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Home-taught children return to class after long-running allocation row ends
FIVE Yorkshire children who have been taking school lessons from their parents in a church hall since September returned to mainstream education yesterday.
The parents of Rowan Anderson, Callum Grant, Deandra Smith, Bethany Cuvelier and Marissa Gordon organised their own home-schooling group after the Bradford youngsters – all aged 11 or 12 – were refused entry to their chosen secondary schools in the summer owing to over-subscription.
Deeply unhappy with the schools their children had been allocated, the parents instead hired out a local church hall and took turns teaching lessons.
Following five weeks of home schooling, all five youngsters have now been offered places at nearby Bingley Grammar School.
Debbie Anderson, mother of Rowan, said: "It's fantastic – a really good result. We're really happy with the school, and it's great they'll all be together. The home schooling was a good experience but it was only ever intended it to be a short-term thing."
For all five sets of parents, the youngsters' return to mainstream education marks the end of a long-running battle with local education bosses.
"It's been five weeks of home schooling, but the fight has been going on since the moment we heard we'd been allocated an undesirable school," Mrs Anderson said.
Last week it emerged that more than 5,000 children across Yorkshire missed out on their school of choice last year, despite their parents making formal appeals.
Mrs Anderson said parents in similar situations should take heart from her case.
"You must never give up," she said. "Children deserve the best education that can be offered, and if you're not happy with the school that's allocated, then you need to make a stand. It's such an important issue."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Sunday 12 February 2012
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