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Secondary education

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

Appealing against secondary places

2 replies

Pillarcase · 29/04/2008 19:10

Because of where we live my son is very likely to be allocated a place at the worst secondary school in the city. I would never, ever allow him to go there.

Thing is, all the other schools even remotely in the area are good but over subscribed from people within their own catchment areas so its very unlikely he'll get a place in any of them.

I'm going to put 3 of them down as the options anyway and not write this horrible school down at all.

It is still likely though that they'll try and say he has to go there.

I'm preparing myself for an appeal but I don't think my reasons will stand up as being genuine.

The REAL reasons he won't be going are as follows:

Terrible GCSE pass rate, 2nd to worst in the city.I don't want my sons mixing with the majority of the kids that go there, snobby or what, I don't careJust getting there in a morning would include a walk through THE most notorious council estates in the city, that in itself is dangerous but throw into the mix the fact that half the kids from this school hang around on this estate in a morning instead of going into school waiting to pick on the next vunerable person walking pastMy son will almost certainly be bullied there, I have known people who have been stabbed in the leg needing an operation in year 7, the school was set on fire by a pupil last year and almost destroyed, my friends son was pinned up against the wall by a group of boys and beaten up in year 8... my son attracts bullies as it is, he will inevitably suffer at this schoolMy son has a good head and is capable of doing very well in GCSEs, if he is distracted by loads of rowdy "don't give a shit" kids this chance will slim down

And lastly...the kids that live down our street will all be going to this school. They already victimise my son, calling him a queer and a faggit because he is not a thug like them, on the last occasion they chased him down the street and pushed him off his bike. If he went to this school he would have to walk home in the same direction and at the same time as these kids and anyone that says they won't bother him is having a laugh.

So as you can see, my son will simply NOT be going to this school but how would I word my appeal so it doesn't sound like I'm saying he's "above" that school IYSWIM? Is it going to have to be a case of home-schooling?

He's a quiet, sensitive boy and they would slaughter him at a school like this.

OP posts:
pooka · 29/04/2008 19:12

I am not sure whether the reasons you have given here would be considered adequate justification for him not going to the horrible school. What I mean is that I completely understand your aversion, but that in school appeals there are quite limited reasons for appeals being successful, and the school being near a council estate and not having a good pass rate would not normally be considered to be grounds for a successful appeal IMO.

Milliways · 30/04/2008 17:05

You can't say why you DON'T want to go to a school, but your reasons for wanting to get into another school - eg Specialist Language college & he is bi-lingual, Performing Arts school & he is RADA material etc.

Can you use any medical grounds. We know someone whose child suddenly "developed" asthma and claimed had to be at the school nearest them (but not their catchment!) in case of medical emergency, not having to walk too far etc, and they won! (This child has never been seen with an inhaler, ever).

Good luck, we had to move to avoid the same situation

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