I don't usually write about the fact that my Husband is in the Army but right now I am overwhelmed with emotions and am feeling completely helpless so decided to do the only thing that might help, which is write it all down.

Being a Military family you get used to the moving around. It's not usually a huge thing. Time for another clear out, you pack up your belongings, say sad farewells to friends and head off for new adventures.

Husband has been posted and we are due to move in the middle of August. That's really not far away at all. We were allocated a quarter back in May. Usually by now the removals would be booked, I would be feeling positive, have started organising, clearing out and packing. After all we are used to moving every two years.

Unfortunately though we have a problem – a HUGE problem. You see this is the first time we are moving with school age children and neither Poppy or Rosie have school places yet (they are both 2nd on the waiting list for the local school, miles down the list for others). With less than 3 weeks to go until the end of term, as you can imagine I am starting to panic and at the moment am not wanting to move anywhere (not that I have a choice).

I have been in touch regularly with the admissions team in the new Borough but they are really not that helpful or reassuring. I have actually been told that they are not too worried about Rosie (due to start reception in Sept) because they are not legally required to find her school place until the term after she turns 5 (she's just turned 4). When you're a Mother and your child has been attending a fantastic preschool within an Infant school that has spent the past year preparing her for school, this is not what you want to hear.

Poppy on the other hand is a very clever little girl, overachieving in reading, literacy and maths. She will be starting year 2 in September. The new Borough have told me we just need to move and once there, they have a duty to educate her but in the next breath asked if I had considered another school. The one mentioned was the only one underachieving in the Borough. So forgive me I am flexible but no I had not considered that one.

I was under the impression that being in the forces was not supposed to disadvantage your childs education but right now it is.

If I had my way we would not move and they would stay at the brilliant school they are at now but that is apparently not an option. There is a service set up to help military families but as we haven't been actually offered any school places, there is nothing to appeal against and so they can't help us just yet.

As you can imagine the pressure on us at the moment is intense. We could potentially end up with one Daughter at an underachieving school and another with no place at all.

It's not easy.

I want to cry (I have cried a lot), I want to stamp my feet and scream “it's not fair” (not helpful), I want someone official to tell me it will all be ok (they are not).

Why are we in this situation? Why are there still underachieving schools in this Country? Why are there not enough school places resulting in them all being so oversubscribed? It is a nightmare, one that I know affects thousands of other families too but right now is tearing our family apart.

We are not being difficult or asking too much. We have to move because of my Husbands job. We just want School places at the local school so we can get on with this next move and be a family together.

We do have people fighting our corner so watch this space. In the meantime forgive me if I'm quiet but I'm a little preoccupied.

Karen x