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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Withdrawal of high school place after 11 weeks

138 replies

Mel198 · 22/05/2023 01:09

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can give me some advice at all please.

My daughter is due to start year 7 in September, she was offered her first choice place on the national offer day. Roll on 11 weeks and I recieve an email stating that her place has been withdrawn due to a change in circumstances.
At the time of the application and the offer, her sibling was attending the school. We have only recently transfered him to another local school which fits better for his needs.
We are also in the process of buying a property within a 5 minute walk to the school, I haven't sent all the proof from the estate agents and solicitors letters, but all the local authorities keep saying to me is that this isn't sufficient enough evidence and I need to be permanently residing in the property and have a council tax bill with our names on to even reasses my daughters position kn the waiting list.(she's 88 on the waiting list)
We are absolutely distraught, my daughter is extremely shy and suffers with anxiety. She is really struggling coming to terms with the decision.
I've spoken to the local authority and they aren't being helpful at all. I've explained that I've read the School admissions code and under their grounds of withdrawing a school place, none of them apply to my daughter's situation.
All of my daughters friends are going to said school and we have bought uniform. I just can't believe this.
As a gesture of goodwill(or so they say) they have agreed to hold my daughters place for 4 weeks to give us time to move into our new house. This is ridiculous as 4 weeks is never going to happen as we are in the early stages!
I have put a complaint in with the ombudsman'slast I'm not able to appeal yet.

Can anyone help me with some advice please
Thanks so much.

OP posts:

prh47bridge · 26/05/2023 13:46

It doesn't seem to be.

PatriciaHolm · 26/05/2023 13:53

The decision is also at least 12 years old now, and was made under the previous admissions code. That doesn't lessen it's validity really, but as prh says, it only relates to when the admissions authority made an error (which as we've discussed they haven't, though that is what they are calling it).

This will all come down to the exact wording of the admissions criteria and the exact dates involved. All else is speculation I'm afraid.

LondonHOPDad · 26/05/2023 14:14

Just wanted to say good luck @Mel198 . It's clear you are just trying to do your best for both your children in difficult circumstances, I'm not sure why some people are so mean spirited. As others have said they are best ignored, just focus on the advice of the 3 experts here. It sounds like you have a good case for appeal, go for it with the advice of the famous 3.

PanelChair · 26/05/2023 14:19

Day job?! Famous?!

The 3 days aren’t hearsay. They are case law, but old case law now, and the judgment relates to a very particular situation.

I think there are good arguments here to present at appeal, but so much depends on the wording of the admissions criteria and key dates at which things happened and decisions were made. As PatriciaHolm says, speculation doesn’t help.

elkiedee · 26/07/2023 11:12

Presumably you made application in autumn 2022 and the offer was at the very beginning of March.

I'm not an expert on appeals but those who are knowledgeable on here, can an appeal consider the circumstances of the sibling move? Because if son's move was a managed move because he had problems at the school, and it was actually initiated by that school, then the school should have known the situation (the change of circumstances) soon after the offer was made and should have discussed this at the time with the parents. Once the managed move was completed they actually withdrew the offer to the younger child soon after that.

I don't know whether it's policy to allow a school to withdraw offers based on their own decisions about a sibling student - in this case it seems potentially very discriminatory. And I see other posters have said something about this.

prh47bridge · 26/07/2023 15:37

No, a school cannot withdraw offers based on decisions about a sibling student. The Admissions Code sets out the circumstances in which an offer can be withdrawn. This is not one of them.

LadyLapsang · 26/07/2023 17:33

Secondary National Offer Day was 1st March. Could it be argued you had any knowledge that your son would not continue in the school prior to that date? Does your DS have an EHCP or is he now attending a special school or AP?

Twyford · 26/07/2023 17:52

I'm curious now - OP, did you appeal, and how did it go?

It's really frightening how much extraordinarily bad advice has been given on this thread.

AndSoFinally · 26/07/2023 18:36

Yes, how did you get on with the appeal @Mel198 ?

HarryHHarry · 28/07/2023 09:05

Sorry this has happened, it must be very stressful! hope you have got sorted by now.

CurlewKate · 28/07/2023 13:48

It sounds like a fraudulent application to me-sorry.

prh47bridge · 28/07/2023 14:14

CurlewKate · 28/07/2023 13:48

It sounds like a fraudulent application to me-sorry.

No, it isn't.

On the closing date for applications, the older sibling was still attending the school and OP had no plans to change this. OP's failure to use a crystal ball to peer into the future does not make her application fraudulent.

ArdeteiMasazxu · 29/07/2023 23:37

And the older sibling was still at the school on the day that the offer was made to the younger sibling.

How on earth does that seem fraudulent @CurlewKate ? What lie has been told?

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