How to Appeal a Secondary School Place in England: A Step-by-Step Guide

If your child was not offered a place at your preferred secondary school, you have the legal right to appeal to an independent panel. The process is governed by the School Admissions Appeals Code, and success depends on the strength of your case, the type of school, and how well your argument is prepared and presented.

When can you appeal a secondary school place?

You can appeal once your child has been refused a place at a school you applied for. For secondary schools in England, the main round of appeals follows National Offer Day — 1 March each year, or the next working day. Most local authorities require you to lodge your appeal within 20 school days of the date on your refusal letter.

It is perfectly possible — and common — to appeal for more than one school simultaneously, as long as you submit a separate appeal form for each. You can also accept the allocated school place while you wait for an appeal outcome; accepting a place does not affect your right to appeal.

What are the grounds for a successful appeal?

Secondary school appeals in England follow a two-stage test set out in the School Admissions Appeals Code:

Stage one: The appeal panel checks whether the school's admission arrangements were lawful and correctly applied, and whether admitting another pupil would genuinely prejudice efficient education or the efficient use of resources.

If the panel finds that prejudice is not established — for example, the school is not actually full — it must order that a place be offered.

Stage two (the balancing exercise): If prejudice is established, the panel weighs the school's case against your case as a parent. If your child's need to attend that particular school outweighs the prejudice to the school from taking an extra pupil, the panel must offer a place.

The strongest grounds include:

A specific educational, medical or social need that only the preferred school can meet

Evidence that the admission authority made an error in applying its own criteria

A sibling already at the school (if this was not already captured as a criterion)

Exceptional and verifiable family circumstances

How to submit your appeal

Follow these steps to submit a well-prepared appeal:

Request the appeal form from the school's admissions authority (this may be the school itself for academies, or the local authority for maintained schools). It must be available on request.

Write your grounds for appeal. Be specific: explain what your child needs and why this particular school is the right place to meet those needs. Generic arguments ("it is our nearest good school") are much weaker than evidence-based ones.

Gather supporting evidence. Letters from a GP, paediatrician, educational psychologist, SENCo or social worker carry significant weight if they speak directly to why this school is necessary. School reports, an Education, Health and Care Plan, or a letter from your child's current school can also help.

Submit before the deadline. Missing the deadline can mean your appeal is heard late or not at all.

Prepare for the hearing. Read the school's case papers carefully once they arrive (typically sent about a week before the hearing). You will be given the chance to speak and to respond to the school's arguments.

What happens at the appeal hearing?

The appeal hearing is conducted by an independent appeal panel of at least three members: at least one lay member (with no connection to school management) and at least one person with experience in school governance or education. Panel members must be entirely independent of both the admission authority and the local authority.

The hearing typically runs as follows:

Stage | What happens
School's case | The admissions authority presents why it refused the place and what prejudice extra admissions would cause
Parent's case | You (and/or a representative) present your grounds for appeal
Questions | The panel asks questions of both sides
Withdrawal | Both parties leave while the panel deliberates in private
Decision | Sent to you in writing, usually within five school days

You are allowed to bring a friend, relative or professional representative. You do not need a lawyer, though parents sometimes choose to bring one. The hearing is formal but not adversarial in tone; panels understand that most parents are not legal experts.

What arguments are most persuasive?

The most persuasive appeals are those that are:

Specific to the child. A letter saying your child has anxiety that is significantly worsened by a long commute, supported by a GP or CAMHS letter, is far stronger than a general statement about distance.

Tied to that school's unique provision. If the preferred school has a specialist resource base, a particular sports or arts specialism, or a therapy service your child needs, say so and provide evidence.

Factually accurate. Any error you believe the authority made in processing the application must be clearly identified and supported.

Arguments that panels cannot act on include: a general preference for the school's ethos, proximity without evidence of specific impact, or the wish that siblings attend the same school (unless sibling link was a missed criterion).

What are realistic success rates?

Nationally, roughly one in four to one in five secondary school appeals succeeds in any given year, though rates vary significantly by school and local authority. Schools that are very heavily oversubscribed tend to have lower appeal success rates because the prejudice case is easier for them to demonstrate.

Appeals based on a clear administrative error — for example, the child lived within the catchment area but was wrongly scored — have a higher success rate. Appeals based purely on preference, with no specific evidence of need, are much less likely to succeed.

What if you lose the appeal?

If you lose, you cannot re-appeal the same school in the same academic year unless significant new circumstances have arisen that were not available at the time of the original appeal. You can, however:

Remain on the school's waiting list (the panel's decision does not affect your waiting list position)

Apply for other schools through in-year admissions

Appeal any other school you were refused

If your child's circumstances change materially, you can re-apply and appeal in a subsequent academic year

Frequently asked questions

How long do you have to appeal a secondary school place?

You must lodge your appeal within 20 school days of the date on the refusal letter, though the exact deadline is set by the admissions authority and must be stated in the refusal letter. For the secondary school main round, National Offer Day is 1 March, so most appeal deadlines fall in late March or early April.

Can you appeal for more than one school at a time?

Yes. You must submit a separate appeal form for each school, but there is no rule preventing you from running simultaneous appeals. Accepting the allocated school place while appeals are pending does not prejudice any appeal.

What is an infant class size appeal and why is it harder?

Infant class size rules cap classes in Years R, 1 and 2 at 30 pupils per teacher for funding purposes. Appeals against refusal on infant class size grounds are judged on a narrower test: the panel can only uphold the appeal if an error was made, the admission arrangements were unlawfully framed, or the decision was so unreasonable that no reasonable authority would have made it. This is a much higher bar than the standard balancing exercise used for secondary appeals.

Can new evidence be submitted after the appeal deadline?

Yes, in most cases. You should notify the appeal clerk as soon as possible and provide the new evidence as early as you can before the hearing. The panel has discretion to admit late evidence; however, submitting evidence at the hearing itself may lead to an adjournment. Get everything to the clerk well before the hearing date.

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