Christine Lote, a 41-year-old mother from Bristol diagnosed with incurable stage four cancer, is campaigning for changes to what she describes as an 'unfair' school allocation policy. Mrs Lote, who has chondrosarcoma—a rare bone cancer that does not respond to chemotherapy or radiotherapy—had her leg amputated in June 2023, but the cancer later spread to her lungs.
Mrs Lote and her husband Damien applied for a primary school place for their daughter Sophie, now four, last year. They chose a school close to home so Mrs Lote, an amputee, could walk her daughter there, and because the school has staff trained in bereavement support. Mrs Lote said: 'Statistically, I won't see her through primary school.' Despite these circumstances, Sophie was allocated their third-choice school, which is further away and lacks specialist bereavement support.
The family appealed, but South Gloucestershire Council rejected the appeal because its admissions criteria do not consider medical conditions. Mrs Lote told PA: 'I felt that that was slightly unfair.' She noted that other councils have a 'social or medical need exemption' and that South Gloucestershire Council has promised to review its policy this year.
Mrs Lote's MP, Claire Hazelgrove, described the situation as 'feeling wrong' but said the council is 'legally tied' by its policy. The Labour MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke added she is 'confident that it will change' following a statutory consultation. Mrs Lote also hopes to end the 'postcode lottery' nationally, and has met with schools minister Georgia Gould to discuss the issue.
The Department for Education has no say over local admissions policies if they are legal, but the Government's recent Schools White Paper commits to consulting on changes to the national schools admissions code. Schools minister Ms Gould said the consultation will look at how to 'promote fairness for all families' and ensure cases like Mrs Lote's are 'better supported through admissions policy in the future.'
