No school offer

[souplady]

We have these schools we applied to.

A. State Grammar school out of area.
b. state comprehensive out of area.
C. Over subscribed state comprehensive out of catchment.
D. Private school academic scholarship. Not enough to pay fees.

We didn't apply to the local comprehensive as it's not the sort of school I want for my child. We live in a small town with a lot of deprivation concentrated on one estate on the edge of town but our suburb is not deprived.

We don't know what to do now as we have no school place for September. The schools we want all start in September, our local compl starts a year later.

Have asked about getting onto waiting lists? Have you literally been given no place at all? Have you rung the school admissions dep at your LEA to ask for help?

I'm sorry I don't understand by what you mean about the schools you want starting this Sept but the local comp starting a year later.

our local compl starts a year later.

I don’t understand this. Does it mean your local comp starts at Year 8? Or it isn’t built yet? Are the other schools middle schools that start younger than Y7?

Your options are:

1. Go on waiting lists for all your preferred schools and add to waiting list for the state comp that you don't like nearby. Waiting lists do move, although you may find that you're too far down the waiting list to get a place at your preferred schools.
2. Move house.
3. Pay for private school
4. Homeschool.
5. Appeal for your preferred schools.

We are on the waiting lists for all except the private school and the local comprehensive as we didn't list that, it's in a middle school area which is why it starts a year later.

Contact school admissions. They need to provide your child with a place for secondary. They will explain your options

Which would you rather?
Home school or a school that's 'not the sort of school' you want?

You will be offered something, somewhere. But you may now get a school you don't want a distance away rather than the one you didn't want on your doorstep.

Make sure you are on waiting lists for all acceptable schools, and think about appealing.

If it’s in a middle school area, does that mean it’s a high school? If so does it not start two years later, ie. year 9? (My area is First School Reception to Yr4, Middle School Yr5 to Yr8 and High School Yr9 on).

If it’s a middle school area can your dc stay on at their primary and hope a place comes up at one of your preferred options through the year?

I would appeal for the schools you really want. Nothing to lose.

Email and ask where there are spaces and see if you can get in there even if it's not somewhere you want.

If you have any other children, always always always put a school you are garunteed to get even if you dont want it because all that sill happen is you either get no school or you are sent to a schools as shit as the one you are trying to avoid but potentially miles away. 90 mins or thereabouts is whaT is deemed acceptable travelling time.

Appeals, waiting lists, subsequent rounds etc all this is possible having accepted a place elsewhere.

At this point moving is probably not the best option. Of schools are over subscribed moving may put you higher up the waiting list but if they have gone over 30 then you will still have to wait til it drops to 29 before a space is available. You could be number 1 for years.

I would take any school that has a place and then continue on lists and appeal

If it's a middle school area could they not go to a middle school for y7/8?

You will be offered a place somewhere, if need be in neighbouring authority, but this is exactly why it's a bad idea to not put a local school that you can get to as one of your choices.
People seem to think if they don't put a local school down, even if it wouldn't be ideal, that they're more likely to get a place where they want. That's not how it works.

They could but I don't want them because DS passed the 11+ and are more than ready for high school. We can have a place at the local comprehensive for the taking but I won't accept it. I don't think we can appeal for out of county schools can we ?

Rejecting a place can look bad on an appeal. Like you are trying to manipulate/guilt them into giving a place. Accepting a place elsewhere doesn't affect t chances of winning an appeal

You can appeal for the state schools you want. You may succeed if you can show that your child will be disadvantaged if they aren't admitted. If there has been a mistake (e.g. your LA failing to pass on your application to the out of area schools) your chances of success will be better.

If your child has another year at middle school you can keep them there for the time being and hope that a place comes up via the waiting list. Note that you can appeal as well as doing this.

If your child will not have a school at all in September the LA must come up with a place for them somewhere. However, if your child is at a middle school the LA does not have to come up with a place as the assumption is that your child will continue to attend the middle school. Note that, when the LA does come up with an offer, it doesn't have to be at a school you want and may be at a school you want to avoid. If you reject the school offered the LA is not obliged to come up with an alternative so, however much you dislike the school, you should always accept.

I won't take a place at the the local school, we didn't apply because of that reason: there is no way he's going there. I could get an offer easily but like I say, we don't want it.

Surely you anticipated this as you didn’t list any schools you would get a place in the first allocations?

Have you looked round your local comprehensive? I live in S London and like all London schools ours has a wide demography from challenging estates to millionaires and the children prominent people. It could well be described as ‘rough’ but is actually an excellent school that dies well by its pupils of all abilities. Sending kids from across the spectrum of socio-economics to Oxbridge.

But obviously there are also poor schools. But you can’t tell just from the intake demographic.

Your options now are to:
Go on waiting lists for your preferred schools
Look at local school
Look at any other schools you would consider and ask to go on their waiting lists
Appeal your preferred schools based on the appeal advice posted in many other secondary transfer threads on this board.

Good luck!

Can you say more about what you don't like about the local comp? Have you visited it, talked with other parents, looked up Ofsted and the various stats that DfE make available? It sounds as though it is that or move tbh.

We can have a place at the local comprehensive for the taking but I won't accept it

So you do have an offer then? Just not one you want.

Accept the school you were offered and go on wait lists / appeal for others.

Thing is, you would be the last in terms of admitting criteria in all of the first 3 on your list, and the problem compounds as you go down the list.

Why did you apply to a school where you could nit afford the fees? Seems pointless.

There is little point in appealing to the ones on your list - even if a place came up you would be way down the list if they are over-subscribed, unless you have some very extenuating circumstances for an appeal eg special needs that can not be met by any other school.

My advice would be leave your child where they are at the minute and see if you can get them an in-year transfer over the next two years before they transfer to high school in Y9.

I don't think we can appeal for out of county schools can we ?

Yes, you can.

So what's your plan in September then? Home Ed? Stay at middle school?

They could but I don't want them because DS passed the 11+ and are more than ready for high school.
11+ is entry to y7.
Middle school will have y7, so will secondary schools, so will grammars, and independents.
A year 7 in a middle school isn't doing lower work than a year 7 in a secondary school.

We can have a place at the local comprehensive for the taking but I won't accept it. I don't think we can appeal for out of county schools can we ?
You could try appealing but it would be likely to be unsuccessful.

The local authority has a duty to arrange education for your child, not to give you the school you want. Turning down a school place means you'd be intentionally giving up your child's place and the LA no longer have an obligation to arrange a place. To my understanding if a parent refuses a school place then they're essentially opting to home educate or go private.

Good schools are always massively over subscribed.

2 or 3 times the aplmications than spaces.

The highest number I ever reached on a waiting list was something like 37.

You have to prepare for the fact that of you are in an area where the schools are over subscribed that the only schools that have spaces are the rubbish ones . And isnt it better they go to a rubbish local school than a rubbish one several miles away that's 3 buses and walk away?

All the schools will also admit appeals which arent counted as spaces so if say 7 are admitted on an appeal then you have to wait for 8 people to leave to move up the list or get a space.

I would really advise taking the space locally. I know you dont want to I know what it's like to mot want your local.school. but you could he waiting years for a space elsewhere

You do have a place though then, it’s just not the one that you want. Unfortunately, the LEA only have a duty to give you a school place and that’s the end of it. I do understand as we wouldn’t have sent DS our nearest 2 schools if he hadn’t have got him Grammar place but all you can do is appeal and go on a waiting list.

So you do have an offer then? Just not one you want.

No, as I said we don't have an offer from there as I didn't apply but we can have one for the taking for next year as it's undersubscribed. They wouldn't offer for this year as ds isn't due to go there until 2021 but we are moving him to high school in year 7 not 8 as he's academically more than ready and I don't like his school.

We had expected a full or nearly full scholarship to the private school.

I have no offers from my six reasonable choices. I have gone on waiting lists for all and am looking into appeal because of his needs.

I have rejected the place allocated to him, it would be harmful for him to attend an environment like that and I would prefer to home educate for a few years until maybe a waiting list place comes up?

Lots of wishful thinking and spreading my bets without compromising what I think is best for him. Teenage years are tricky and so influential. I just can't believe that as a parent I have so little choice.