There were 42 children in Haringey left without a school place in April.

Family of Muswell Hill child without primary school place may leave Haringey

by Tim Lamden Thursday, June 7, 2012
7:00 AM

A Muswell Hill couple may leave Haringey after discovering their son was still 35th on the waiting list for a primary school place – despite three extra ‘bulge’ classes across the borough to cope with demand.

Dr Rebecca Olowookere, 31, and her husband Victor, 35, of Gilson Place, off Coppetts Road, were told by Haringey Council in April that their four-year-old son David was one of 42 children without a reception place for September.

So the couple – who originally applied to six primary schools – entered the council’s second round of allocations last month, which included three new bulge classes opened up to children without a place.

But after submitting their bulge class application well in advance of the May 18 deadline, they were again told that their application had been unsuccessful.

To make matters worse, a member of the council’s school admissions staff said there were still 34 children ahead of David in the queue for a reception class place.

Dr Olowookere, a GP locum at North Middlesex Hospital, said: “I feel hard done by – I work for the NHS, I do things in the community, I pay my council taxes – I’m completely shocked.

“I’m even considering moving; my husband has started looking at places in Hertfordshire.

“I’m really, really upset that our son might not get a school. If we don’t get a school we are going to have to move, even though our friends and family are here.

“We are losing out because we’d have to commute but we would have to do it because this is our child.”

The mother-of-two has been told to call every three weeks to find out how far David is moving up the waiting list.

A council spokeswoman said the authority was currently “working on the next round of offers, which will be sent out shortly”.

She added: “We have a requirement to offer every Haringey child a school place by September and we are committed to meeting that requirement.”