General Appeal questions

[JM231]

Afternoon,

Sorry as i know there are a lot of appeal chats happening but I had a few questions regarding appealing in general that I didnit see being covered in other chats - if anyone could help, it would be much appreciated!

1. I know you cant add additional evidence after the letter but do you have to play all your cards/arguments in the letter? My concern is that it will allow the school to see and prepare responses a long time in advance?

2. i understand we see the Admission authority's case 7 days before the hearing but when do they see ours? as we have to send our appeal to the school in April doesn't that allow then an unfair advantage to plan the responses?

3. When arguing on grounds of subjects/clubs that the school offer that are not offered elsewhere - would A-Level choices be applicable for a year 7 appeal or only GCSE options?

4. There is a lot of info regarding the strength of the LA's case in other threads - but surely 99% of the time their argument is simply " we are full". Maybe its my ignorance but what else would they bring to the table?

All time and help is much appreciated.

Thank you @prh47bridge so for example if the school case claims that they already don’t have enough space in the dining room but there are recent governor meeting minutes saying this was discussed and decided they have enough space I should send it in saying “in reference to the schools case………….”

If I had been provided with this @Whimsocal i wouldn’t be asking the question

Stop telling me what I have got. Cos I haven’t. You really are adding no value

@Whimsocal is wrong. There is nothing in the Appeals Code requiring anyone to provide appellants with a process to counter claims. I can't say it never happens, but I have never come across an appeal where such a process has been provided.

However, contrary to what they say, there is a standard rule across the country set out in the Appeals Code. Any documentary evidence must be submitted before the hearing. The clerk normally gives a deadline for this. If either side (school or appellant) turns up to the hearing with new evidence, the panel may decide to adjourn the hearing to a later date to give everyone time to review the evidence. That won't help you. So yes, if you have the minutes of governors' meetings and you want to use them, you need to send them in.

Thanks again @prh47bridge