Appeals

Parents have a right to express a preference for the school they would like their child to attend. The Admissions Authority must offer a place at the school unless there is a legal reason for refusing a place. As a Maintained School, the Governing Body are the Admissions Authority. We appreciate it is disappointing if you are not offered a place the school you prefer, however it is important to recognise that although you have a right to express a preference for the school you would like your child to attend, your preference may not be possible, and you may be allocated a different school for your child. The most common reason for not offering a place is that the school received more applications than places available and other children had a higher priority for a place at the school that your child when the school’s admission policy was applied.

Should it not be possible for the school to offer a place to your child, you may use your right to appeal. If you wish to appeal, you can lodge this on the BCP School Admissions website by clicking on the following link: https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Schools-and-learning/School-appeals/School-admission-appeals.aspx

Alternatively, you can send a paper copy of your appeal to the school, marked for the attention of Claire Delve, Admissions & Attendance Manager. However, we strongly advise that you use the webpage above.

Appeals Timetable for Secondary School places for Year 7 September 2022

General Information

• Appeals lodged after these dates will be heard within 40 school days of the appeal deadline or 30 school days of being lodged, whichever is the later date.
• You will receive at least 10 school days’ notice of your appeal hearing date. School days do not include school holidays, inset days, bank holidays or weekends.
• Appeals are heard during the daytime on weekdays and are not normally heard during school holidays. Where there are multiple appeals for places at the same school, the hearings may go over a number of days.
• The school’s case will be made available to parents and Panel members at least 5 school days before the start of the appeal hearing.
• Additional evidence may be submitted up to 5 working days before the hearing.
• Any additional evidence received after this date might not be considered at the appeal hearing. The Appeal Panel must decide whether it should be considered taking into account its significance and the effect of a possible need to adjourn the hearing
• Following the hearing, decision letters will be sent, where possible, within 5 school days of the end of the hearing. During busy periods, such as main entry, full decision letters may take longer than this, so the Clerk will send a brief decision summary email in the interim.
• Appeal hearings for in-year places will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.