Secondary school appeal update

gb I am beyond on your behalf. Who is actually organising the appeal? Is it a la school or an academy?

Sadly it is an academy Rigby46 so they are a law unto themselves and can dictate the terms of the appeal procedure. just like they can manipulate their admissions criteria to suit.

I only have experience of the two appeals my niece attended. In both cases, she was given a specific time for each. Academies are supposed to follow the same code. Making someone be available for two whole days ( with all the anxiety that must entail whilst waiting) sounds like an abuse of process to me - I'll pm you

I'm sorry this has not yet resolved, gillybob.

Thanks Rigby46 I have just spoken to the appeals secretary (she is from the next town?) who tells me that the reason for the appeal being strung over 2 days is that there are too many to be heard in one day. I asked her whether it would not be a fairer system to hear a few appeals per day over 2 or 3 days and each appellant could be given at least a day slot. Apparently not possible. I didn't want to say any more to her (or what I thought of their system) for fear of further jeopardising my granddaughters chances.

Me too Norah it's getting us all down. My poor little granddaughter is so stressed she is making herself ill with worry.

This sort of thing needs to be publicised and stopped - and also the distance and problems there are with getting your DGD to school safely on a daily basis. I assume you have discussed all this with the local MP?
The whole thing stinks!

It does Welshwife this is what happens when schools turn into academies and are allowed to write their own admissions criteria.

I have said to my DDiL just this morning that if/when we lose (I don't mean to sound so defeatist) I feel that I will have to take this somewhere. It won't help my little GD at all but this really needs to be brought to the attention of people in high places.

This is appalling.

I have been wondering for ages how things were for you and your GD. I really hope things will be resolved soon and in your favour. One wonders if some of these people just enjoy making things difficult. Good luck and remember that many here on GN are rooting for you.

gillybob I was talking about you today, did your ears burn? I was with an old friend (sadly attending a funeral ) but she was talking about her efforts to get her daughter into primary school (11 years ago) and I was reminded of your DGD and wondered if the appeal had happened.

It is inequitable: families who can afford/ are able to take 2 days to sit around and wait are advantaged over those who could not afford, or be allowed, time off work. That does need to be made clear..though I understand your worry about disadvantaging the appeal by being seen (in their eyes) as a nuisance. I hope you can find a way for someone to be there.

I'm furious on your behalf. It's a perfect case of filibustering. The sort of behaviour that makes you spit feathers or cry with sheer frustration. It's not helpful but I'd write it my M.P after the event. At the very least it will let you vent your feelings. I do hope things go well . Good luck

I find it more frustrating as I understand it is church school, behaving in a not very thoughtful way.
Maybe a letter to the bishop?

The actual appeal is not until the end of the month. We have been given a short window of opportunity to email the Chair of the Panel with any other relevant information to "our" appeal. I was thinking about saying that I would like it to be put on record that we feel that the appeal process stretching over 2 days (most of which will undoubtedly be spent waiting around) is quite unreasonable as it requires the parents to take 2 days unpaid leave from work in order to attend. It also does not take into any account that the child (and indeed any siblings) will have to be cared for by a third party in order for the parents to attend the hearing (in another town).

There is so much I would like to say but am having to hold back.

Indeed Penstemmon not a very Christian way to treat people is it? I could laugh at the headmasters welcome on their webpage.

I am so sad for you and your family gilly. Oh that I could take your GD to the school that mine is going to attend but it would not solve the problem of travel. I was talking to GD yesterday and she was telling me all about her new classmates, she has already met them at weekly get to know you sessions. Her enthusiasm was heart-warming but I thought about your GD and what a different story she has to tell.
Shame on them doing that to a young child

A very different story indeed harri My DGD's class have all been given books (diaries I think) to fill in for their new teacher. 3 teachers from local secondaries have visited their primary and met with their new pupils. Needless to say my DGD did not meet her new teacher as she is the only child allocated a school miles away from both home and the primary and they probably though it wasn't worth sending anyone to meet and greet one kid!

She is distraught (yes that it the right word) and keeps saying things like "I just won't go" or "I might run away and then they can't make me go there" It is very worrying and terribly upsetting. She loves school, she is very bright and extremely sporty. Any school should feel privileged to have her. I'm feeling quite tearful as I type this. I think its a mixture of anger and frustration.

It should not be a postcode lottery! If all schools had equal admissions it would make it easier. We all need our youngsters to go to good local schools.

It all seemed to go wrong when parents were allowed to choose primaries way out of their area just to enable their child to be fed into the best secondaries at 11. There are loads of children who have got places at the academy who live miles away but their parents got them into the right feeders aged 4.

Academies are allowed to set their own admission criteria (this particular one seems to have chosen 4 primaries from the most affluent villages) back door selection?

Also why are they allowed to have 4 feeder primaries? which is almost the entire intake?

I didn't realise that your DGD was the only child!

How distressing for her that the other children are meeting their new teachers and she's left out.

The whole situation seems iniquitous. I do hope for DGD that your appeal is successful.

Yes River she is the only child. This is because she lives several miles away from the primary school she attends (we failed appeals to get her into a local primary) and because the Academy on her doorstep is full from their own feeders they have had to pull a school out of a hat. No thought or consideration.

There's a kid, There's a school. Job done.

(I never refer to my DGD as "a kid" but I seriously think that the people from the LEA must do. Surely they wouldn't treat a child like this)

I'm sure you know this already gillybob, but your DGD has almost no chance of being offered a place. A two day appeal process is relatively common for very oversubscribed schools.

The procedure is that the school will state its case just once, showing how it has applied admissions criteria correctly. Each parent is then given an opportunity to state their case. The panel will only be interested in whether the criteria have not been applied fairly in your case. One local school had over 40 appeals and the panel rejected them all.

All you can do is:

Make sure that your DGD remains on the waiting list
Get transport sorted
Build up DGD's confidence. You could arrange a visit to the school.

gilly, I can't help but think (apart from transport issues) that your DGD is better off not succeeding in the appeal - do you really want her to go to what sounds like an awful place? If this is how they behave over admissions, what are they going to be like with any other problems that might arise?

gilly, good results??