School admission appeals

If you are unhappy with the school place you’ve been offered, you can appeal for any of the schools you named in your application.

If you do not wish to accept an offer of a school place – either because your circumstances have changed or you are unhappy with the alternative offer we have made, please confirm this in writing either to the School Admissions Team or the school.

What to do if your application is refused – waiting lists and the right of appeal

If you have been refused a place, your child’s name will be placed on a waiting list and you have the right of appeal to an admissions appeal panel, independent of the admissions authority. When we inform you of your offer, we will explain how the appeals process works.

If you are refused a place, you can also make additional preferences. If you appeal for a place at a school, the offer we have made is not affected – you do not risk that place on the grounds that you have appealed elsewhere.

Read our guide to school admission appeals for further information.

The appeals timetable

Devon County Council is required to set out the appeals timetable for the next round of admissions in September 2019 for all community and voluntary controlled schools in the county. This timetable also relates to admission appeals for foundation and voluntary aided schools and those academies and free schools supported by Devon’s Traded Service for Admissions. This is also set out in the admissions policy for each school for 2019-20.

For primary and infant schools

Appeals at the normal round of admissions to reception will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals on 28 May 2019. Where the application was not made in time for a decision to be made on 16 April 2019, they will be heard within that 40 day period or, if that is not possible, within 30 days of the appeal being lodged. In-year admission appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

For junior schools

Appeals at the normal round of admissions to year 3 will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals on 28 May 2019. Where the application was not made in time for a decision to be made on 16 April 2019, they will be heard within that 40 day period or, if that is not possible, within 30 days of the appeal being lodged. In-year admission appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

For secondary schools

Appeals at the normal round of admissions to year 7 will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals on 31 March 2019. Where the application was not made in time for a decision to be made on 1 March 2019, they will be heard within that 40 day period or, if that is not possible, within 30 days of the appeal being lodged.

For those secondary schools with a sixth form, appeals will be heard within 30 school days of confirmation of exam results where the offer of a place was conditional on those exam results. Otherwise, they will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged. For in-year admissions in any academic year, appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals.