Parents and kids found out where they’re going to secondary school on March 1 (Picture: SolStock / Getty Images)
Parents may be wondering how to appeal their child’s secondary school placement if they missed out on their first choice when offers arrived today.
March 1 is nerve-wracking and exciting in equal measure for the hundreds of thousands of teens finding out which secondary school they’ll go to for the next few years.
The school you go to can determine what subjects you can study, who your friends are, and how long your daily commute will be.
With 3,444 state-funded secondary schools in England, that’s no easy choice, and the competition for places makes it even harder.
You will have had to list your preferred schools when applying through your local council in September or October last year.
The process is different for sixth form colleges and private schools, which you must apply to directly.
School choices can make a big difference to your life, but there’s tough competition to get a spot in some schools (Picture: Johnny Greig / Getty)
How schools decide who gets a place
Each school has its own admission criteria, which is set by either the school itself or the local council overseeing it.
Children with a particular attachment to the school are often given priority, usually because they either because they live nearby, have a sibling already at the school, or a parent who works there.
Similarly, children who went to a feeder school linked with the secondary school, who share a religion with the school, or who are from a disadvantaged background, may also get priority.
In the case of selective institutions like grammar schools and performing arts schools, children must pass an entrance exam or audition to get a spot.
Children who are or have been in care must get top priority at all state-funded schools, according to the government’s website.
Schools will inform you of their decision by letter.
If your child doesn’t get a spot at one of the preferred choices, your local council must offer them a place at another school- usually the nearest available one.
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How to appeal your child’s secondary school placement
You and your child might be unhappy with the secondary school they’re offered a place at.
This might be because the optional GCSEs your child wants to study aren’t available there.
Maybe your child wants to attend a mixed school but was offered a boys or girls-only school.
You might be concerned about the school’s latest Ofsted rating, or maybe all your child’s friends from primary school are going somewhere else.
Whatever the reason, there’s sure to be some disappointed, and that’ll leave you wondering whether you can appeal the decision to crush your child’s dreams.
In order to contest a decision, you must appeal in writing, detailing why you believe a mistake has been made. The letter must include all information and supporting evidence available at the time you make the appeal.
Parents must appeal each rejection individually, and you can only appeal once for a place in the same school in the same academic year.
You only get one chance to appeal a school’s rejection of your child, so you must include all evidence when you send the form (Picture: SolStock / Getty Images)
You can appeal even if you have accepted a place at another school.
You’re guaranteed at least 20 days from the date it was sent to appeal the decision to an independent panel.
This panel of three or more people must then hear your appeal – either in person or remotely – within 40 days of the deadline for making the appeal.
You’ll get at least 10 school days’ notice of the date.
At this hearing, the admission authority will explain the reason for rejecting your application.
You’ll get a chance to make the case for why your child should be admitted.
The panel may not accept any new evidence that has not already been provided in writing.
Within five school days, you’ll have a final answer.
What makes an appeal successful?
There are two reasons an appeal will be successful.
Either you prove the school didn’t properly follow its admission criteria or the Department for Education’s school admissions code.
Or your reasons for why your child should be admitted outweigh the school’s reason for not admitting any more children at all.
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