Didn’t get into any choices, placed into Catholic School - help

[morozova89]

Hi everyone, I’m really hoping someone might be able to offer some advice about secondary school appeals in London.

My son has been allocated a place at a Catholic secondary school, which we did not put on our application list. We are a different faith and not Catholic, so being placed in a faith school that isn’t ours feels very upsetting and uncomfortable for our family.

I’m also a single mum and have had to navigate this process on my own, and unfortunately my son’s dad hasn’t been helpful with any of it. I’m originally from Ukraine and not very familiar with the UK school system, so I did what I thought made sense at the time.

We listed four schools, three of which we genuinely believed were realistic choices based on distance and admissions. Sadly he wasn’t offered any of them. I realise now maybe I should have listed more, but I honestly didn’t know.

What has made it even more shocking is that all of my son’s close friends were offered places at our number one choice school, which is in our catchment area and part of the same federation as his current primary school. I know friendships aren’t a ground for appeal, but it has made the outcome quite difficult for him to understand.

My son was born in the UK, is in Year 6, and is doing well at his current primary school, so this has been a really confusing and upsetting situation for us.

I understand that appeals are usually made for a specific school rather than against the one offered, but being allocated a faith school that isn’t our faith and wasn’t on our list feels particularly difficult.

If anyone has experience with appeals, waiting lists, or what steps I should take next, I would be incredibly grateful for any advice. Thank you so much. 🙏

btw we are in London.

Not @MmeWorthington but my understanding is yes, waiting lists for banded schools are held by Band.

Yes - it looks like the bands are used for the waiting list until the end of the first term of year 7.

Interesting, thanks @PatriciaHolm and @SheilaFentiman!

So they finally emailed back—

x is currently on the waiting list for the schools below in the following x is currently on the waiting list for the schools below in the following order:

MVPA in Band A
MCA - Band A Outer
Haggerston School in Band B
The City of London Hackney in Band A

You were offered Cardinal Pole because that was your nearest school with a vacancy. Hackney schools are very popular and have a limited number of places to offer. If you were not offered your first preference it is because all the places were offered to children who had a higher priority than your child according to the schools’ admission criteria.

Not entirely sure where to go from here - wait and hope for the best?

Is your child at Riverside or Parkside? If Riverside, I think you have been put in the wrong category for MVPA.

Does he go to the right primary for that specific secondary? It doesnt sound like each primary gets priority at both of the secondaries?

He’s at Mossbourne Riverside.

https://education.hackney.gov.uk/sites/default/files/document/How%20places%20were%20offered%20-%20Secondary%20Transfer%202026.pdf
considering he’s at Mossbourne riverside, 0.9 miles from school - I don’t know if this was an error or just bad luck.

You need to check that he was considered as attending Mossbourne Riverside, if you had indicated this on the application form then it looks like there's been an error

I also think there has been an error and you have been put in the distance category of Band A instead of the “attends riverside” category.

If the error has been made by Hackney, you should get a place without appeal (or more or less automatically if they do make you appeal)

“I know friendships aren’t a ground for appeal.”

You can appeal on any grounds you feel are relevant to your child. Don’t limit yourself.

I agree - if he's Band A, and attends riverside (and you put than in his application) then it looks like an error has been made, as they admitted all children in Band A who go to Riverside and then moved on to distance.

Never mind I think I understand it now - cut off for Band A was 0.454 miles. So yes clearly they are just too oversubscribed.

No - cut off was that IF the child doesn’t attend Riverside. Yours does and so should be in the category above distance.

1. I would ask them to check whether he was put in the Riverside category for Band A
2. Visit CP and see what you think
3. Look through the Hackney schools and put him on the waiting list for any additional schools you would consider over and above CP
4. Look at any schools in neighbouring boroughs that are within reach that you would prefer over CP and get on their waiting lists
5. Make sure you accept the CP place - it won't disadvantage you on any waiting lists or appeals to accept , and you don't want to end up with no school!
6. Keep your fingers crossed - the population of London is v mobile and waiting lists move fast.

I don't really understand the Haggerston table - they have a PAN of 180 and have offered 146 places of which 4 were offered on 'no preference; - which I presume means people who didn't list it and it is therefore undersubscribed?

I also don't understand their distances.

FWIW - My DDs are both at a Catholic Secondary. Despite being baptised Catholics they are both now firmly atheist (as is my DH). They love their school, religion is not rammed down their throats and RE is their favourite subject - as it challenges the way they think and gives them the opportunity for lots of debate. Yes, they do get invited to mass but none of it is compulsory.

@morozova89
I agree - this!

thank you, I will do all this 🙏

I had a look at the CP website - it looks very strong academically and the Ofsted is good.

The religious content looks quite intense. I am an atheist but know I have 'Christian values' in terms of ethics if not faith, and I wouldn't think Catholic values (much talked on on the website) would be very different.

Another parent explained it to me as - There are only 42 spaces for MRA kids in total including siblings. So the first 20 or so MRA spaces fill up with siblings. Then they reach the last 20ish using distance - so those spaces go to the MRA kids who don’t have siblings who live closest and presumably there are 20ish people who attend MRA who live closer than you.

I guess there is some dispute into how these get allocated.. will be calling the council (again) tomorrow to clarify.

anyway, thank you all for support and words of wisdom!

It doesn’t look bad academically, it’s true. I guess we will have more of a feel for it when we visit - not entirely sure what to expect, but hopefully they will be able to address my concerns.

Ah, that 'only 42 places for Riverside across all bands, including siblings, LAC, staff kids etc' makes it much more tricky to figure out.

Here is the oversubscription criteria - random allocation, which would explain why your neighbour got a place but your son didn't (if both were considered under criteria v)

http://www.mvpa.mossbourne.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Admissions-Arrangements-2026-2027.pdf

That may well be your experience in London but isn't in other parts of the country. So perhaps don't generalise yourself.

@Spirallingdownwards that faith schools tend to be more socially selective is not a generalisation but a conclusion backed by tons of research, as I had said and linked.

If you disagree, maybe you could challenge that research and explain why believing that a priest turns a wafer into the body of a deity would make the students "better"?

As for the London Oratory, I do not know how representative its case was. But I do know that the old system allowed that kind of blatant discrimination (donate to the church and get priority) and I know that it took a legal fight to defeat that abomination. Tell me, which of these well-documented facts do you disagree with?