability to teach mathematics, and boys apparently (vastly under-rating what they're capable of), and DC's particular curriculum areas of interest. The Year 11 students this year and last have some sort of dispensation in a local college to try and get them back on track because of the damage caused to their education by this place. This isn't me wanting an amazing school for DC, just one that can adequately manage the basics.
Has anyone been in a similar position and grown to accept the crap SM school? Right now I am so despondant and angry that we have no other choice for our child.