School admission appeals
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to offer your child a place in your preferred school. If your child is refused a place you have the right to appeal against the decision to an independent appeal panel.
We only manage appeals for certain schools. If your appeal relates to any of the schools in this list you must contact the school directly for their appeals process.
When you receive your offer letter or email on National Offer Day, it will include details of the appeals process for:
- voluntary controlled and community schools - which are managed by the local authority. You can read our appeals process and submit your appeal online below.
- academy, trust, foundation and voluntary aided schools - which are managed by the individual schools. You will need to contact the school for their appeals process, form and closing dates or check their website. Do not submit an appeal to us if you are appealing for any of these schools.
- non-Liverpool schools - which are managed by other local authorities or the schools themselves. You will need to visit the relevant local authority website or individual school websites for their appeals process.
The email or letter you receive on National Offer Day will also include details of schools with places still available:
- Year 7 National Offer Day: 1st March 2024 - Download appeals procedure and list of secondary schools with Year 7 places available for September 2024.
- Reception National Offer Day: 16th April 2024 - Download appeals procedure and list of secondary schools with Reception places available for September 2024.
How to appeal
This appeals process is for voluntary controlled and community schools, including in-year transfer appeals.
Before you start your appeal, read the admissions appeals guide which includes details on:
- how to prepare your case
- documents you may wish to include to support your appeal
- what to expect from the panel
- how decisions are made
If uploading documents to support your appeal, the file size should not exceed 10MB in total. You can upload images/scanned documents from your computer, tablet or mobile device.
Closing dates and hearings
Secondary schools
- You must submit the notice of appeal form by 29th March 2024.
- Appeal hearings to be held in May, June and July 2024.
Primary schools
- You must submit the notice of appeal form by 17th May 2024.
- Appeal hearings to be held in June and July 2024.
We aim to hold all appeal hearings within 40 school days after the deadline. In some exceptional circumstances we may need to hold hearings after this date. We will give appellants 10 days notice of an appeal hearing date and time.
All appeals will be held remotely via video link with our clerking service.
If you are not successful
If you do not win your appeal you will be told what your options are.
Parents can only have one appeal to an individual school in any school year - you may wish to appeal for a number of schools at the same time.