2024 waiting list/appeal support thread

[Hopeful88]

I thought I'd start a support thread for everyone in the same position - either waiting on appeal outcomes or hoping for a secondary school place from a waiting list.
I've read all the advice I can and I'm doing the best I can but I'm still struggling with the unknown.
We're currently in the 20s on the waiting list for our first choice school and an unknown number for the second choice.
Fingers crossed for everyone in the same position. 🤞🏼🤞🏼

I will join in. Sending solidarity and hope to everyone in this situation.

We should hear a week on Tuesday as to waiting list place/offers

I wasn't in a great place last week and was really struggling. Determined that this week will be better and I need to focus on work etc. Last week was a write off as I was so stressed and exhausted. This may well be a marathon and not a sprint - will get a bit of info in a week or so and then we'll know how likely the appeal is.

It's a horrible situation as you are totally powerless and the only change to waiting list circumstances will happen because of the actions of others over which we have no influence - that's a really tough place to be in for a protracted period of time; particularly when it affects our children. All we can do is keep strong and try and manage worry. Easier said than done.

Hello hopeful88. Also on a WL… when you say you are 20s is that for a school with a PAN of 180? If so that sounds hopefully. Our WL school has 4 different bands and then the bands are split between church and not church so my v good friend who is no.17 needs about 17 to turn it down. Does that make sense? Good luck. It is a strange time. My DC v keen to move onto secondary - I am nervous , anxious and excited on their behalf.

Thank you both for joining. The PAN is 240 but I'm not feeling very optimistic right now. I keep going through waves of optimism then sadness. It sounds silly writing it down but it's occupying my thoughts way too much.

I agree it's the not being in control and relying on other people's actions with no set timescale - I'm used to having everything planned out so this is unfamiliar territory.

Great idea!

DS was 29/180 for first preference and 22/180 for second preference, prior to acceptance day of 15 March.

I’ve emailed both schools this morning to ask them to update his position now, then will sit on my hands for a month before asking again!

In the meantime I’ve spent hours researching and reading the Code and some case law about appeals, then drafting it and then asking various referees for their input.

I’m honestly exhausted. It’s like a part time job in itself - all whilst supporting a very worried and confused DS who is the only one in his year not to get his 1/2 preference.

Feel slightly insane and I think anyone who has gone through this type of stress and survived is incredible!

Great idea, I’d like to join please. Sympathies to everyone who is waiting. Two weeks since offer day has gone quite quickly but I probably a bit too hopefully thought that there might be quite a lot of movement by now. We are in an area where places are assumed to be automatically accepted until declined. I’m not sure if this makes things better or worse in terms of waiting lists?

I was hoping for some movement after Friday as this is the “deadline” to decline, but I assume that people still hang on to places longer than this, where for instance they are intending to take up a private school place but don’t want to let go of or don’t prioritise declining a state school place. My DS has actually dropped a place down the list since last week as of today.

Hello all. I too am on WL. Although the LA and schools are not telling me anything they simply say no information until 25 April when they send waiting list offers out. Sending support to everyone else who feels exhausted and sad by this entire process

I checked the waiting list position today and DC is down two places since we first checked on 1 March. It seems there is no sign for LA to release the spaces to WL as they said they have to manage the second around as well. I don’t know how much time we have to wait but seems the situation is out of our control.

Apparently 2013 was a very high birth rate too.
Sorry it’s not positive news @Dparent but hopefully things will start to shift. I do think the spaces not accepted should be withdraw promptly if not accepted. It seems each local authority do it a little differently.
I emailed both our choices this morning as they deal with their own wait lists. No replies yet but I expect they are swamped.

I think exhaustion is a good word for it. I have been utterly exhausted for two weeks now. Drained from reading so much about it all and I'm struggling to sleep at night because my mind is so active. I'm usually a good sleeper so now I'm struggling with tiredness on top of the stress.

I know exactly how you feel. I have to listen to the calm or the hallow app to get to sleep. Last week was a total write off work wise and now I'm playing catch up which is good in a way as it's taking my mind off things.

I'm hoping once I know the waiting list place I'll feel a bit better as - for good or for ill - that gives an indication of where we are. At the moment we know absolutely nothing concrete.

Then it's prepare for the appeal and the long waiting game over the summer holidays. I just hope and pray that this is sorted out for us all well before then

Hello,

also sat on waiting lists, also feeling stressed and powerless.

I’m so fed up of everyone telling me my daughter will be fine where ever she goes. It’s a very privileged position to be able to say that and I am certain they would also not be fine if they’d been allocated a school where less than half of students pass English and maths gcse.

I may try calling the LA tomorrow to see what information I can get about waiting list positions and how much movement there has been in previous years, and in the interest of keeping an open mind I’m going to visit the school we’ve been allocated on Wednesday.

Yes, I keep hearing that: "he'll be fine wherever he goes". I don't want him to be fine, I want him to thrive.

We got none of our four preferences and DS has been allocated to a failing school that has been inadequate for 8 years and has just had a warning notice about performance.

It has a track record for bullying and abysmal exam results.

It’s not even even about DS thriving at this point: it’s just survival and getting him a place anywhere else we can. He cannot got to that awful school that shouldn’t even be open.

I would take any other option but at the moment, unless the waiting lists and appeals pull through; we have no options.

To be honest I have to keep working on the appeal to otherwise the terror sets in.

Is grim. Last child went last year - got in tho 35th on waiting list. That was actually less stressful than a previous child who got 6th choice school on offer day and was 7th on the list - was such a shock as we thought it was all going to be fine and every friend got in. All worked out in the end but was awful awful. I felt that I’d betrayed my child (mad and illogical but I really felt it)

@Pipeskeepleaking thank you for sharing at 35th in the WL there was an offer. Was that on offers day in the April or much closer to starting in the September?

@Annio82 any joy contacting admissions?

DS has dropped from 22 to 24 on our second choice WL….

- do you have any news on the other choices? The only thing I'm thinking at the moment is hopefully this is when everything shakes down and then things start moving up

I also know someone who has accepted a solace at a school she so happy with but has put her child on the waiting list for loads of other schools just to see what happens. I'm not convinced she would take a place elsewhere. So your waiting list could have people on there who don't actually hard want the place but want to keep options open. They could well decline if offered.

I have everything crossed for you

Sadly no. I called this morning and repeatedly got a try again later message, so I’ve emailed them, but the automatic repose says 10 working days to reply, so I’ll give them 2

Hi, I am also in the process of WL / appeals after getting 6th choice and a very upset DS. We don't find out about WL positions until the end of March but the appeal deadline for school 1 is 2nd April so I obviously have to get information together for an appeal on the assumption we won't get a place then either.

School 2 doesn't have an appeal deadline until mid-May so we can wait for that one.

Sadly our case is stronger for School 2 so I am not actually sure where to turn for School 1. I just don't feel like I have enough time to put a strong case together. Sometimes I feel more hopeful and then very despondent.

I know the feeling, the optimism then almost despair. I often feel ridiculous for feeling so strongly over a first world problem but I guess people can't help the way they feel.

I have little over a week left to prepare two appeals and some days I want to give up, relocate and go off grid so I can forget about it all. I'm losing the mental energy.

I'm finding the waiting lists stressful as not only can you go up and down but it's also so random with the movement. In past years there could be 5 people admitted or 55 so I can't even make a prediction.

God it is so exhausting. We've applied for reallocation after missing the grammar school place. The cut off is a ranking of 474 and DD is 477 so have everything crossed but have started to get my hopes up. We should hear about reallocation by 29th March and then it is WL.... If it isn't sorted by the time they do the transition days I think we'll call it a day and take our chances with the local comp. It seems fine actually but it just wasn't what we wanted for her.

Don't think we'll bother appealing as doesn't seem we have any real grounds. Hat's off to those who are doing that too.

Hi @Fizzyrosie i don’t know the process for reallocation. Seems your DD did pass if she’s over the cut off? Or am I mis-understanding. The Grammar that’s our 1st choice is distance related but DD on parallel road got offered so my appeal was on the basis did something go wrong but it’s a long shot ultimately they can say each child assessed on their own merits so another child’s offer doesn’t influence theirs sort of thing.

I’m in the depths this morning. Still waiting to hear about first choice WL place.

We have grounds for appeal but all the advice just seems so bleak.

To have none of the preferences and be allocated to failing school, and be the only child in the year that’s happened to, just cannot be right.

I just want to give up.

It seems that a lot of people are appealing and feel they have grounds for appeal and wish the best of luck to everyone who is. For those appealing, what sort of evidence and grounds are you stating?

As far as I have read, it’s about the disadvantage to your own child by not gaining a place, being greater than the detriment to the other children in the school due to overcrowding. The strongest cases I believe are those where you can prove that the school aren’t at capacity or where you can prove administrative error. I imagine that the chances of either of these would be slim and won’t apply to most people? Most schools would know their own capacity and take up to this, and I imagine administrative errors are relatively rare?

We are actually appealing but not along the lines of either of the above, and we don’t have rafts of evidence as such. I suppose it makes me nervous and curious about the evidence that others are busy compiling!