I'd be grateful to hear from anyone who has gone through one of these, especially for Primary, just so I can know what to expect in the next couple of months.

Daughter (aged 4) is due to start in Reception in January.

Generally it seems people appeal to get in from outside catchment. But we want our daughter to go to the catchment school (5 mins, round corner). However, because we moved house in August - after all the places had been allocated - we are stuck with the place at the school 5 minutes from our old house (which, of course, we wanted at the time).

The school we want to get into is already at its "indicative number". Ironically, they filled a few places from outsde catchment because it was under-subscribed (before we knew we were moving).

We are Number 1 on the waiting list for the school we want, but as yet nobody's dropped out. So we decided to appeal.

We put in the appeal this week in writing and I believe it is being considered tomorrow - we've been told this "round" is unlikely to be successful and that we will have to come and present our case in person in a month's time.

I understand that in Reception and Year 1 they are pretty strict about having only 30 in each class as this is a Government-set limit. We've been told that this can be exceeded in "exceptional" circumstances, which I hope we may have. My wife leaves for work in Doncaster at 7.30am; I'll be taking my daughter to school and I currently have a serious medical reason for being unable to drive, so we'd be doing a 4-mile round bus journey each day (and I have to do it twice, to get back to my office at home, and leave probably at about 2pm to go and collect her...)

I feel very strongly that we are not trying to take a place away from anyone who is more entitled. We live in the catchment and we want our children to go to both the local primary and secondary. We want to support the local school, not the one 2 miles away where we used to live.

Interested to hear people's experiences of appeals, successful and unsuccessful.