Website of the UK government

If your child is not offered a place at your preferred school

You will find details of how to make an appeal in the local authority's admission letter outlining your offer. The letter will also specify a deadline that you must meet if you want to appeal. In some areas, you may be able to submit your appeal online.

If your child has not been allocated a school place you will need to contact the admissions team at your local authority so they can let you know which schools have places available.

Appeals process

Appeals are heard by an independent appeal panel of three to five members of the public. You can only make one appeal for each school that does not offer a place. If more than one school declines to admit your child, you can make a separate appeals.

Infant classes

For infant classes of five, six and seven year olds the number of pupils is normally limited by law to a maximum of 30.

Admission applications can be refused because all of a school’s infant classes have reached their legal limit. In this type of appeal, the panel is only allowed to look at whether:

When will your appeal be heard?

Secondary school appeals

• the hearing should take place by 6 July (or the next working day if this falls on a weekend)

Primary school appeals

• the hearing should take place no more than 30 school days after the closing date for appeals

Appeals outside the normal admissions round

• the hearing must take place no more than 30 school days after you submit it

The admission authority for the school must write to you at least 10 school days before the hearing to confirm the date. Organisations such as the Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) can give you advice on preparing your case.

• Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) (opens new window)

The hearing

Step one

The admission authority's representative explains to the appeal panel the reasons for turning down your application.

The panel decides whether the admission authority applied their published arrangements correctly, and whether there was good reason for turning down your application.

• Applying for a school place: admissions criteria

Step two

If the panel decides there was good reason for turning down your application, you will still have the chance to state why you are appealing against the decision. You will be able to:

Step three

If the panel decides that your case is the stronger, it will uphold your appeal and your child will be awarded a place at the school. If it finds that the admission authority’s case is stronger, it will uphold the decision not to offer your child a place.

The decision

The panel's decision is binding - both on you and on the school's admission authority - and can only be overturned by the courts.

The panel will let you and the admission authority know by post within seven days. If your appeal is successful your child will be offered a place at school. If you are unsuccessful you can put your child's name on a waiting list.

Complaining about the appeals process

If you're unhappy about the way the appeal process was carried out you can complain to your Local Government Ombudsman. While they can recommend a new appeal, the Ombudsman can't review or overturn the appeal panel's decision.

If there is a change in your circumstances you may be able to apply to appeal again, if the admission authority considers the change relevant to your application. 

• Contact your Local Government Ombudsman (opens new window)

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families

Appeal panels are independent bodies, so the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families can't review or overturn the decisions of individual panels. They can only consider complaints about whether the appeal panel was correctly set up by the admission authority.

More useful links

• Download the School Admission Appeals Code of Practice (opens new window)