Lodge an appeal
Before lodging an appeal, we strongly recommend reading through our information about how to appeal and what to expect from the hearing process, including what happens when an appeal is dismissed.
Appeals for Reception Year, Year 1 and Year 2
Infant class sizes for Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 are limited to no more than 30 pupils.
An infant class appeal where an extra child would take the class over 30 pupils will only be allowed in limited exceptional circumstances, as the appeal panel’s powers are limited by legislation.
Appeals for Years 3 to 13
Appeals for all other year groups are heard as two-stage appeals. Details of the appeal hearing and appeal panel’s decision making are further down this page.
Additional guidance is given to appeal panels hearing either Grammar School appeals or appeals for places in Sixth Forms.
Further details on these is available either from the schools themselves or from the BCP Education Appeals Service.
Your Appeal
You can now lodge an appeal online.
This is the best way of submitting a school appeal, as you’ll be able to access and add to your appeal and associated documentation whenever convenient. You will also be able to view documentation from the school and monitor your appeal’s status as it progresses.
It is important that you complete all sections of the appeal form and make sure that the details you supply are correct.
It is up to you to decide what information and documents you wish to include in your case.
If your appeal is based on medical grounds, you should where possible provide written evidence from a medial practitioner to support this.
If your case is based on a house move, you should provide official confirmation of your new address, however, until exchange of contracts has taken place or you are in receipt of a signed tenancy agreement, weight is not likely be given to this.
The appeal panel will not contact people on your behalf. For example, if you want the appeal panel to see a medical report or consider the views of a Social Worker or a previous teacher, you will need to get that information yourself and submit it as part of your appeal.
If you're unable to submit additional documents with your appeal form, you should upload these no later than 5 school days before the appeal hearing. Any late evidence may not be accepted by the appeal panel, or may cause the hearing to be adjourned.
If you're unable to complete your appeal online, please contact the School Appeals Team.
For detailed information relating to the school for which you are appealing, please go directly to the school's website.