secondary school waiting lists

[Hiya123456]

My child has been on a secondary school waiting list for 20 months now and children keep going in front of him, he got offered an under achieving school and gets nearer the top then just drops down

What's your question? Children higher up the admissions criteria will leapfrog your child. Although the local authority is obliged to find your child a place, they have offered you one and don't have to offer another.

Waiting lists are very fluid. I assume you are very low down in the admissions criteria and as such others keep going above you on the waiting list.

Personally after so long I think the chances of getting a place there are slim.

He goes down to as low as 2 then goes down the list and I know children can go in front that live closer and different criteria’s but I can’t afford to move closer and know if I did move he would get a place in the school because my child’s friends are saying children that are getting the available places live closer to the school

There’s not much you can do to move up the list except move closer, sadly.

What year is he in? What is his current school like? Are there any others locally which might be better and where there might be a space? He can be on multiple WLs.

He is on lots of lists for other schools in his borough and also 3 grammar schools as he passed his 12 plus after being homeschooled for a year, I decided on homeschooling him as the school they were offering him is a bad school in the area

He is supposed to be in year 8

Have you appealed?

I did appeal once before I found it very stressful and it was unsuccessful

You can appeal each year. Is your dc in school now?

It sounds like you are just stuck in the system now. Any chance you can move nearer the school of your choice?

Is even the undesirable school no longer available to you? At least in school, your DS would be getting taught to the KS3 curriculum - unless you are employing subject tutors for everything, at what point will your own ability to provide a full curriculum for him (if you are at the moment?) reach its limit?

Yes I agree with @MarchingFrogs - it’s not an easy task to HE for secondary and IMHO should be done for reasons relating to the student. Then it can be very productive - but this sounds as tho you are doing it to avoid a school you don’t like. But are you able to offer a full KS3 curriculum? Is he learning science, KS3 maths, MFL, English lit? Are you teaching him or have you got specialist tutors? That will come expensive over secondary years. I would suggest you find out which schools have a vacancy for him and visit them to see what they are like. You can still stay on WLs.

So, he hasn’t actually been to secondary school at all, if he’s been on the waiting list for 20 months?