News
Early start for John
Early reports suggest that whilst more parents received at least one of their preferred schools, the number who obtained their first preference was down this year. John Chard suggested that this was in part down to the use of the new equal preference system which is required under the new Code on School Admissions. What this means is that although parents are asked to rank their preferences, the local education authority will treat them all equally under the new arrangements. Therefore a higher number of parents will have secured a place at a school which was not their first choice which inevitably meant that the percentage of parents securing their first preference was lower.
It has been suggested that this will result in more appeals which have tended to reduce in number in recent years. Only time will tell if this is indeed the case.
Parents have been encouraged to use the appeal system by Schools Minister, Jum Knight, if you are not satisfied with the school which you have been allocated.
There is a lot of help and assistance with appeals that is available and certainly the use of a professional will considerably increase the chances of a successful appeal.
