Council shatters big-school dreams

DOZENS of pupils have had their dreams of attending Crompton House School shattered after a major Oldham Council blunder.

A total of 54 children have been affected by the major mix-up.

Half were mistakenly offered places when they did not meet the eligibility criteria (based on faith, special needs or having brothers and sisters at the school).

Their hopes were crushed when their parents received phone calls saying the places had been offered in error.

Another 27 children were informed they had not met the criteria — when they had.

All 54 had been given the wrong information by email and letters from the council.

Now the disappointed pupils have been left searching for leftover places at other schools.

Jennifer Smith hasn’t had the heart to tell her son he has a place at Waterhead Academy — which was not even one of his six choices.

She said: “My son has been delighted since finding out he had a place at Crompton House.

“The council told me there is nothing they can do about it but the worst thing is that they’ve taken a week to realise their error.”

One devastated parent, who did not wish to be named, said her daughter had ended up with her fourth-choice school.

She said: “I think the council has been very unprofessional — management should be held accountable.

“I think everyone affected should get together and ask for a meeting with the person who made this mistake, so they can explain to the children exactly what has happened. My daughter was crying, asking me if it was something she’d done wrong.”

Councillor Jack Hulme said: “Regrettably, an error has since been identified in the allocations for Crompton House where 27 places were mistakenly offered to pupils who didn’t meet the eligibility criteria. As a result, 27 others were also incorrectly informed that they had not met the criteria.

“The reason for this human error has now been identified. A change of office personnel meant that vital operational knowledge was not passed on. The lessons have been learnt and there is no chance this will happen again.

“However, we fully recognise this will have caused disruption and disappointment.

“We apologise unreservedly for this mistake.”

Oldham Council staff have contacted the parents of each pupil concerned to explain the situation to them in detail.

Councillor Hulme said the authority was making it a “top priority” to help pupils find places.

He added: “The school admissions process is a vital function carried out by the council and we are pleased to note that 88 per cent of children across Oldham have been granted places at their first-choice school this year.”