Admission appeals

If your child is not offered a place at the school you have applied for you have the right to appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel. Our Appeal Guide For Parents gives details on the process.

Our Appeal Clerks organise appeals for most schools in Reading and you can submit an appeal using our online appeal form.

Some of the schools in Reading manage their own appeals. You should contact the school directly if you wish to appeal for any of the following schools:

Primary Schools

• Green Park Village Academy
• Meadow Park Academy
• Ranikhet Academy
• St Anne’s Catholic Primary
• St Martin’s Catholic Primary
• St Mary & All Saints CE Academy
• The Palmer Academy

Secondary Schools

• King’s Academy Prospect
• UTC Reading
• The WREN School

Appeal hearing

An Appeal Panel is made up of three people who are independent of the Local Authority and the school you are appealing for.

You have the right to come to the appeal hearing and present your case, or someone can present your case on your behalf. It is important to attend if you can, but whether you attend or not, the Appeal Panel will carefully consider all the written information you submit. A representative of the school will be present at the appeal hearing. The Clerk to the Appeal Panel will also be present at the appeal hearing to give independent advice if required and to keep a record of what happens.

You will be given 10 school days’ notice of the date, time and location of the appeal hearing and will be sent a copy of the written information submitted by you and the school’s representative in advance of the appeal hearing.

We try to make the appeal hearing as informal as possible. The school’s representative will explain the reasons why your child has not been offered a place at the school you applied for. You and the Appeal Panel will be able to ask questions on their case. You will then be given the chance to present your case in support of your appeal. The Appeal Panel will already have all the written information you have submitted. The Appeal Panel and the school’s representative can then ask you questions if they need any further information on your case. There will be a summing up stage where you and the school’s representative can put forward the main points of what you have said.

Appeal decision

You will be sent the Appeal Panel’s decision in writing, normally within five school days of the appeal hearing.

Your appeal will be considered on its own merits. The decision making processes that Appeal Panels have to follow are explained in our School Admission Appeals Guide. There is a separate decision making process for appeals affected by infant class size legislation, which limits an infant class to 30 children.

If your appeal is allowed, your child will be able to go to the school, and you can contact the school about taking up the place.

There is no right of appeal against the Appeal Panel’s decision. If you feel the appeals procedure has not been carried out properly then you can contact the Clerk to the Appeal Panel for information on how you can complain about this.

2023-2024 timetable of admission appeals

The appeals timetable sets out key dates and timescales of the appeals process.

Main round of appeals for secondary school entry into Year 7 in September 2024

Date	Event
1 March 2024	Secondary national offer day
28 March 2024	Deadline for submitting appeals
7 May to 14 June 2024	Appeals heard

Main round of appeals for primary school entry into reception in September 2024

Date	Event
16 April 2024	Primary national offer day
16 May 2024	Deadline for submitting appeals
4 June to 19 July 2024	Appeals heard

Appeal timescales

Event	Timescale
Deadline for submitting appeal (main round)	20 school days from national offer day
Appeals submitted by the deadline (main round)	Heard within 40 school days of the deadline for submitting appeals
Late appeals (main round) and appeals for in-year admission	Heard within 30 school days of the appeals being submitted
Parents informed of appeal date by letter	At least 10 school days before appeal hearing
Admission Authority to submit its information for appeal to the Clerk	Approximately 2 weeks before appeal hearing
Circulation of paperwork for appeal to all parties by the Clerk	Approximately 1 week before appeal hearing
Deadline for parents to submit any additional information for appeal	5 working days before the appeal hearing
Decision letter sent	Within 5 school days of decision being made (may take longer during May, June and July)

Please note that appeals are not held during school holidays.