Appealing for a school place

When applying for a school place for your child, you can specify your preferred school/s. However, a preference does not guarantee a place at any particular school.

Your application may be refused if your preferred school cannot accommodate your child due to a lack of available places.

You can appeal the decision to the school's admission authority if your application is denied.

Your right to appeal

Acceptance of a place at a school does not affect your right to appeal for a place at another school.  

We recommend accepting the offered school place while your appeal is underway. Your child will be guaranteed a school placement if the appeal is unsuccessful. 

Guide to appeals

Our guide to admission appeals (pdf format, 450KB)  explains the full details of the process.

Schools we handle appeals for

We handle appeals for all state-funded schools in Oxfordshire, except for the following schools (pdf format, 147KB).

If you would like to appeal for places at any of the schools on this list, please contact the school directly.

Who makes the decision?

An independent panel reviews appeals, and their decision to offer a school place is final and binding on the admissions authority. 

If your appeal for an Oxfordshire community school is denied, you cannot appeal again for the same school that year. 

You may appeal only if your circumstances change significantly and the admissions authority accepts a new application.

Timetable of admissions appeals

For secondary school entry into Year 7 in September 2024

Primary School Entry into Reception in September 2024

For primary school entry into Reception in September 2024

We aim to hear other appeals, i.e., in-year appeals, within 30 school days of receipt, subject to the availability of Panel Members. School days do not include weekends, INSET days, or school holidays.

Primary school appeals

Please review these notes before completing the appeal form for an infant class place (F1, Year 1, or Year 2).

Infant Class Size (ICS) Legislation

ICS refers to Government legislation that states that no child attending a maintained school or academy and in an infant class can be taught in a class of over 30 pupils (except where certain specific and exceptional circumstances apply).

In 2023-2024 only three per cent of those cases were successful.

Where the ICS limit of 30 applies, the powers of the Independent Panel are limited, and an appeal is, in law, a review (see question 3 on page 22 of the guide to admission appeals document (pdf format, 203 KB)). 

ICS reviews

In ICS reviews, your case can only succeed where it can be shown that:

• admission would not breach the ICS limit
• your child would have been offered a place if the admission arrangements had not been contrary to the mandatory requirements of Part 3 of the SSFA 1998 or the School Admissions Code, and/or your child would have been offered a place if the admission arrangements had been applied correctly
• the decision to refuse admission was not one that a reasonable* admission authority would have made in the case circumstances.

*In the legal meaning of the word 'reasonable'.

Appeal online

Please use the online appeals form below. Depending on the reasons and complexity of your appeal, it will take around 20 minutes to complete.