School admission appeals

If you are not offered a place at one of your preferred schools you can appeal that decision. The appeals panel is independent of the council and schools in the borough.

You must have named a school on your application to appeal against the decision not to offer it.

Appeals are rarely successful, particularly for children between the ages of 5-7 years old. This is because the government has placed limits on class sizes in this age range to a maximum of 30 pupils.

Making your appeal

You can appeal against any decision not to offer your child a place at school (but not nursery). You may appeal for more than one school.

You must complete and submit your appeal online. This is a simple and safe way to appeal and you will receive confirmation it has been submitted.

This form is only for appeals and should not be used to submit any other type of information or to apply for a school place or a school transfer.

Please refer to your refusal letter for further information.

Supporting evidence

Please include any evidence or supporting material with your online appeal. You must give the reasons for your appeal at the time the appeal is submitted.

If you want to submit futher evidence, you should do so as soon as possible and no later than five school days before your hearing. Additional paperwork received on the day of the appeal hearing will not be taken into account.

Please visit Education Appeals for everything you need to know before making your appeal. You can also submit your appeal via the quick links below:

Submit a Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 appeal

Submit an Appeal for Year 3 to Year 11, including Secondary Transfer

If you have made an appeal, and have further questions, you should contact the clerk to the appeal panel – clerk@educationappeals.com.

In- year appeals timetable
Last day for lodging appeal forms	20 School days after the decision letter informing you that you had not been offered a place.
Invitation letter giving details about your hearing will be sent by the clerk to the Independent Appeal Panel	This will be eamiled at least 10 school days before the hearing unless you have opted on the appeal form for a shorter notice period. All in-year appeals will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal form being lodged.
Closing date for any additional supporting evidence	Up to 12 noon on FIVE school days before your hearing you can upload additional documents to your online appeal folder. You are advised that additional paperwork received on the day of the appeal hearing will not be taken into account.
Letter from the clerk informing you of the decision of the independent appeal panel	Due to the high number of appeals, an email is sent a few working days after your hearing with the decision of the panel. This is followed up around 20 school days later with a further emailed letter outlining the panels’ reasons.

Appeal outcomes for admission in Year 7 in 2025
School	Number of appeals	Successful
Central Foundation	9	1
George Greens	5	0
Langdon Park	0	0
Morpeth	6	0
Mulberry Girls	17	1
Mulberry Stepney Green	18	0
St Pauls Way	63	0
Stepney All Saints	34	1
Swanlea	32	1

Appeal outcomes for admission in Reception in 2025
School	Number of appeals	Successful
Bigland Green	8	0
Bygrove	5	0
Cubitt Town	1	0
Globe	3	0
Marion Richardson	2	0
Globe	3	0
Mulberry Wood Wharf	2	0
Olga	3	0

Appeals for voluntary aided or free schools

If you are appealing for one of the schools below, you should appeal via the school:

Canary Wharf College Schools
Christ Church Church of England
English Martyrs Roman Catholic
Our Lady and St Joseph Roman Catholic
St Agnes Roman Catholic
St Anne's & Guardian Angels Roman Catholic
St Edmund’s Roman Catholic
St Elizabeth’s Roman Catholic
St John’s Church of England
St Luke’s Church of England
St Mary and St Michael Roman Catholic
St Matthias Church of England
St Paul's (Whitechapel) Church of England
St Paul’s with St Luke’s Church of England
St Peter’s London Docks Church of England
St Saviour’s Church of England
Stepney Greencoat Church of England

In Year Appeals

In-year appeals (for families applying for school places after the start of the school year) will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

Contact us

If you have made an appeal, and have further questions, you should contact the clerk to the appeal panel – clerk@educationappeals.com.

For information on how to contact the School Admissions Service, please visit Contact school admissions.