Categories: uncategorized
Date: 02 March 2005 16:19:43
Am an extremely naffed off Tractor Girl today who is faced with unpleasant paperwork, which I am soooooo angry about having to deal with in the first place (oh and a Third Party who is a tad upset).
Today was the day we got the letter confirming the school for September and shock horror it wasn't any of the three we had put on our form so we are in to the land of appeals. At this point you may be confuddled or confusicated about how this has happened, I will try to explain, but it makes less sense than an HE funding body website.
Right first off we live in a strange place where there are a variety of different schools (Grammar, Comprehensive, Church, Technology, and probably others that I can't think of) and so choosing which three to put down in the first place is complicated enough. Anyway after consulting with Third Party's school, and trapsing round a variety of schools we found that it was one of the church schools which was best suited to her abilities, and our view of education being about the development of the whole child not just the qualifications at the end (although they're useful aswell). So that went down as first choice, two high schools went down as second and third (one locally and the third so we didn't leave the box blank, not that we expected to need to use these).
Anyway back in October we had a letter from our 1st choice school suggesting that as our church grounds were "sufficiently strong" Third Party needn't take the test, which is the other main source of entry into the school. So we thought all was fine and she didn't take the test.
Now it appears that she should have taken the test after all as we have been left in the position of not getting any of the chosen schools (the one we have been given is miles away and not quite the sort of place she would really be suited to). So here we are in the land of appeals.
Now what really gets me is that this may all be unneccessary because there are a number of people who put our choices down as 1st choice when really they should be 2nd choices, because they want their children to go to grammar schools but need a safety net incase they don't pass the 11+ and will now seek to reject their forms 1st choice (non-grammar and in reality 2nd choice) and take up their 2nd (grammar and in reality 1st choice) if their children have passed and there are places. As such Third Party may well manage to get into 1st choice school, but only after having to go through this first.
What makes it worse is some of the non-grammar schools which wanted to give priority to children not taking the 11+ at all were challanged and told they couldn't legally do this.
On the plus side Third Party's current school are being very supportive with helping me with the appeal.
Anyway off to fill in the paperwork.