School admissions appeals have dropped by 2.3 per cent compared to last year, according to new Department for Education statistics.
There has been a slight drop in the number of appeals from parents who have failed to get their children into their chosen school.
According to figures released today, there were 60,886 appeals made by parents in 2016-17 compared with 62,301 the year before - a drop of 2.3 per cent.
This year there was also a 2.5 per cent drop in the number of appeals actually heard by a panel, with 44,626 cases being taken before a panel compared with 45,784 last year.
More than a fifth (21.8 per cent) of cases heard by a panel resulted in parents winning - but this was still a drop on last year where 22.3 per cent of appeals were decided in parents’ favour.
There was actually a rise in the number of secondary school appeals made by parents and heard by a panel compared to last year - despite the overall fall.
This change comes with the number of children applying for secondary places rising to its highest level in almost a decade as the pupil bulge, which has been affecting primary schools in recent years, moves into the secondary sector.
This year, 4.8 per cent of new secondary school admissions received appeals, compared to 4.5 per cent last year. And 3.7 per cent of secondary admissions had appeals heard by a panel this year, compared to 3.6 per cent last year.
However, the proportion of upheld secondary school appeals dropped to 24.6 per cent, from 26.3 per cent last year.
The percentage of appeals lodged and heard by a panel decreased for primary admissions, as did their success rate.
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