Questions re appealing for all 6 of our requested schools

[NotDoris]

DD has been offered a place at our catchment school which was most definitely not one of our requested schools. We are intending to appeal for all 6 of our choices as our allocated school is crap (the telegraph placed it as 5th worst in the country) and hasn't got the facilities in music, arts and languages that DD needs. We are desperately hoping that she wins one of those places!
We live on the border of 2 counties so 2 are in our county and the other 4 are in the next county. How are appeal panels made up, will we see the same faces for all appeals?
Are we expected to mention the PAN numbers and whether we think that a school could take our daughter, or should we just concentrate on the subjects and clubs which DD needs/wants and why that school is best for her?
I feel like my brain is going to explode trying to remember all the info for each of the six schools!!

You certainly won't face the same appeal panel at every hearing. You may see some individual panel members more than once but no two panels will be the same.

For your case concentrate on why that school is best for your daughter. During the hearing you will get the chance to question the LA's/school's representative. That is when you try to expose weaknesses in their argument and make the case that they won't be seriously prejudiced by having to admit another child.

Thanks!
I know how to state the case for the schools we want (I think) but what sort of questions should we ask the panel? Our preferred schools have varying degrees of success, ranging from 2 to 10 winning appeals, so we don't hold out much hope for the most popular ones, but anythings worth a try....
I'm pleased to hear that we won't be facing the same panel each time, our letters are the same for all 6 but tweaked for each school!

You should ask (for example) how many children are currently in each year group. What you are trying to show is that the school is already coping with additional pupils and could do so for your child. You can request this information before the hearing, so that you know in advance whether it is going to be helpful to you.

Don't be too bothered by the success rates of previous appeals, as that could depend on so many factors. Each appeal is decided on its own merits, so if you can build a strong case, based on your child's needs - and especially if the school's case not to admit is relatively weak - you might still win, even if others have previously lost.