Need some Guidance with Secondary School Appealing process

[GP0681]

Hello,
My Little one Cleared Bucks 11+ with score of 169 and as per the guidance we relocated to Aylesbury before 1st September 2024, and since our previous address was not rented out till october ( Our tenant had some medical emergency and they couldnt move in before 1st september) we were not allocated to any of the grammar schools in first round. and our son has been allocated with one inadequate school ( based on our old post code) . We were assured that he will be allotted with a school of our preference from 2nd round of allocation, but sadly we are still under waiting list with position of 10 or above for all the 4 preferred school of ours. This has immensely causing stress to us parents and has emotinally impacted our child and his well being is quiet low .

Btw.. we are within 2.4 miles away from all the 3 preferred school. and our child is really smart and very academic. We wouldnt want to send him to this inadequate rated school and mess up with his career.

Just recently our Appeal for school place is been acknowledged ( We are waiting for the dates for appeal hearing).. So any sort of guidance and help is greatly appreciated here.

Is this "inadequate" school that you have been allocated a grammar school or another type of school?
The OFSTED rating of the school that you have been allocated is not relevant in appeals. My advice is that you need to focus on the positive reasons why the school you are appealing for is the best option for your son.

If you had moved before he sat the test why was the old address used? Or do you/did you still own that property at the time of application? This page defines “Normal Home Address” https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools-index/school-admissions/school-admissions-guides-policies-and-statistics/guide-to-moving-up-to-secondary-school/understanding-the-terms-we-use/#normal-home-address Was 169 a qualifying score for a place?

In Bucks anyone who scores over 121 is deemed eligible for a grammar school place. There is no merit in scoring a long way over, 159 doesn't give you preference over someone scoring 121.

If you still owned the previous property after the september date, the school is entitled to use that as your permanent address. Appealing is a.waste.of time as the school has applied its admissions criteria correctly.

They have not allocated any grammar school. Rather allocated normal higher school which has very bad reputation.

When the 11 plus application was made we were still at our old address. Then before his exams we moved to our Aylesbury address and the same was mentioned/ used in our secondary school application as well.
We couldnt dispose/ rent out our previous address till october.

Thank you for your response. Agree any score higher than 121 doesnt give any edge over other qualifying students. Just mentioned his 169 to express he is a bright student.

I don’t understand why your old address was used if you had moved on time.

Do they have a rule in your area that the new address doesn’t count until the old address is sold or rented out?

If you read the policy I linked to a second address does not count as the “normal address” for the application.

op, are there any nearer schools with space which would be more acceptable than the allocated one?

Understood about the address rule, thanks. Clearly a lot of address tricks in that area!

Reading the policy, it looks as though your new address should have been used in the second round of allocations - ie re-allocation of any places offered on National Offer Day but turned down. However, this is only if you provided them with evidence of residence at new address and lease of old address.

Do you know if they have definitely updated your address details? Is your waiting list position based on your new address or your old address?

If you ‘disposed of’ your old address in October why did they still use it? Are they using your new address now? If they’re using your new address now, and accept that renting your old house out is sufficient to have ‘disposed’ of it, they should have allocated using the new address given that the deadline would have been after your tenant moved in.

please 6-12-or 18 months of ?? not sure what you think a requires improvement school will entail, but it will not "ruin" his career choices at the age of 18.
while you sort out the school issue get a tutor. if it's behavioral issues that worry you stay on top of that at home, and with out-of-school clubs that reflect your family values.
it's a minor set back for sure and may impact how easily he forms friendships when the school issue is sorted and he moves to a second secondary school but it will not affect his career choices in a decades time.
it may even be a positive experience.
and clearly as a bright young fellow his academics won't drop so much that he can't catch up quickly (but get a tutor to be on the safe side).
or consider applying to private secondaries who offer scholarships.

I share the puzzlement of others as to why the old address was used. If you no longer owned the old address by the end of October and had notified the council of this, there is no way they should have used that address for allocating places. If that is the situation, that sounds like a clear mistake which should be the basis of your appeal.

i think the OP still owns the home, it is just rented out, and wasn't rented until October 2024 when Bucks make it very clear that in these circumstances that the previous home must be rented out by Sept 1, 2024 for the new address to be used for applications. By these rules, the LA have done nothing wrong.

is that acceptable under the admissions code? Why would bucks applicants be required to be in an address for two full months before they can use that address?

The code isn't particularly forthcoming on address, other than requiring admissions authorities to be explicit in how address will be determined and what the nodal points in the school are.

Bucks schools aren't alone in having stringent address requirements - Langley in Slough for example requires applicants to have been resident at the application address since the 1st of May in the year of application.

Barnet are even stricter- they essentially proceed from the assumption that if you do not actually sell your previous home, they will treat your new address (either rented or owned) as a temporary address - even if the old home is rented out - and need to see considerable proof that the move is a permanent one should parents still retain an owned home elsewhere.

That requirement to live at an address by 1st September is unusual, but there is nothing in the Admissions Code that prohibits it. Having seen that, I agree that no mistake has been made in this case.

Bucks admissions rules are designed to stop people claiming they live somewhere they do not, then reverting to their real residence as soon as their DC(s) have been given a place. Although I'm not saying for one.moment that OP is trying to game the system, the circumstances she describes will unfortunately look exactly like that to the.admissions staff.

These admissions rules have been challenged a few times, including legally, and no challenge has ever gained much traction. So clearly it is a legitimate stipulation.