Primary and infant classes
The primary level data is further split into infant (reception and years one and two) and other primary classes. There are regulations in place which require infant classes (reception and years 1 and 2) to be limited to 30 children[1] (opens in a new tab). This reduces the possibilities for appeal for these years.
The rate of appeals heard is 1.0% for infant classes and 2.2% for other primary classes.
As would be expected, there is also a contrast in the success rates, with 9.5% of heard infant class appeals being successful (622) compared to 33.2% of other primary classes (1,045).
There has been a decrease in the proportion of infant appeals lodged over time, which is likely to be a result of the more limited chances of success.
[1] (opens in a new tab) The School Admissions (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 2012 prescribe certain limited circumstances in which pupils may be admitted as lawful exceptions to the infant class size limit of 30 for one-teacher classes. This means that a class of, for example, 32 pupils is lawful if two or more of those pupils have been admitted under lawful exceptions.
Primary timeseries
The number of appeals heard has dropped since 2015/16, from 2.6% to 1.2% in 2021/22. Although we can’t know why each appeal was submitted, there have been a reducing number of new admissions recorded year on year, and, separately, increases in the preference rate for applications for a primary school place[2] (opens in a new tab).
The number of successful appeals has dropped over the whole time period. However, as the number of appeals heard has dropped by differing levels the success rate has fluctuated rather than consistently declined. The success rate was at its lowest in 2020/21, but has increased by 1 percentage point to 17.2% for 2021/22.
Primary geographic variation
Figures are provided at LA level, both for infant classes, total primary appeals (including the infant appeals), and secondary classes. Differences in success rates can be driven by the results of a small number of appeals and therefore can be volatile. Caution should be used when comparing the figures.
By rate of appeals heard, the highest and lowest local authorities were:
- Bolton (5.1%)
- Blackburn with Darwen (3.8%)
- Wokingham (3.7%)
- City of London and Isles of Scilly (0.0%, on 40 and 21 admissions respectively)
- Westminster, Hillingdon and Herefordshire (all on 0.1%)
[2] (opens in a new tab) https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/secondary-and-primary-school-applications-and-offers#releaseHeadlines-dataBlock-1
