If your child is refused a place, you can appeal against it.
Primary reception intake
If your child has been refused a place in your preferred school(s) this will be because the school(s) received more applications than available places and other children had a higher priority in accordance with the admissions criteria. Your refusal was made on the grounds of Infant Class Size Legislation, with the exception of those few schools listed in your letter.
You have the right to appeal against this decision; we advise you read and understand the grounds of Infant Class Size appeals before submitting your appeal. Please refer to the statistics below, given the limited nature of the possible grounds on which an appeal may be allowed under Infant Class Size.
Appeals will be heard in accordance with the following timetable:
- Deadline for lodging appeals - 23rd May 2024
- Appeals lodged by the above date will be heard between - June/July 2024
- Appeals received after the deadline may not be heard until - Mid September 2024 onwards
- If you have been refused a school due to infant class size (this information will be in your letter), please ensure you read the "Appeal Guide" below.
If your refusal relates to a school outside the Dudley Borough, you are advised to contact the relevant Local Authority for further information.
Secondary year 7 intake
If your child has been refused a place in your preferred school(s), you have the right to appeal against this decision.
Appeals timetable for admission to secondary school for the 2024/25 academic year:
- Deadline for lodging appeals - 16th April 2024
- Appeals lodged by the above date will be heard between - May/June 2024
- Appeals received after the deadline may not be heard until - Mid September 2024 onwards
Changing schools
If your child has been refused a place in your preferred school(s) you have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel. We advise you check your refusal letter and understand the reason for the refusal. If your child has been refused due to the year group being oversubscribed, your letter will advise whether the refusal is also on the grounds of Infant Class Size Legislation.
If you appeal against a refusal where admitting further pupils would be prejudicial to the Infant Class Size legislation, you should note that the Appeal Panel can only offer a place to a child where it is satisfied that :-
- it finds that the admission of additional children would not breach the infant class size limit; or
- it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or were not correctly and impartially applied and the child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied; or
- it decides that the decision to refuse admission was not one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.
Please refer to the statistics below, given the limited nature of the possible grounds on which an appeal may be allowed under Infant Class Size.