Hi Everyone, Here is another good article by an expat woman, published in The Telegraph UK last week: Returning A Child To The UK's School System, by Kate McCann.
An excerpt:
"The problem that the Carters had run into was that although they were returning to their own home, the admissions system treated them as "out of area applicants". This meant they were given a lower priority than other residents, simply because the system had to take account of the "current address" listed on the application as well as the future home address given. This meant their four-year-old daughter was refused a place at a school a mere five- minute walk from home. She was allocated position number 30 on a waiting list of 30."
Then further down the article:
"There is yet another area of concern for returning families – one which Ms Fieldman calls the 'chicken and egg situation' – and it affects those looking to buy homes on their return to the UK. She says: "This is what worries most people… you have to have an address in the catchment area of the school to apply to the school and you don't want to get an address until you know you've got the school. We find an awful lot of expats almost concede defeat before leaving the shores of where they are and say, right, we are going to go into the private system.""
To read the full article, please click here. Thanks.
Everyone wants to be in a good school but schools have a duty to act on behalf of parents already living in the area. Not so long ago visiting a school in person was a smart prerogative but nowadays admissions are dealt through local government, so don't take your frustrations out on the office staff! I would say, don't be afraid of the appeals process, it is there as an independent adjudicator for you as parents. Prerogative number one remains to be in the immediate catchment area but make it clear in your appeal that there is a valid reason for your 'late application' and list the educational perspectives, not distance and travel times, as to why that school above all else best suits the needs of your child.
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