Family teach son at home because they say hour-long walk to school is too dangerous

(L-R): Brandon, mum Tracey, dad James, and brother Dylan
-Credit: (Image: James Hall)


The parents of an 11-year-old-boy have taken the drastic step of pulling him out of school due to fears for his safety on his hour-long walk to school. Brandon Hall had hoped to attend Droylsden Academy, like his older brother Dylan, but was instead assigned to Denton Community College.

This decision meant that Brandon would have to navigate some of Greater Manchester's busiest roads just to get to school, a situation his father, James Hall, deemed unsafe, reports the Manchester Evening News. With both parents working - James at Manchester Royal Infirmary and Brandon's mum Stacey as a carer - they are often unable to drive their son to school. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.

The family has now made the difficult decision to home-school Brandon after their appeal against the school assignment was unsuccessful, said Mr Hall. "We applied for a place at Droylsden last year within the deadline. Denton was never one of the options. We knew instantly that it wasn't acceptable and then we went through the appeal process. We put across our points quite well but we got a letter through the post which said the appeal was unsuccessful."

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Mr James added: "According to Greater Manchester Police, there were 11,145 violent crime incidents reported in Tameside over the last 12 months, equating to 4,788 incidents per 100,000 residents. This means that if Brandon were to make a two-hour journey each day (one hour there and back), there is a 9.34 per cent probability of being a victim of violent crime on a single journey. Over the course of an entire school year (190 days), this probability rises to 99.86%. From a safety and safeguarding perspective, this is completely unacceptable. Because of this, we had to make the difficult decision to home-school Brandon until a place at a suitable school becomes available."

Mr Hall said he contacted the local authority, who told him all the closer schools were full, and even contacted his local MP and the Greater Manchester mayor, but claims neither were able to offer any help. He added that the situation is now taking its toll on Brandon's mental health, with the youngster fearing he will fall behind his friends. Brandon wasn't the only one who didn't succeed, as the council revealed that Droylsden Academy received a whopping 644 applications for just 180 places for admission in September 2024. Tameside Council also noted that they had received over 40 appeals against the refusal of Year 7 places at Droylsden Academy alone this year.

These appeals were reviewed by an independent panel in June 2024, following the guidelines set out in the School Admission Appeals Code, according to the local authority. Despite the council's insistence that they adhered to all rules and guidance, Brandon was left with a lengthy journey to school, which his father claims wouldn't be any quicker by bus.

Mr Hall added: "All his classmates have got into schools in the area, so why has he been singled out? I don't think it's safe for an 11-year-old to walk 2.7miles to school. So we have decided to home-school him. The first day of home-schooling him was a nightmare. I'm trying to work from home and help with his schooling."

A Tameside Council spokesperson explained the process for school admissions, saying: "When selecting a secondary school for their child, parents and carers are invited to choose up to six schools on their application form. The total number of applications received in Tameside for admission in 2024 was 3328, of which 85.2 per cent were allocated their first preference - this is higher than the national average. When a child cannot be offered one of their preferences, the admissions team allocates the nearest school to their home address with an available place. On National Offer Day, March 1, 2024, Tameside had 110 unallocated places available across the borough indicating sufficient availability of secondary school places within Tameside."

The spokesperson added: "Most Tameside secondary schools receive more applications than places available and therefore the Council applies 'admissions oversubscription criteria' to determine who can be offered a place. Each individual school's criteria is in the 'Moving On' booklet, and on Tameside and the schools website." Regarding specific cases, they stated: "On the information available (regarding Brandon's case), the panel found that lawful admission arrangements had been properly implemented. The panel then considered whether admitting further children to the year group would cause prejudice to the provision of efficient education and use of resources at the school.

"Having considered the information provided by the school, the panel considered that the school had demonstrated that to admit further pupils into the Year 7 cohort for September 2024 would prejudice the provision of efficient education and the efficient use of resources at the school. The independent appeals panel then considered whether there were overriding circumstances, which would support the attendance of a particular child at a school, in spite of the prejudice, which would be caused. In considering this, they take into account all of the information provided by the parent or carer. The independent appeals panel balances all the information in making a decision and always considers each case carefully. In this case the appeal was unsuccessful."