Guidance for parents and guardians on school admission appeals

14% of appeals were successful in the main round of appeals for September entry last year. 86% were unsuccessful.

Most appeals fail because the schools are already full. They do not have the resources to admit extra children, without harming the existing pupils' education. 

Or, in grammar school appeals for unqualified children, there is not enough evidence that the child is of the required academic standards.

Think carefully about making an appeal. Appeals are time-consuming, stressful for parents and expensive for schools.

Your appeal is likely to fail where you:

• are appealing for a place in reception, years 1 or 2. This is due to the law that applies to these appeals
• do not live in the school’s catchment area
• do not have strong medical, social or educational reasons for your appeal which are supported by evidence
• want the school place to make it easier for you to get to work, or to transport your children to school (these are usually not strong enough reasons)
• do not submit strong academic evidence to support your appeal for your unqualified child for a grammar school place
• live outside the county
• have been allocated a place at another grammar school
• have been allocated a place at another school at a reasonable distance from your home, even if it isn’t one of your preferred schools
• have elected to home educate your child and have refused another school place, even if it is not one of your preferred schools

About 1,000 appeals were submitted in 2025. During the main round appeals for September entry, the overall success rate of school admission appeals heard was 14%.