Your child was refused a school place. Here is what actually happens next.
You have the right to appeal to an independent panel, and it costs nothing to do so. But most appeals do not succeed, and the reasons they fail are predictable — usually a case built on how much the family wants the school rather than on the narrow questions a panel is permitted to decide.
This site publishes the official Department for Education figures for every English council, and explains which grounds carry weight. We will tell you plainly when a case is weak.
of admission appeals heard in England were upheld
22,402 of 115,695 appeals heard in 2024–2026
The national picture, 2026
Appeals lodged by parents
47,115
across England
Heard by a panel
34,711
the rest were withdrawn or resolved first
Upheld
6,414
18.5% of those heard
Secondary vs infant class size
20.1% / 9.4%
the two are judged on completely different tests
Start with your council
Appeal volumes and outcomes vary sharply between authorities. Find yours for the official figures, the phase breakdown and the local deadlines.
Councils hearing the most appeals
- Kent 2,114
- Lancashire 926
- Birmingham 853
- Bradford 788
- Liverpool 697
- Gloucestershire 693
- Hertfordshire 670
- Essex 647
Or start with the school
Appeal outcomes are only published by council, but applications and offers are published school by school. 38% of England's secondary schools received more first choices than they had places in 2026/27 — those are the schools families are refused by, and the ones people appeal against.
Reception, Year 1 or Year 2? Check this first
Appeals for infant classes are capped by law at 30 pupils per teacher, and a panel can only overturn a refusal on three narrow grounds. Across England just 9.4% succeed, against 20.1% for secondary appeals. If yours is an infant class size case, the argument you need to make is a legal one about how the decision was taken — not about your child's needs or your preference.
Which arguments a panel can actually act on
A panel is not deciding whether you should have the school you wanted. It works through two fixed stages, and most appeals fail because the case put to it answers neither. These pages set out what counts — and what a panel is required to ignore.
- Infant class size
- A mistake in how the decision was made
- Distance and catchment
- Siblings
- Faith and religious criteria
- Medical and social need
- Special educational needs without an EHC plan
- A late application
- In-year admissions
- Grammar schools and the 11-plus
- Sixth form places
- Twins and multiple births
What we won't do
We will not tell you your appeal is likely to win. Roughly four in five are refused, and anyone promising otherwise is selling you something. We will not quote odds for an individual school either, because no such figures exist — the Department for Education publishes appeal outcomes only at council level.