Secondary school admissions 2025: What to do if your child doesn’t get into their first choice
TODAY’S the day that millions of parents find out whether their child has been accepted to their preferred secondary school.
And it marks the end of a very anxious period for many, as they’ve been waiting to hear the news since putting in their applications at the end of October last year.
While 82.9% of applicants in 2024 were offered their first choice secondary school, there are always some left disappointed.
“Some schools will receive more applications than it has places available and unfortunately not every parent will be successful,” it says on the Government’s Education Hub website.
“Priority must be given to those who most closely meet the school’s published admission arrangements.”
Any local authority that’s unable to offer a place at one of the preferred schools must offer a place at another school where there’s a place available.
Your right to appeal
If you’re someone whose heart sank when you opened the offer to find you’ve missed out on your first choice, don’t panic – you can choose to appeal against the decision.
However, there are some things important to consider before formally launching your appeal.
Firstly, have a look at your preferred school’s admission arrangements, which you should be able to find on their website.
This will give you some guidance as to how the school allocate their places.
You should also have a look at your admission decision letter, as that should detail the reason your child was refused a place at your first choice school.
If you decide to go ahead with an appeal, you need to get in touch with the school’s admission authority – which you can find by visiting your local council website – as they’re responsible for organising the appeal panel.
Consider other options
In addition, before making your appeal, it’s worth considering accepting the offer to another school you received – to avoid being in a position where your child is left without any school place at all.
You can also be safe in the knowledge that “accepting another offer will have no bearing on your appeal and the appeals process does not limit other options available to you,” according to the government’s admission appeals advice.
How does an appeal panel work?
The independent panel will take into consideration the case presented by the admission authority and the parent themselves, before making a decision.
The appeal make take place in person or remotely by video call – or a combination of the two – and will comply with the statutory School Admission Appeals Code.
Following the appeal, the decision made by the panel is binding.
You will usually receive a letter within five school days of the panel taking place to notify you of the appeal decision.
EXTRA HELP WITH SCHOOL UNIFORM COSTS
IF you can't get targeted help from your council, you might have some other options available to you.
In some areas, you can talk directly to your school, which might be able to offer you clothing.
Or, you might be able to get cheap garments from low-budget shops or charity stores.
Some charities offer help to families in need too.
But bear in mind charities often have a limited amount of money to give and usually have specific criteria which must be met in order to get a grant.
Charity Turn2Us has a free grants search tool on its website which you can use to find out what help is available to you.
Meanwhile, you can always try approaching your nearest Citizens’ Advice branch.
If you don’t know where your nearest Citizens’ Advice branch is, you can find out by visiting www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/nearby/.
If you’re not eligible for a school uniform grant you might be able to get help through the Household Support Fund.
Consider a waiting list place
If the appeal is unsuccessful, you can choose to put your child on a waiting list for your preferred school.
“Even after all the places have been allocated at the school it is possible that a place could still become available, as not all children offered a place take them,” the government explained.
A waiting list must be operated for at least the “first term of each school year of admission (until 31 December)”.
In addition, children on the waiting list are “ranked by how closely they match the school’s oversubscription criteria, not how long they’ve been on the list”.
I got my first choice – what’s next?
If you were lucky enough to receive your first choice school today, you need to wait to be contacted by the school with regards to how to proceed.
Their initial letter may give a deadline on when to accept your child’s offer by, and it’s important to stick to this.
The school will also be able to give you more information about term dates, school uniform and transport.