Transfer 2011/2012

annoyedmum

Hi all, before I begin I would like to say that I do not wish to identify the area in which I live or the schools that I am referring to. What I would like are your opinions or advice on the situation I find myself in.

On Friday past my son was handed a letter by his class teacher saying, "this has come in the post for you." My son opened the large envelope to find a welcome pack and letter confirming his acceptance into his 2nd choice school for September. In a very short time the principal rushed into the class and asked for the letter back stating that he should not have got it. By this time my poor wee son had read the contents but the head teacher offered no explanation.
Panicking I think, the principal then phoned me and explained what had happened. I asked her if this was confirmation that he had not got into the grammer school of 1st and only choice, we have only one grammer to choose from, she replied that this seemed to be the case.
I immediately phoned the 2nd choice school and spoke with the principal and he informed me that as far as he is concerned our son has been accepted by his school and rejected by 1st choice due to a higher than usual AQE cut off. I then phoned 1st choice school and spoke with the principal, he was furious re the whole incident but insistant that the process is ongoing and will be until 22nd May. I am now sitting with a distressed child unsure what is happening and with information that I did not ask for but have. What do you all think????

Flower-power22

Mistakes happen. People are only human!
Your son is not the only person that won't get your 1st choice school. It is something that you will have to deal with. Im sure the 2nd choice isn't as bad as it seems right now.

annoyedmum

Flower-power22 wrote: »

Mistakes happen. People are only human!
Your son is not the only person that won't get your 1st choice school. It is something that you will have to deal with. Im sure the 2nd choice isn't as bad as it seems right now.

Clearly you are not getting the point, my 11 year old son was given a letter stating his failure to get into the school which he had his heart set on with noone with him to support him or help him accept the news which may I add he was deeply distressed about.
Secoundly, If 1st choice school insists that the process is ongoing how can 2nd choice school have issued letters to pupils stating that they are enrolled for September.
Thirdly I am now in the position where I know that the cut of mark for this 1st choice school is much higher than previous years and Im supposed to keep my mouth shut to cover up somebody elses !!!! up.
Finally, the 2nd choice school is a great school, not a grammer, but a great school none the less, so whilst I am disappointed for my son the issue I have is the completely inept and possibly grossly negligent way this has been handled.
My son scored 99 in AQE by the way, so a decent score by all accounts.

Ex-Spendaholic

I have to say I am totally shocked. :eek: I wish I had some good advice to give but at this minute I am at a loss. I cannot believe that a primary school child would be handed correspondence in the first place but equally I cannot believe that these letters have been produced. I'm not sure where you go with this. My thoughts are:

AQE Tel: 02890 753746

DENI: 02891 279279

Board of Governers at your child's school

Enrolment Officer at your Education and Library Board


If all else fails I would be bringing this to the attention of the local media - UTV, Belfast Telegraph, Irish News and also Stephen Nolan (don't like him but he does bring about publicity and get answers)

annoyedmum

Ex-Spendaholic wrote: »

I have to say I am totally shocked. :eek: I wish I had some good advice to give but at this minute I am at a loss. I cannot believe that a primary school child would be handed correspondence in the first place but equally I cannot believe that these letters have been produced. I'm not sure where you go with this. My thoughts are:

AQE Tel: 02890 753746

DENI: 02891 279279

Board of Governers at your child's school

Enrolment Officer at your Education and Library Board


If all else fails I would be bringing this to the attention of the local media - UTV, Belfast Telegraph, Irish News and also Stephen Nolan (don't like him but he does bring about publicity and get answers)

Thank you for understanding my feelings around this. I have spoken to our local education and library board but they seem only to be concerned with the fact that my child was given a letter which the school were not supposed to release yet. It is "regrettable" they say but nothing they can do about it!!!
My real worry is that if the process is still ongoing how come my child has been ruled out of his first choice, the 1st choice school have never had a cut off of 99, which is what my childs AQE score is so where do I go with it??

Charliedevil

This is a totally shocking situation and my heart goes out to you and your son. These letters to the best of my knowledge are not supposed to be issued until 28.5.12 and it was always of my understanding that they came straight from the school where the child has been accepted. Very worrying to think that primary school heads know the outcome of this process before parents! Just as a matter of interest what was your sons first preferance aqe cut off last year?

I would seriously consider lodging a formal complaint to the education board involved! Our children have went through enough with this process without the stress your son has had added! Really feel for him.

annoyedmum

Charliedevil wrote: »

This is a totally shocking situation and my heart goes out to you and your son. These letters to the best of my knowledge are not supposed to be issued until 28.5.12 and it was always of my understanding that they came straight from the school where the child has been accepted. Very worrying to think that primary school heads know the outcome of this process before parents! Just as a matter of interest what was your sons first preferance aqe cut off last year?

I would seriously consider lodging a formal complaint to the education board involved! Our children have went through enough with this process without the stress your son has had added! Really feel for him.

Thank you for your reply, this letter did come directly from 2nd choice school, their explanation is that this is normal practice within their school to send the letters to the primarys schools and that the primary school head is at fault for releasing the letter before 28th May. The education board have told me that this is not proper procedure but they cannot do anything now. The 1st choice schools cot of last year was 95 and 93 year before.

D.A.

Might I suggest contacting your MLA? They're not all as useless as you would think.

flymetothemoon_2

Hey Annoyedmum

I really feel for your poor son receiving this upsetting news in school - I can hardly believe what has happened - it truly beggars belief. I have never heard anything like this and am shocked to think that primary principals are receiving letters weeks before the process is meant to have been concluded - the media would love to get hold of this. I agree with ex-spendaholic, I would take this complaint to all levels and to the media - it is nothing short of disgraceful. I am also gobsmacked that your son's teacher actually gave him a letter to open - what on earth did he/she think it might be - how many times does a primary teacher ever have to give a letter to one child that is not being given to the whole class. Has this teacher no wit? I'd be furious with that teacher and with the head for giving it to her/him if that is what happened. I really cannot imagine such carelessness occurring in my children's primary - this reflects very badly on the primary school. Above all, you son has done very well to achieve a score of 99. This score would have secured a place in most grammars last year and the year before so, if the 1st choice school really has concluded its process then you really are in a doubly unfortunate situation. That said, if I were you, I'd be wondering what is going on here. Neither of you needed this extra stress - the whole process is already stressful enough - I know because I went through it last year and the wait from Feb until end May was very stressful as my child did not have a high enough score to be sure of schools. I think kids with 106 and above can be sure but kids in the 90s really do have to await the letter. So sorry for yous. Keep us all posted and good luck.

annoyedmum

Thank you for your kind words. I am so gutted about this situation that i'm not thinking about anything else.
My son's teacher and principal are one and the same person. As he was the only child in his class with this particular school as 2nd choice his was the only letter. The principal has asked me to encourage my son to make no mention of this situation to any of his classmates and she would like that I keep quiet also.
If I make a fuss I will get the 2nd choice school in trouble and then if things turn out as they look they will my child ends up attending this school, so I may put him in an awkward position. I have been led to believe that no matter what I say, or who I say it to, the situation remains unchanged. So do I suck it up and minimise the already done damage to my child's self esteem or do I shout from the roof tops to satisfy my anger but make his situation more difficult. At the end of the day I must do what is best for him?????????????????

MeAndMrsJones

I'm horrified to read this annoyed mum, what a complete mess this whole process is!! I am a parent who's also afraid to rock the boat too much as we have had a massive issue with aqe ourselves. I feel.sorry for the parents and children who are facing this charade this year. I hope ur son is ok, use the appeal process if ur not happy...I would!
Btw just so you know the aqe office keep a close eye on this thread....