Submit a School Admission Appeal

Table of Contents

Submitting an Appeal

School Admission Appeals are heard throughout the year and we encourage you to submit your appeal as soon as possible after receiving your refusal letter. 

We also strongly encourage you to upload your supporting evidence when you first submit your appeal as stated below. In addition, please ensure you read the Admissions Guide, to note what can and cannot be accepted by the Appeals Panel.

To make an appeal you will need to login or register for My Account.

Please ensure that you have to hand & upload:

  • a full copy/scan of your refusal letter (we are unable to accept a screenshot of part of the letter & require the whole document please)
  • any supporting documentation ready to upload, eg. proof of residency, if moving house is the reason for your appeal,
  • supporting documentation if appealing on medical, social or welfare grounds,
  • a pre-prepared statement outlining your reasons as to why you wish your child to attend your preferred school and the grounds for your appeal.

Please note: We are unable to accept statements/letters of support from schools for individual appeals as per Section 2.14 of the School Admission Appeals Code 2022. You should also not share waiting list positions of your child with the Panel either, as this cannot be taken into account or acknowledged. 

In-Year Appeals

School appeals for application to schools during the academic year are heard monthly and within 30 school days of the appeal being submitted (excluding bank holidays, weekends and school holidays).

Below are the currently scheduled dates for in-year appeals during the next academic year 2023/24.  These will be held at the Town Hall, St Ives Road, Maidenhead, SL6 1RF. The deadline to submit an appeal to be heard on that date is also stated below. These are strict deadlines and must be adhered too due to high number of appeals we receive. School holidays are also factored into these dates. 

  • Monday 18 September 2023 
  • Thursday 5 October 2023*
  • Monday 23 October 2023 
  • Tuesday 7 November 2023*
  • Tuesday 28 November 2023 
  • Monday 11 December 2023 
  • Tuesday 23 January 2024 
  • Tuesday 27 February 2024
  • Monday 25 March 2024
  • Monday 22 April 2024
  • Friday 24 May 2024 
  • Tuesday 11 June 2024
  • Tuesday 23 July 2024

*subject to the quantity of appeals received

Summer Appeals

Our main round of appeals are heard primarily during the late Spring & Summer months. These are split into Secondary and Primary school appeals.

The deadlines for lodging appeals for this main round of summer appeals for entry into schools in September 2024, are as follows:

Secondary appeals - Monday 25 March 2024 at 5pm - Deadline for these to be heard in the main round is 12 June 2024

Primary appeals - Monday 20 May 2024 at 5pm - Deadline for these to be heard in the main round is 22 July 2024

You will be notified of the date and time of your appeal at least 10 school days before the appeal.

Appeals received after the above deadlines will be heard within 40 school days of receipt, however this may not be before September 2024 in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code 2022.

Infant-class size appeals

If you are appealing for a place in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2, please note that Government regulations limit class sizes to 30 pupils per class teacher in these year groups. Therefore, there are very limited grounds on which appeals to these year groups can be allowed. Examples of how the panel could allow an infant-class size appeal are if:

  • the infant-class size limit would not be breached if your child were admitted to the school,
  • the admissions arrangements were not correctly and impartially applied in your particular case,
  • the decision to refuse your child a place at the school was unreasonable.

Please do carefully consider which of the above apply to your case before submitting an infant-class size appeal.

 

Democratic services : Contact details

For further information, please contact us by:

Democratic Services - Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Town Hall, St Ives Road
Maidenhead SL6 1RF