First of all, thank you to all who contribute to the threads on here. I have been reading them for a few hours and I am learning a lot.
Unfortunately I have found myself in a situation where I need to fight for my daughter's secondary place as we weren't succesfull in securing any of her choices. I will outline the main points which I feel are relevant and would be very grateful for any advice/pointers you can offer.
1st choice school - All girls high school 3.88 miles away. Last child to be admitted was 2.65 miles away. We chose this high school due to its fantastic music facilities. Daughter is a skilled pianist who consistently performs at piano festivals and secures top awards. She has also secured a place at the upcoming Royal Albert Hall festival. The school exceeds National Curriculum standards and is aligned with the Model Music Curriculum. It has a strong focus on performance, composition, and listening/appraising, has numerous music groups, and performance opportunities as well as frequent concerts and support for high achieving music students.
2ns choice school - a CofE school. Admission criteria favour children living in the local parishes with a faith commitment. Admission criteria require church attendance for a year in the year PRIOR to applying. Unfortunately, despite me being a baptised and confirmed Catholic, the faith reference was not taken into consideration as we only moved into the area in April 2025 and I started attending the local church weekly soon after. Prior to this move, the plan was for my daughter to attend another (secular) school and I was not aware that church attendance might be needed. I have previously explored different churches but am not on any lists for any of them.
I believe we have been discriminated against as we physically weren't in the area in the time required. This school also offers progression into advanced composition and performance at GCSE/BTEC level as well as ensemble and solo performance opportunities, and bands as well as personalised support from specialised staff.
Offered school - Progress 8 score -0.39
Attainment 8 score 38.3
Strong pass in English & Maths (Basics 5+) 33%
Standard pass in English & Maths (Basics 4+) 54%
Entering the English Baccalaureate 37%
Achieving the English Baccalaureate (pupils that were entered for it) 67%* Achieving English Baccalaureate (whole cohort) 26%
No Music GCSE offered (Only BTEC Tech Award in Music), only 1.5 hrs a week commited to Music, Performing Arts, Computing on a 'carousel' basis. Zero mention of extra clubs/performance opportunities apart from breakfast club, homework club and library on the school website.
I hope this is enough info. Do you think we might have a chance? Thank you for any advice you can offer.