Appeal for upper school place

[singingirl]

Hi, I’m hoping someone will be able to help me with this one. We applied for my child to attend a specialist studio school from year 9 onwards and they didn’t get a place. We are in catchment but the last place offered was 2.5 miles away and we are 4 miles away. They had to do aptitude tests (which they successfully passed)for them to be considered but from then on, bizarrely it goes back to the normal council run sibling/catchment/location from there on in (the school find this as frustrating as us!). We have been advised to appeal and I think we have a case as the current school my child attends do not offer any of the qualifications my child needs to pursue their chosen career. This is quite unusual as it’s a normal option for most schools.

Is this a good grounds for appeal and would I need to mention anything else in the initial appeals form?

Many thanks for any advice ofered.

That is decent grounds for appeal. However, if we are talking about GCSE or later qualifications, it isn't particularly strong as the panel may think that the allocated school could change. If it affects what is on offer in Y7, that would be more relevant.

Thanks for this. The school he is currently in (year 8) don’t offer the option he needs at either GCSE or A level. He has just chosen his options. If he doesn’t get a place at the studio school he will stay in the school he is in now, there is no other school he can attend infortunately. So there is no other option for him to pursue what he would dearly love to do - if that makes sense!! ☺️. Does that give good grounds for appeal? Thanks so much

Sorry - there are a lot of appeal threads today and I didn't notice that you would be appealing for Y9. In that case the fact the school you want offers an option that is not available at his current school is good grounds for appeal. Whether it will succeed depends on the strength of the case to refuse admission, but you have a decent chance.

Thank you, we will go for it and see what happens.

Thank you so much for your kind advice.

If I was chairing your appeal, I would like to have solid written evidence of what your child has already been doing in his chosen subjects even if these have been in extra-curricular clubs. Also awards, certificates if appropriate.
Please send your evidence in good time, most panels won't accept anything which appears on the day of the appeal. Good Luck.

Thank you, that’s really helpful and something I was wondering about last night. We will get everything sent over ☺️. Thanks again