West Sussex primary school admission 'short-sighted'

Archie Garrigan, pictured with his mother Katy, is on a waiting list for two schools

A family say they have been let down by West Sussex County Council as they will not know if their son has a school place until term starts.

Katy and Danny Garrigan's four-year-old son is on the waiting list for two schools near their West Wittering home.

Both are full, but there may be gaps as some parents have not responded to the admission letters. However, this will not be known until term starts.

The council would not comment, as the case is with the Schools Adjudicator.

The Garrigans said it was the council's responsibility to find out which children would definitely be attending the school before the term started.

'Short-sighted'

Their son, Archie, was offered his nearest school, but this was rejected by his parents on the grounds of its performance.

Mrs Garrigan said: "The council are being very short-sighted and hope it sorts itself out before school starts.

"It's very stressful - we don't know where he's going, we haven't been able to buy any school uniforms or talk to him about it.

"We've just got to wait and hope a place comes up in the next four weeks."

The Department for Education said there was no legal duty on local authorities to send follow-up letters for unanswered offers.

However, they do expect them to have a clear system in place to guide parents through the admissions process within their local area.