Appeals
If you wish to appeal against a decision to refuse a place for your child at this school you can appeal in writing using the form below. Information on how to appeal can be found by clicking here. Please ensure that you read the guidance notes published online before submitting your appeal. As The Whitstable School is part of Swale Academies Trust all appeal forms must be submitted to the school. The Whitstable School uses an externally appointed Independent Appeals Panel.
The Appeal Form
The panel would prefer the form to be typed, but handwritten forms, in black ink, are acceptable. Please ensure that the Clerk can read your details including telephone numbers and email addresses. ‘Signatures’ may be typed. You should include any evidence or supporting material with your appeal form, and you must give the grounds for your appeal at the time you lodge your appeal. Your appeal form will not be accepted unless you state the grounds for your appeal. You may appeal for more than one school.
If you decide to send in additional information after you have sent your appeal form, you must provide 5 copies for the panel.
Do not send your appeal to the local authority. Please send your form to Mrs J Croucher, Admissions Officer: either by email or by post.
For appeals during the 2025/2026 admissions round (to start September 2025), you should return your completed appeal form to The Whitstable School by Monday 31st March 2025.
Appeals relating to late applications for a place
If your application was made after Thursday 31 October 2024 (closing date for applications for secondary school places) appeals will be heard as soon as practically possible and ideally before the start of the new school year.
Appeals Timeline - 2025/26 Admissions
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| Monday 3rd March 2025 | Offer Date |
| Monday 31st March 2025 |
Last day for lodging appeal forms for a place in Year 7 to start in September 2025. Note: Appeals which are received after this date will wherever possible be heard together with those appeals lodged before the deadline. Where this is not possible, they will be heard as soon as practicably possible and ideally before the start of the new school year. |
| W/C Monday 12th May 2025 | An invitation letter giving details about your hearing will be sent to you from the Independent Appeal Panel, this will be at least 10 school days before the stage 1 hearing. |
| Friday 16th May 2025 by midday |
Deadline for any supporting evidence. Additional paperwork received on the day of the appeal hearing will not be taken into account. |
| Tuesday 10th June 2025 | Stage 1: Part of the hearing (with other parents present) will take place remotely via zoom meeting. |
| Wednesday 11th June 2025 | Stage 2: Individual private hearings, will take place remotely via zoom. |
| Up to 2 weeks after the hearing | A letter will be sent form the Clerk informing you of the decision of the independent appeal panel. |
The Appeal Hearing and Decision
Appeal hearing
The hearing lets you explain to an independent appeal panel why you think your child should be given a place at the school and lets the school explain why it could not offer your child a place.
Appeal hearings usually take 30 minutes and are held Monday to Friday between 9am and 4.30pm.
If you want to send us any additional evidence you must make sure that we get it at least 5 school days before the hearing date.
Decision
We will write to tell you the panel’s decision as soon as possible. We cannot tell you the decision by telephone.
If your appeal is unsuccessful, you can’t lodge another appeal to the same school for the same school year, unless you can show your circumstances have changed since the first appeal.
Waiting List
Parents of children who have not been offered a place at the school may ask for their child’s name to be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list will be operated using the same admissions criteria listed in the Admissions Policy. Placing a child’s name on the waiting list does not guarantee that a place will become available. It is possible that when a child is directed under the Local Authority’s fair access protocol they will take precedence over those children already on the list.
Parents will be contacted as soon as a place becomes available
In-Year (Casual) Admissions
For In-year admission appeals during the academic year 2024/2025 you should return your completed appeal form to The Whitstable School.
For more information please click here.