The following refers to information that can be found in our Admissions Policy

Admissions Policy

Any applicant refused a place at Connaught School for Girls, due to our over subscription, has a right to appeal to an independent panel established by the admission authority for the school.

Timeline of Appeals

15th March is the deadline by when appeals should be submitted to Connaught School for Girls .

May / June – Secondary appeals to be heard.

Up to 9th July Appeals heard for the late appeals.

September each year Appeals are heard for those not heard before July 9th.

Appeals must be sent directly to Connaught School for Girls, using the Admissions Appeal Form (Appendix B), who will process your request. Appeals submitted after the deadline will be heard after the main round of appeals.

Appeals are heard by panels of skilled people who have not taken part in deciding how places were offered on National Offer Day.

The parent/carer will be invited to present their case in person and may bring a friend or representative to help.

The parent / carer will be notified of the date of the appeal hearing at least two weeks prior to that date. A week before the hearing is due to take place, they will receive a copy of Connaught’s statement case (Appendix C). The statement of case will explain why it was not possible to offer the place at the school and the implications of more children admitted above the admission number.

The panel will consider the school’s case against the reason for the parent/carer’s appeal and will make the decision to uphold or reject the appeal. The parent/carer will be notified of the panel’s decision in writing within five working days of the hearing.

Successful Appeal

If the appeal is upheld (successful) then the parent/carer have secured a place at Connaught School for Girls for their child. The child’s details will be forwarded to the school and they will be included in any induction visits etc.

Unsuccessful Appeal

If the appeals is dismissed (not successful), the decision is final. The child will remain on the waiting list in case any vacancies arise in the future.

It is only possible to have one appeal for the same school within the same year group, unless there is a significant change in circumstances.

The Local Authority School Admission Team will continue to encourage the parent/carer to consider other Schools/Academies for the child, whilst remaining on the waiting list for our school. There is no further appeal. The letter that the parent/carer receives explaining the decision of the Appeal Panel will inform the parent/carer about the limited options that are available.

There is no further right of appeal to the Governing Body or Local Authority. There is also no right of appeal to the Secretary of State for Education. The Secretary of State cannot review or overturn decisions of appeals panels but does have limited power to intervene in very exceptional circumstances.

The Local Government Ombudsman is not able to overturn an appeal panel’s decision but can investigate written complaints about maladministration on the part of the admission appeals panel. This is not a right of appeal and must relate to issues such as failure to follow correct procedures or failure to act independently, rather than complaints where the parent/carer simply feel that the wrong decision has been made.