Secondary school appeal advice please

[Sarah13579]

My daughter attends an out of area primary school which she a small school with 15 children in her class. All her friend have been offered a place at a secondary school a couple of miles away. We didn't initially apply to this school as it is massively over subscribed and I have watched kids year after year not being offered a place and losing on appeal even on Heath grounds etc. My daughter wanted to go there so much that I felt we were realistic with her from the start as if she didn't get in she would be devastated. We are looking to
Move the the area next year and felt she might have a better chance then. However since this a girl in her class who lives up the road from us has won an appeal purely because they have said it would be detrimental to move her from her peers. I am so angry and upset with myself and feel I have let my daughter down as if I knew there was the slightest chance we would have gone down this route. Since this I have spoke to the council about putting my daughters name on the waiting list for when we move and the counci said we could do a late appeal now as would be better for my daughter to try and get her a place from the start than to move her in year. I'm just worried the appeal panel will think I'm only appealing now because her friend has got in and also will they not take me seriously it being late and not putting it as a choice originally. The other reason I have for appealing is that my children go to an out of area school at the moment because I work with benefit claimants in the area we live and I would feel unsafe/awkward in certain cases mixing in the school community with some of my claimants. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice or think that these are reasonable grounds for appeal or how the appeal panel may look at it. Thanks x

[Sarah13579]

Hi I'm sorry to be a pain but just have another question. I put my local school as my first choice school on the original application form as I was adamant I wouldn't get the out of area school however i did put this as my second choice. Now for the reasons stated above I am appealing the school which I put as my second choice (we were offered a place at the local first choice school). The council recently changed my preferences to put the school we want to appeal as our first choice school however on the letter confirming this it states 'if an application for a school has been withdrawn this is because you have been offered a place at another school which you stated as a higher priority on the common application form. You cannot appeal this decision." So does this mean because I originally put our local school as first choice and was offered a place there and the second choice school I want to appeal has been withdrawn mean I can't appeal. Or because I have recently changed my preferences to show the school we want to appeal as first choice it is allowed. I haven't been told I can't appeal but now it says this on the letter I'm worried the council shouldn't have changed my preferences and if the appeal panel pick up on this it will be thrown out?

[Etienne]

Welcome to Appeals!

Since this I have spoke to the council about putting my daughters name on the waiting list for when we move and the counci said we could do a late appeal now as would be better for my daughter to try and get her a place from the start than to move her in year.

The council seem very helpful - tell the panel this is what has prompted you to put in a late appeal.

I'm just worried the appeal panel will think I'm only appealing now because her friend has got in

Don't tell them "her friend has got in"!

and also will they not take me seriously it being late and not putting it as a choice originally.

They will take you seriously, especially if you mention the advice from the council.

I would feel unsafe/awkward in certain cases mixing in the school community with some of my claimants

It's a reasonable point to make.

Suggest you now read all our advice on appeals, especially:
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... bed-school" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Sarah13579]

Thank you for your very reassuring comments. With regards to my last post though do you think I'm entitled to an appeal or do you think the council have made a mistake? Thanks again

[ToadMum]

Thank you for your very reassuring comments. With regards to my last post though do you think I'm entitled to an appeal or do you think the council have made a mistake? Thanks again

I would read that as, you have no right of appeal against not being given a place at a school you yourself told the LA you only wanted if they couldn't offer you one you had placed above it on your CAF. As far as the LA is concerned, you didn't really have your request for a place there turned down, it just stopped looking to see which of your original preferencesit could offer you before it got that far down.

So as things stand, your lower preferences have sort of evaporated, because you could be offered the school you put as first preference. I would assume from the LA's wording that you would have to make a new (late) application for a place at that school, before appealing as soon as you were (presumably inevitably) refused a place. Even if your appeal were to be unsuccessful, you would be on the waiting list according to your current OOC address, then moved up the waiting list once your new address was confirmed. I may be wrong, though - would definitely clarify the point with the admissions team at the LA.

I would definitely be inclined to put more emphasis on the possibility of your DD suffering unwanted effects from your occupation (assuming that this is a credible risk), rather than making too much of how she will be unhappy not to be going to the same secondary school of her classmates. Unfortunately, unless your OOC primary is a designated feeder school for your desired secondary, being split up from your IC classmates is a foreseeable eventuality.