Hello Barbara

It's a difficult time to move as, assuming you are UK based, your daughter will be in the middle of exam based courses. The schools (old and prospective) may want to encourage her to stay put if they think it's less disruptive but as a parent I can appreciate that there are many other factors to be considered.

My son started a new school just after Easter. He is 14 and in year 10 but due to problems with his previous school and some family issues he'd been home educated for around 18 months. He is much much better in the new school but I think that is because this school is very supportive rather than simply that he has had a new start. I had to appeal to get him in as there are very few places anywhere in year 10 and the school we wanted was very oversubscribed. He was allocated a different school by the education authority but when we visited it was clear that he was likely to end up with a repeat of all the problems that he had at his last place. Fortunately the appeal was upheld and although it's not all plain sailing, life is much better.

Where our situation differs from yours is that the school we wanted was actually very keen to have him and told us they felt sure they could support him even though they were technically full and we could only get a place via an appeal. I don't think it would have worked if he'd gone to a school with a different attitude. From what I understand from your post the school you hope your daughter can transfer to hasn't said no but they do want to be sure they can offer appropriate support. This sounds sensible as everyone wants to make the move a positive experience. However, if they do say no are there any other schools in the area that you could consider?

Hi Barbara
it's good that your daughter is willing to try a new school. She has shown that she can attend her present school and it is disappointing that others in the class are making her uncomfortable.

I hope that the school she has applied to will be capable of supporting her.
Fingers crossed you get the response from them that you want.

Take care

Virginia