Secondary school allocation mistake?

[reallyconfusedmostofthetime]

We have been allocated a school in the next town from us some 12 miles away. We received a email today from our allocated school with our old address on it. I checked the online system and it has our new address. We’ve been at our current address for about 4 yrs. Is it possible that there’s been a mistake? Does that happen? I’ve emailed but got no response and expect regardless it’ll be a done deal!

I should have added the school allocated is near our old address.

Possibly. It’s hard to see how, if the online system has your current address, but you should certainly investigate further, in case there has been a mistake and the old address has been used to calculate your distance from each school.

If there has been an error by the LEA, they should correct it - even if it means changing the school allocation - but many LEAs make parents take it to appeal (so that they can blame the appeal, rather than their own error, if the school has to accept another pupil).

Ok! I’ll brace myself for a potential appeal. Thanks 🙏

Did anyone else near you/further out get a place in your local school (without siblings etc)? What is the usual distance offered for the school you wanted?

The fact that the letter has your old address on makes me agree that it defo looks like an error in the system. I'd phone admissions to ask

Email rather.

Yes. I thought it was a bit weird but as I didn’t put the failing catchment school down on my application but just the next nearest schools I thought maybe this is what happens? Then when the letter came with the old address that seemed to make a bit more sense that maybe it was an error. I’ll ring them on Monday.

I thought probably I’d get the catchment school as it’s failing and not oversubscribed so kinda thought I had nothing to lose by not putting it down but the next three nearest schools. The school I wanted - the only outstanding school in our town is actually nearer to us but we aren’t in the catchment so we were never going to get it. Probably I’ve acted crazy 😜 I’d sort of accepted this is the punishment you get for not putting your catchment school down - a school really far away until I saw my old address. Though the school allocated is actually rated good so though it’s in a different town maybe we can just make it work.

Actually thinking about it maybe I shouldn’t have emailed 🤣

12 miles is a huge distance tho.

Did you submit proof of adress?

You didn’t have to?

Yeh it’s not ideal. 😬

On ours if you do it online you have to set up an account where you add the details of ukur child you and the address, and you have to submit proof of address suck as a utility bill less than 3 months old.

It would have made it easier to prove they made a mistake as goid have the info on your account.

But doesn't sound like it's of any use to you if you didn't have to do thay 😬