High school appeal - appeal date pushed back!

[user1496401067]

Hi there.
anyone based in Manchester and went through the appeal process? My son didn’t get offered a year 7 place so we appealed and the hearing is scheduled for June.
any advice you can give for how to successfully pass the appeal?

thanks

All appeals should be held for a school at the same time i.e. all over 1 or 2 days before decisions are made. That way the appeals panel can compare to a degree e.g. if they think a school can cope with 5 extra pupils then who has the strongest case. Having a later appeal could put you at a disadvantage if others have been successful. I would ask if the other appeals for this school are being held together.

Have you already done the written part?

I appealed and there was plenty of time to say extra things I hadn’t written. The panel asked quite a lot of questions.

You have to appeal for the school you want, not say anything about the school you are allocated. Things like he plays rugby and there is a team or they do textiles at gcse and he belongs to a sewing group are the sorts of things that you can use.

Assuming no mistakes were made in the admission process, an appeal is about whether the disadvantage to your son from not attending this school outweighs any problems the school will face from having to cope with an additional pupil.

Some parents talk about how well their child fits the admission criteria. This is not relevant for appeal unless you are arguing that a mistake was made.

Some parents talk about how their child will be an asset to the school and won't cause any problems. The panel cannot accept such arguments.

Some parents talk about the problems they will face getting their child to and from school, or problems for other members of the family. This is not relevant. The panel is only interested in things that directly impact your son.

You need to identify the things this school offers your son that are not available at the allocated school and are particularly important to him. For example, if he is talented at sports and the appeal school offers more sporting activities, that is the kind of thing that will help.