Year 6Secondary school

National Offer Day and school appeals: a guide for parents

Written by A Dagdelen · Reviewed 6 November 2026

On 1 March councils send families their offer of a secondary school place. If it isn't the school you hoped for, you still have options: waiting lists, an appeal, or both. Here is what happens and when, with every rule checked against GOV.UK.

Illustration: Quizo School

1 Marchsecondary offers (the next working day at a weekend or bank holiday)
20 school daysat least, to lodge an appeal
40 school daysappeals heard within this time of the appeal deadline
31 Decemberwaiting lists kept until at least this date

What happens and when

Offers come from your council on 1 March. Councils send secondary school offers on 1 March, or the next working day if it falls on a weekend or a bank holiday. You are offered the highest school on your list that has a place for your child.
Accept by the deadline in the letter. The offer letter gives a deadline for accepting. If you miss it, the place may be withdrawn and given to someone else. If your child wasn't offered any of the schools you applied for, the council must provide a place at another school.
Waiting lists stay open into the school year. The admission authority (usually the school or the council) must keep a waiting list until at least 31 December of the year your child starts. Each time a child joins, the list is ranked again by the school's admission criteria; when you joined makes no difference. You can join a list even after accepting a place elsewhere, and accept a waiting-list offer even if your child has already started at another school.
You can appeal for each school that refused a place. The refusal must give the reason, tell you about your right to appeal and give the deadline and contact details. You must be allowed at least 20 school days from the decision to lodge your appeal, in writing, with your reasons. You appeal against each refusal separately, and only once.
An independent panel hears it. Admission authorities must publish their appeals timetable on their website by 28 February each year. Appeals lodged on time must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline, with at least 10 school days' notice of the hearing. The independent panel has a chair and at least two other members, including at least one lay member and one with experience in education, and you will usually get the decision within five school days.

If you didn't get the school you wanted

1. Accept the place you were offered

Accept it by the deadline so your child has a school for September. Accepting the place doesn't stop you joining waiting lists for other schools or appealing against each refusal.

2. Join the waiting lists you want

Ask your council (or the school, if it runs its own admissions) to add your child to the list for each school you still want. Ask where you are on the list, and remember the position can move up or down as children join and leave.

3. Decide whether to appeal

Read the school's admission criteria and the reason you were refused. The panel looks at two things: whether the admission rules were lawful and applied correctly to your child, and whether your reasons for the school outweigh the problems another pupil would cause it.

4. Write your appeal

Keep to the facts: why this school, and what it offers your child that the offered school cannot, such as a subject, support for a need or a journey that works. Add evidence, such as a letter from a doctor or another professional, and send it by the deadline you are given.

5. Prepare for the hearing

You will get at least 10 school days' notice, with a deadline for any further evidence. You will be asked whether you want to bring a witness or someone to represent you. The school explains why it can't take more pupils, and you explain your case.

Easy mistakes to avoid

Turning down the offer too soon. Refusing the offered school before you have another place can leave your child without one. Accept first, then join waiting lists or appeal.
Missing the appeal deadline. Late appeals must still be heard, but on the admission authority's own timetable, so the decision may come much later.
Sending evidence late. Anything sent after the evidence deadline might not be considered and may delay your hearing.
Treating a list position as final. Waiting lists are ranked again whenever a child joins, so positions change through the spring and summer.

Questions parents ask

What if 1 March falls on a weekend?

Offers are sent on the next working day.

How does the panel decide?

First it checks whether the admission arrangements followed the law and were applied correctly and impartially. Then it weighs the harm to the school of admitting another child against your reasons. If your case outweighs it, the appeal is upheld and the school must admit your child.

Can I appeal again if I lose?

Not for the same school in the same school year, unless, in exceptional circumstances, the school accepted a new application because of a significant and material change and refused again.

Can I complain about the appeal?

About how it was run, yes; about the decision itself, no. For maintained schools you complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, and for academies and free schools to the Department for Education.

Is it the same for Reception places?

The steps are similar, but primary offers come on 16 April, and classes in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are limited to 30 pupils, so those appeals are decided on narrower grounds. Our Reception guide has more.

Get ready for Year 7

Whatever the offer, a little practice makes the move to secondary easier. A free profile gives your child every lesson and quiz from Year 1 to Year 9. New families get the Family plan free for 14 days, with no card needed.

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