Didn't get your first choice school? You may have grounds to appeal.
Free case assessment against the criteria panels actually use — honest result in under 10 minutes.
Takes under 10 minutes.
How it works:
- ✓Answer a few questions about your circumstances
- ✓We assess your grounds against the criteria panels use
- ✓Get an honest result — strong, moderate, or limited
- ✓Specific feedback on what evidence would help
Under 10 minutes. No payment details needed.
- ✓Personalised appeal letter draft
- ✓Evidence checklist mapped to your case
- ✓Hearing-day prep guide
- ✓Council-specific submission instructions
Delivered by email within minutes. One payment, no subscription.
£29.99 — £5 off at checkout until Sunday
Most appeals are not lost because the reason is weak
“We really want this school because it's closer and his sister goes there and we think it would be better for him.”
Three valid grounds in one sentence — but too vague for a panel to act on. Panels hear dozens of cases. They need specific, evidence-backed reasons, not general feelings about a school.
Appeal Ready takes what you tell us and turns it into specific, evidence-backed grounds a panel can consider. You usually get one chance to appeal for each school — how you present it matters.
Is Appeal Ready for you?
- ✓Siblings: a brother or sister already attends this school
- ✓Distance or travel: your child was offered a school further away
- ✓Community or faith: religious, community, or local ties to this school
- ✓Admissions criteria: you believe the criteria were not applied correctly
- ✓School fit: a specific connection between your child and this school
How these are weighted depends on each school's published admissions criteria.
- ✗EHC plan holders: these cases must go through the SEND Tribunal
- ✗Health or disability as the main reason: contact IPSEA for independent specialist advice
- ✗Schools in Scotland or Northern Ireland: Appeal Ready covers admissions appeals in England and Wales only
Admission authorities must allow at least 20 school days from the date of their decision letter for you to lodge an appeal. But exact deadlines vary by school and by admission authority.
Check your offer letter for the specific deadline, or contact your local authority directly. Do not assume — some deadlines are earlier than you would expect.
Find your local authority →What you get for £29.99
If you proceed after your free assessment, everything below is delivered by email within minutes.
Know exactly where and how to submit
Council-specific instructions: where to send your appeal, what format to use, and what to expect. Includes links to DfE guidance and your local authority.
A first draft that says what a panel needs to hear
A personalised appeal letter built from your circumstances. Structured, specific, and ready to review before you submit.
Know what evidence to gather and why
A checklist matched to your grounds — sibling, distance, community ties, or other. Each item explains what the document should confirm.
See how a panel might challenge your case
Personalised stress-test questions based on your letter, with advice on how to respond. So you are not caught off guard at the hearing.
Walk into the hearing prepared
What to expect on the day, how panels work, and what makes a difference in the room.
Learn from parents who have been through it
Practical lessons from parents who won their appeals, and from those who lost and learned what they would do differently.
The numbers
Source: DfE Admission Appeals in England, 2025. These are standard school admission appeals. Appeals related to Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans go through the SEND Tribunal, which is a separate process.
50,000+
school admission appeals lodged in England each year
~1 in 5
secondary appeals heard are successful
~1 in 6
primary appeals heard are successful
~3 in 10
primary Years 3–6 appeals succeed
Infant class size appeals (Reception, Year 1, Year 2) succeed in around 1 in 10 cases. These are significantly harder due to legal limits on infant class sizes.
Transparent assessment
We assess your case before you pay. If we don't think you have grounds, we tell you before you commit to the toolkit.
Your child's privacy
We don't collect your child's name, date of birth, or personal details. The draft uses placeholders — you personalise it yourself before submitting.
Personalised to your case
Your toolkit is built from your specific circumstances, not a generic template. You review it, add your child's details, and submit through your local process.
What does appeal support actually cost?
Less than an hour of a solicitor's time. More structured than anything you will find for free.
Education solicitor
£500–£2,000+
Weeks of back-and-forth
Free template sites
Free
Generic, no case assessment
Appeal Ready
£29.99
£5 off at checkout until Sunday
Case assessment
£5 off at checkout until Sunday
If the information in your draft is factually wrong because of an error on our side, email us within 48 hours and we will regenerate it free.
Check if I have a caseQuestions? Email hello@appealready.co.uk
Questions
What does the case assessment tell me?
Whether your case is limited or strong, we tell you why — and what evidence will make the most difference in an appeal. You get an honest assessment before you pay anything.
Is the assessment really free?
Yes. Fill in the form, get your honest assessment, and only pay for the toolkit if you'd like to proceed. There's no obligation.
Will this help?
If what you need is a clear, well-structured draft that turns your reasons into something a panel can work with, yes. We organise your case, tell you what evidence to gather, and give you everything you need to submit. No one can guarantee a panel's decision — but we make sure your case is presented as clearly and completely as possible.
Is it suitable for both primary and secondary appeals?
Yes, within a controlled scope. It is best for standard oversubscription appeals. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 cases may fall under infant class size rules, which make appeals harder to win. Grammar or selective cases may need academic evidence. The assessment will flag this.
Is this legal advice?
No. Appeal Ready is a drafting and preparation tool. You review, personalise, and submit the appeal yourself. If you need legal advice, IPSEA provides independent specialist advice on school admissions.
What are the chances of success?
According to the DfE's Admission Appeals in England data for 2025, around 1 in 5 secondary appeals heard were successful, and around 1 in 6 primary appeals heard were successful. For primary Years 3–6, nearly 3 in 10 succeed. Infant class size appeals (Reception, Year 1, Year 2) succeed in around 1 in 10 cases — significantly harder due to legal class size limits. Appeals are worth considering, but they need to be approached with specific reasons and evidence rather than hope alone. That's exactly why the free assessment matters.
What do you do with my information?
We don't collect your child's name or personal details. Your appeal content is deleted from our database immediately after your toolkit is generated. Your PDF is available for 30 days via a secure download link, then permanently deleted. Full details in our privacy policy.
Where can I get more advice?
IPSEA provides independent specialist advice on school admissions and SEN. If you believe the appeals process itself was handled incorrectly, you can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
My child has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. Can I use this?
Only if the plan is not yet final. If your child has a full, final EHC plan, you cannot use this process — you must appeal through the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunal. If your child is being assessed for an EHC plan but does not yet have one, you're still welcome to use this process, but we'd recommend seeking additional support through IPSEA.
What happens in a group appeal?
When multiple families appeal for the same school, the panel hears the school's case once, then sees each family individually and confidentially. No decision is made until all cases are heard. Where multiple cases succeed but the school cannot admit every child, the panel compares cases and upholds those with the strongest evidence. This is why the quality and specificity of your case matters.
What if the draft isn't right?
If the draft contains factual errors based on what you told us, or if key information you provided is missing, email hello@appealready.co.uk within 48 hours and we'll regenerate it free. We can't regenerate because you'd prefer different wording or emphasis — the draft is a starting point for you to review and adapt.
Here's what you can do right now.
If your case is straightforward, Appeal Ready will sharpen it. If it is complex, Appeal Ready will structure it.
Appeal deadlines are strict. Find out where you stand in under 10 minutes.
Check if I have a caseYour toolkit is generated using AI technology. Although this process has been designed for accuracy and is aligned to the information you provide, AI can make mistakes. The output is a structured first draft, not a finished submission. You must review it and check for accuracy before submitting your appeal. Appeal Ready is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Terms · Privacy