Admission Appeals
Appeal a decision to refuse admittance to Aylesbury High School Sixth Form
If you have been refused a place at a school for Sixth Form, you can make an appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel.
The Department for Education advises parents that:
- Some schools receive more applications than they have places available
- The appeals process can be burdensome for all involved, so admission authorities do not take lightly the decision to refuse a place
- In most cases your child will not have been offered a place because there were other children who more closely met the school’s oversubscription criteria
Appeals are heard by unpaid, trained, volunteers. Your appeal will take place as soon as possible depending on the number of appeals and availability of the Appeal Panel members.
It's very important you read the advice on this page before you make an appeal.
Your decision to appeal
The admission authority for a school usually only refuses a place if:
- It has received more applications than there are places available, or
- The student has not met the qualifying criteria
Think carefully before appealing.
Most appeals fail because:
- The Sixth Form is full and cannot admit an additional student without harming the education of the existing children or
- In an unqualified appeal, the student is not of the required academic standards
Appeals can be stressful for parents and students and are expensive for schools.
The Department for Education advises parents: “You should be aware that an appeal can prolong the period of uncertainty for parents and children, so it’s important to be realistic about your reasons for appealing and the chances of being successful.”
Read advice for parents on school admission appeals from the Department for Education.
When to appeal
Make your appeal before midday, 3 October 2025
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 21 August 2025 | GCSE Results Day. |
| 22 August 2025 | Deadline for responding to applications to join Aylesbury High School Sixth Form. |
| 3 October 2025 (midday) | Deadline for requesting an appeal and submission of grounds for the appeal. |
| 6 calendar days before appeal hearing | Appeals Team sends appeal papers to parents, admission authority, school and Appeal Panel. |
| October | Sixth Form Admission Appeals heard. |
| Within 5 school days of the appeal decision | Decision letter sent to parents, admission authority and school. |
How to appeal
Preparing your evidence
When you appeal, you will need to provide evidence supporting your reasons why you want a place for your child at the particular school.
You will need to provide exceptional medical, social or educational reasons for your preferred school, with evidence, where possible.
Strong academic evidence should also be provided for unqualified appeals.
The Department for Education advises parents that:
- The stronger your reasons the better chance you have of your appeal being successful (for example, wanting your child to go to a particular school because it's the best in the area is not likely to convince the panel that your child should get a place at the school over another child)
- You should focus on what the school can offer that meets your child’s needs. This can include what the school can offer that other schools cannot and what the impact will be on your child not attending the school of your choice.
Appeal hearing and outcome
The Appeals Team is unable to offer a choice of hearing date.
Your appeal will be heard remotely by video conference.
The Appeals Team will email you the date and time of your remote appeal hearing at least 10 days before the hearing. You will also be told the deadline date for submitting extra evidence.
Late evidence is unlikely to be seen by the Appeal Panel.
About a week before the hearing, you will be sent copies of the appeal papers including:
- your appeal form, and any evidence submitted by the deadline date and
- the admission authority’s written case explaining why the place was refused
At the appeal hearing, you will be invited to explain your reasons for appealing for the particular school and the admission authority will explain why it did not offer a place. The Appeal Panel will uphold or dismiss your appeal depending on whether it decides you or the admission authority have the stronger case.
A decision letter will be sent to you no later than 5 school days after the appeal decision is made. Where there are multiple appeals for a school, the decision letters will be sent out no later than 5 school days after all the appeals for the school have been heard.
