School appeals - what you need to know

Sixth form appeals

Schools’ published admission arrangements (rules) explain their entry requirements for sixth form.

Please check the schools’ published admission arrangements for who administers their sixth form appeals and how to submit an appeal request.

When you can appeal

Young people and/or their parents can appeal against a decision to refuse a sixth form place.

Please note that you can only appeal if you have been refused a place at the school. If you have been offered an alternative course at the same school, you do not have the right to an appeal.

A young person might be refused a place for the below 2 reasons:

1. There are more eligible applicants than places available and the Sixth Form is oversubscribed
2. There is a specified entry requirement, and the young person did not reach this entry requirement. For example, they didn’t get the required number of GCSEs of specified grades.

Appeals due to the school being oversubscribed and not conditional upon exam results, must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals, see the school appeal timelines page.

Appeals due to not meeting the conditional entry requirements must be heard within 30 school days of confirmation of those results.

What the panel considers

If there are no places available

If the young person has been refused admission to a school because there are more eligible people than places available and makes an appeal:

• the admission authority will say that the school is full and harm will be caused to the school and its existing pupils if an extra person is admitted to the sixth form
• the young person or parent will need to explain why they want the school place

The 2-stage appeal process will be used and the Appeal Panel will decide whether the young person or the admission authority has the stronger case. The Panel will look at the school circumstances and at the reasons/circumstances that relate to the student and/or family before coming to a decision.

Appeal Panel has the power to offer a place over this number and if they make this decision then the student will be admitted. 

If the young person did not meet the entry requirements

If the young person did not reach the specified entry requirements, the Appeal Panel will consider whether the admission authority’s decision that the person was not of the required standard was reasonable in light of the information which was available to it at the time. 

School Admission Appeals Code - paragraph 3.17; 

“In the case of an appeal where the child did not reach the specified entry requirements, the panel must not make its own assessment of a child’s ability but must decide whether the admission authority’s decision that the child was not of the required standard was reasonable in light of the information available to it. In doing so, it must consider whether any process in place to consider such cases (for example, where a pupil had not been studying in England and therefore did not have GCSEs) was carried out in a consistent and objective way.”

In these circumstances the chances of being successful against this criterion are slim.

For more information, email [email protected].  

Last updated 04 March 2026