Child's school place

[Oneeyedvic]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/734503 9.stm

A Teesside couple say they will give up legal guardianship of their daughter in a bid to secure the 10-year-old a place at her preferred school.

Rebecca Coils missed out on a place at Hartlepool's Manor College and was instead offered a place at her fourth-choice secondary school.

Parents James and Stella will consider making the girl's great aunt Mary, who lives near Manor College, her guardian

Is 6 miles really bad for a child to have to go to school? When I was 7 I used to ride my bike to school about that distance.

I heard the child on FiveLive this morning who said that she didn't want to go to the other school as she wouldn't have any friends there.

Is this a case of doing anything for your children, or is the child being spoilt?

NOTE: I have not seen any bad remarks about the school she has been allocated - it seems purely on the grounds that it is closer and would be therefore more convenient.

[toby99]

I don't personally think it is about being spoilt - You really will do anything to ensure the happiness of your children. Once you have decided on a school you will do anything to get them in, as every other choice will be second best, regardless of the school�s success. I have been there � Our preferred school wasn't the best academically, but I knew she would be so much happier there than at any other school. After all they spend up to seven years in secondary school, so I did do everything possible to get her in even after a couple of previous rejections and yes, if it had come down to residency, I would have taken an easier option and just pretended we had moved, using the relatives mailing address as our new address, rather than go down the line of legal guardianship. However, I would have even moved house legitimately if that is what it would take!

[stokemaveric]

seems a bit extreme to go to this lenghth, is this really in the childs BEST interests?personally i dont think it is,and if the education authority know that they are intending to do this they ought to stop them.doesnt this child know how to make friends or are her parents being selective over her choice of friends too?all sounds a bit pathetic to me.

[coco pops]

If she hasn't got a place at Manor College i would have thought that the admissions list is full therefore moving in with her aunt surely won't give her a place because there will still be no places spare

[anotheoldgit]

Seems like a good idea to me, if she can get into the school of her choice, no difference to being away at boarding school, except she will be with her relatives.

stokemaveric

or are her parents being selective over her choice of friends too?all sounds a bit pathetic to me.

I don't know if you are a parent or not, but would you not also be selective over her choice of friends? One cannot be too careful in these days of unacceptable peer pressures being brought on by un-suitable "Friends".

[stokemaveric]

aog yes i am a parent and i hope that i have brought my 2 sons up to be respetful,honest and hardworking.seeing that one son is 23 and the other 19 both holding down good,well paid jobs and have never brought any trouble home i hope that me and my wife have done a half decent job.i have never stopped them from making new friends but have advised them when they ask for it,sometimes they have heeded advice sometimes they havent and they have learned from any mistakes if any new friends turned out to be bad choices then they were not mates for long.you cant wrap your kids up in cotton wool but you can be there for them if they make a mistake.

[sophie_1003]

In the Times it quoted the aunt saying 'it will be a shame if she's not living at home' so this indicates that not only would her aunt be her legal guardian the girl would actually not be living with her parents at all, indeed with catchment areas the child usually has to live in the area not just have a parent/guardian who does. for 6 hours a day of education is it eally the best thing for her to be away from the people who brought her up?

[stokemaveric]

sophie the parents think that that is the best option but i know id want my child living with ME not living miles away so that they can attend the school of their choice.....bad parenting in my eyes.

[sophie_1003]

seems awful to me, i'd be outraged if i had to move away from home just to attend what is perceived as a good school, school reputations can change so quickly it's really not worth it

[toby99]

I think they are only saying she will live with her aunt to get the place, when in reality they will just take her to school and from school. They would have been better just saying they lived at the aunt's address rather than drawing attention to themselves - who would have known any difference?

[Le Chat]

I think the 'friends' angle is a red herring. My son has been in a lovely private school but will be moving to our local senior school and none of his friends are joining him, as their parents are all so wealthy that their children are off to private senior schools. He is not the least bit bothered as children make friends so easily. He knows this and so do we!!
However, I would hate for him not to have gone to our school of choice, whether local or not. You just want to do the best for your child educationally or otherwise.

[Oneeyedvic]

toby - when the father was interviewed this morning, he said that she would be sleeping over at the aunts - and the parents would be there in the morning to take her to school and will be there in the evenings until she goes to bed. She will also spend her weekends with her parents.

[stokemaveric]

they are exploiting a loophole and probably denying a child who is actually in the catchment area a place in the school.they are mean,self centered and dont give a toss about people with children within the schools catchment area.they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

[jno]

some kids make friends easily, others do not. And for my money, 6 miles is quite a long way to cycle these days, given modern traffic. Anyway, I wouldn't be too quick to assume her parents are doing something regrettable; most parents do their damnedest to get their children the best education possible and try not to accept second-best, and that seems fair enough to me.

[Gromit]

Just for the record, the most recent OFSTED report on both schools (the years compared are different) shows that Manor College (Preferred choice) is a far better school. It out scores St Hild's on every level.

Manor College

St Hild's

In the Daily Mail report, the council sad:
If there are more applications for a school than there are places as there are this year in the case of Manor, English Martyrs and High Tunstall, we make allocations for community schools and foundation schools in accordance with the published admissions arrangement.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles /news/news.html?in_article_id=559026&in_page_i d=1770

I thought I would check the geography of the schools involved. Map here The preferred school also appears to be the nearest and the allocated one the furthest away. It seems odd that the girls present school is of a similar distance to her home in Seaton Carew. The catchment area for the school. Presumably there is a school nearer to her home which for some reason they did not put in her 4 choices.

In this instance it seems stupid to be allocated the school that she has. Eexporting the child to her aunts is extreme. There is an appeals proc

[cazzz1975]

If she didnt want to go to st hilds why did she put the school on her preference form?

the LEA are doing their job, of course a better school (on paper) will naturally be over subscribed, she should have bore this in mind when she was making her 6 choices.

[Gromit]

Just been looking at this a bit more. I think we are being duped....

The family live in Seaton Carew. Seaton Carew has a primary school (Holy Trinity) which presumably the girls neighbours and friends go to. She does not go to that school. In fact, there are 13 schools closer to her home than the one she goes too (Eldon Grove).

The secondary school she wants to go to (Manor) also has a primary school, which is closer to her home than the one she does go to. Manor Secondary will obviously take children who go to the Manor Primary school first.

I now agree that the family are being selfish. They want to deprive a child who went to Manor Primary a place at the Secondary. They want to do to another child what they themselves are accusing the council of.

http://www.upmystreet.com/local/schools/primar y/l/Seaton+Carew.html

[jno]

splendid, Holmes!

[Gromit]

Elementary my dear jno

[anotheoldgit]

Another Daily Mail link from Gromit.

Welcome aboard Sir, converted at last.