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Appeals - What to do if you haven't got your choice of school

4. Appeal hearing

The hearing is formal and certain procedures must be followed to make certain that everyone who has submitted an appeal is given a fair chance to present their case.

However, the Chair of the Panel will try to put you at ease.

The following is a summary of what usually happens at an appeal hearing:

  1. The Chair of the Appeal Panel will introduce you, the panel members, the clerk, and the school representative who are present in the hearing.
  2. The Local Authority or school representative (dependent on who is the admission authority for the school in question) will present their case, explaining why your child has not been given a place at your preferred school.
  3. You may ask questions about the admission authority’s case.
  4. The Appeal Panel members may ask questions of their case.
  5. You will be asked to present your case.
  6. The admission authority may ask you questions.
  7. The Panel members may ask you questions.
  8. The admission authority will sum up their case.
  9. You will sum up your case.

You and the admission authority representative will then be asked to leave as the Appeals Panel must withdraw to reach a decision as to whether to uphold or reject the appeal.

The clerk will notify all parties of the Panel’s decision in writing, usually within five working days, although this is not always possible when dealing with multiple appeals for the same school.