Appealing grounds

[Clueless_mum]

Hi all, can someone please help regarding appeals? We are in catchment of a popular comprehensive school and yet my son wasn't offered a place because of oversubscription. Can I appeal on grounds that all the children in our neighbourhood including next door and opposite houses go to that school and that my son will be an isolated case. My son has really been looking forward to it and it might affect his mental health as the school he's been offered " needs improvement" and my son doesn't want to go there after witnessing boys from that school pushing someone at a bus stop. I can also get teachers comments on his working at level 6 maths and the school we want is Stem focused. Any advise would be helpful. Thanks.

[hermanmunster]

Hi Clueless mum - presume you haven't got a place this year as the school is oversubscribed, first thing to do is to make sure you are on the waiting list for it - places may come up.

Secondly - have you read the FAQ on oversubscription appeals? You need to apply for a school not against the one you have been offered. The key is demonstrate why that school is the right one for him

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... bed-school" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Clueless_mum]

Hi Clueless mum - presume you haven't got a place this year as the school is oversubscribed, first thing to do is to make sure you are on the waiting list for it - places may come up.

Secondly - have you read the FAQ on oversubscription appeals? You need to apply for a school not against the one you have been offered. The key is demonstrate why that school is the right one for him

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... bed-school" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you. I'll check out the link. Just feel it's unfair that we haven't been offered any of our choices and have been put on waiting list. Even though DS passed Slough consortium we didn't put any of those schools as we would've been happy with a comprehensive closer to home rated "good" which many are..

[scary mum]

Unfortunately they are preferences rather than choices, so the local authority only has to fulfill it's duty by providing a school place. Were you fairly certain of getting one of the schools you put down from previous years' data? How many preferences did your CAF allow?

[Clueless_mum]

We put down 2 schools within catchment and 2 out of catchment but hoped that they would give us our first preference as all the children in our community go there. Shouldn't that be enough reason to appeal? My child would not be alone while traveling and not be the only one out. As a community we can help and support each other bringing up our children..

[KatharineB]

Just a thought but is it perhaps worth putting another school down to be considered in later rounds that was not on your CAF before if it is the case that you have nothing to lose anyway (depending on score and distance)? If you are a Christian for example and passed Slough then St Bernards would be a good option.

[Clueless_mum]

Thank you Katharine, but the only reason for us not putting Slough schools is that we don't want the boy to travel that far. He is sporty and would love to join after school clubs etc.

[rhiane]

Thank you Katharine, but the only reason for us not putting Slough schools is that we don't want the boy to travel that far. He is sporty and would love to join after school clubs etc.

Out of interest if a Slough Grammar was never an option, why put him through the exam?

[Clueless_mum]

Thank you Katharine, but the only reason for us not putting Slough schools is that we don't want the boy to travel that far. He is sporty and would love to join after school clubs etc.

Out of interest if a Slough Grammar was never an option, why put him through the exam?

We live in Reading and having a daughter at Kendrick, our son also wished to take the Reading school test and we gave him the opportunity to go for it. My husband felt sharing his test scores with Slough wouldn't be a bad idea at that time. At the time of CAF we seriously thought about it and decided that we don't really want him to go through the travel. Ultimate academic success is really up to the child in the end but we do want our local catchment comp which is rated "good"

[rhiane]

Thank you Katharine, but the only reason for us not putting Slough schools is that we don't want the boy to travel that far. He is sporty and would love to join after school clubs etc.

Out of interest if a Slough Grammar was never an option, why put him through the exam?

We live in Reading and having a daughter at Kendrick, our son also wished to take the Reading school test and we gave him the opportunity to go for it. My husband felt sharing his test scores with Slough wouldn't be a bad idea at that time. At the time of CAF we seriously thought about it and decided that we don't really want him to go through the travel. Ultimate academic success is really up to the child in the end but we do want our local catchment comp which is rated "good"

I understand that, keeping your options open is a good thing