Secondary school admission appeal

silvercar

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

But 'transport' may consist of a bus pass. That's certainly all that ours ever got.

Which is fine....if there is a bus. If there is no bus service then the local authority need to provide some form of transport. Most likely to be a taxi that picks up a few kids that live off the normal route.

izoomzoom

Not much practical 'appeal' support and I only have a friend that went through it.

Make the appeal - I don't think you need to have your arguments until the panel meeting actually takes place.

Do check exactly where you are on the waiting list. One or two places, you'll probably get in as people change their minds or move. 10 or 11th down the list ... appeal will be your only option.

My friend who appealed was 5th. When it came time for the panel meeting, 3 people in front of her never bothered to pitch up and the final 2 were immediately allocated spaces because they had become available. They didn't even argue their cases.

There may also be credit to the distance - if GDD lives any closer than the other children, then they will have to allow her in.

Good luck

Savvy_Sue

izoomzoom wrote: »

There may also be credit to the distance - if GDD lives any closer than the other children, then they will have to allow her in.

That's not definite. If she lives closer than other children WHO ARE NOT HIGHER UP THE ADMISSIONS PRIORITY than she is, then it's a clear error. But you need to know what the admissions priority is: often 'looked after children' will score more highly, sometimes siblings will.

So yes, check your distances, but be aware that you may not know all the circumstances of children who live further away who've been admitted.

seven-day-weekend

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Like many others of my generation I passed the 11 plus and went to what was then a Direct Grant school. As well as day boys from the 2 primary schools in the town, there were boarders from all over the country and boys from many outlying villages, rarely more than one from the same village.

Everyone soon made new friends as I'm sure your granndaughter would, should your appeal fail.

Me too. I lived in the country in Staffordshire and went to a village school. I was the only one of my friends to pass the 11 plus and I got sent to a School on the other side of the main town and had to take three buses to get there. There were two other girls from my school who went, but they were in a different class to me at Grammar School.

I kept my friends from my old school and made new ones at my new school. Not a problem. Funnily enough, I am still friends with someone from my Primary School, we are both 69 . I have kept in touch with no-one from my Secondary School.

My son was the only one of his friends in his class to go to the church school, although one or two other boys from his school also went. This school was our first choice. We knew that not many would be going to it. In his class at the Church school the first day, was someone he knew from Cubs. Like me, he kept his old friends and made new ones.

It should not be a problem for your grand-daughter, there may be someone she knows from elsewhere or if not, there are sure to be other people who know no-one there, they can pal up if necessary.

Nevertheless, I hope your appeal is successful.

Mrs_Soup

How big is the school she wants to go to- my sons school has an intake of 250 a year and people who were 40+ on the waiting list got in once people had turned down places due to getting into private school etc. If she is really close to other people who got in chances are she is very high on the waiting list.
My son still maintains friendships with children from his primary school who went to a different secondary (we are in two catchment areas) - he does go to Scouts though and that helps.

jakkigers

Thanks everybody. We are going ahead with the appeal ... just waiting for some information from the preferred school regarding admissions data, etc. Her current primary is being very supportive, as is our doctor and her parents’ employers. It’s such a worrying time though. The school she has been offered will mean it’s not possible for her to attend after-school activities without having a long wait for the bus home afterwards (up to 45 minutes on her own in an area which isn’t known for its safety).

It’s a long shot that we will win the appeal as the preferred school is well over-subscribed but we feel that we’ve got to try.

GreenQueen

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

So yes, check your distances, but be aware that you may not know all the circumstances of children who live further away who've been admitted.

My DD was adopted as a baby - as a formerly looked after child, she went straight to the top of the list, above catchment area children. Some of the parents of children appealing may have known this about her, but not all would be aware.

The admissions criteria should be on the local authority website - our LA produce a booklet with admissions criteria for all the schools in the LA, which includes the oversubscription number from the previous year and the number of appeal that were successful/unsuccessful.