What to do if your child has not been offered a place in your preferred school.

If your child has been refused a place in your preferred school, you have the right to appeal against the decision.

Secondary School Appeals

September 2019 Entry

Appeals resulting from transfer applications for admission to Year 7 for September 2019 will be heard in accordance with the following timetable:

  Offer Appeals lodged by Appeals to be heard by
Secondary 1 March 2019 29 March 2019 17 June 2019 (40 school days)

 

Appeals lodged after these dates will be heard within 40 school days of the appeal deadline or 30 school days of the appeal being lodged, whichever is the later date.

  • Appellants will be sent notification of their appeal hearing at least 10 clear school days in advance of the hearing.
  • Appellants will be sent a copy of the school's case 5 working days in advance of the hearing.

Additional supporting information

If an appellant wishes to submit further evidence, which was not included with their initial appeal, they should ensure this is received at least 5 clear working days in advance of the appeal. Decision letters following an appeal will be sent within 5 school days of the appeal hearing wherever possible.

What happens when I appeal?

Your appeal will be heard by an independent panel and you will be invited to attend the appeal hearing. The appeal panel's decision is final and binding on the school and the admitting authority. An interpreter can be made available at the appeal on request for those for whom English is not their first language.

For the following Wolverhampton Secondary schools:

  • The Royal School, Wolverhampton
  • The King's Church of England
  • Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Sports College
  • St Edmund's Catholic Academy
  • St Peter's Collegiate Church of England
  • Wolverhampton Girls' High

the Governing Body / board of directors of the school concerned is responsible for organising appeals and, therefore, your appeal must be lodged with the Governing Body / Board of directors of the school concerned. Appeal forms are available from the schools direct.

For all other Wolverhampton maintained Secondary schools:

Appeal online

Alternatively, appeal forms can be requested via:

Primary School Appeals

September 2019 Entry

Appeals resulting from transfer applications for admission to Reception or to Year 3 (Year 3 for Christ Church CE Junior, Uplands Junior, or Woodfield Junior Schools) for September 2019 will be heard in accordance with the following timetable:

  Offer Appeals lodged by Appeals to be heard by
Primary (Reception, Junior) 16 April 2019 3 June 2019 6 September 2019 (40 school days)

 

Appeals lodged after these dates will be heard within 40 school days of the appeal deadline or 30 school days of the appeal being lodged, whichever is the later date.

  • Appellants will be sent notification of their appeal hearing at least 10 clear school days in advance of the hearing.
  • Appellants will be sent a copy of the school's case 5 working days in advance of the hearing.

Additional supporting information

If an appellant wishes to submit further evidence, which was not included with their initial appeal, they should ensure this is received at least 5 clear working days in advance of the appeal. Decision letters following an appeal will be sent within 5 school days of the appeal hearing wherever possible.

What happens when I appeal?

Your appeal will be heard by an independent panel and you will be invited to attend the appeal hearing. The appeal panel's decision is final and binding on the school and the admitting authority. An interpreter can be made available at the appeal on request for those for whom English is not their first language.

However, where applicable, before deciding whether to appeal you should be aware that Infant Classes (Reception, Year 1 and 2) are subject to legislation that states that a class size cannot exceed 30 pupils per teacher.

The law restricts the grounds on which Appeal Panels may uphold an appeal for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 where the class size limit is 30. The only three grounds for upholding your appeal are:

  • That the admission authority has made a mistake and, if that mistake had not been made, your child would have been offered a place;
  • That your child would have been offered a place if the admission arrangements had not been contrary to the mandatory provisions in the School Admissions Code; and/or
  • That the admissions authority has acted unreasonably in not offering your child a place.

In this situation, "unreasonable" means that the process followed in your child's case was irrational or perverse given the information that you provided with your application.

For the following Wolverhampton Primary Schools:

  • The Royal School, Wolverhampton
  • Corpus Christi Catholic Primary Academy
  • SS Peter & Paul's Catholic Primary Academy & Nursery
  • Holy Rosary Catholic Primary Academy
  • Holy Trinity Catholic School
  • SS Mary & John's Catholic Primary Academy
  • St Anthony's Catholic Primary School
  • St Luke's CE Primary School
  • St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy
  • St Michael's CE Primary School
  • St Michael's Catholic Primary Academy & Nursery
  • St Patrick's Catholic Primary School
  • St Paul's CE Primary School
  • St Teresa's Catholic Primary Academy
  • Nishkam Primary School

the Governing Body / board of directors of the school concerned is responsible for organising appeals and, therefore, your appeal must be lodged with the Governing Body / Board of directors of the school concerned. Appeal forms are available from the schools directly.

For all other Wolverhampton maintained Primary schools:

Appeal online

Alternatively appeal forms can be requested via:

In-Year Transfer Applications

Appeals for children refused a place at a preferred school resulting from an in-year transfer application will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

Appeal online

Alternatively appeal forms can be requested via:

For schools within another Local Authority's (LA) area

You should refer to that LA's secondary/primary school admissions booklet, contact that LA or contact the school direct for information regarding their procedures and closing dates in respect of appeals.

Acceptance of a place at a school does not affect your right to appeal for a place at another school. However, if you decide to appeal for a place at any of your preferred schools, we recommend you secure a place for your child at an alternative school in case your appeal is unsuccessful.

Wolverhampton Local Authority is always willing to discuss alternative schools with places available at any stage in the process.

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