Appealing when your child has not been offered a place
Admission Appeals 2026/27
PLEASE READ THIS INFORMATION CAREFULLY.
If you have applied for a place at Holland Park School and have not been offered a place, you have the legal right to appeal the decision to an Independent Appeal Panel.
Holland Park School uses Education Appeals, an independent school admission appeals service, to administer our admission appeals. The Independent Appeal Panel is completely independent of Holland Park School and the Local Authority, and makes its decisions independently.
All appeal hearings are held online, allowing families to attend from home or another suitable location.
How to appeal
If you wish to appeal against the decision not to offer your child a place at Holland Park School, you must submit your appeal directly through Education Appeals using their online appeal form.
Submit an admission appeal through Education Appeals
Please do not use any other appeal form or send your appeal to your Local Authority.
Education Appeals provides separate appeal forms for Years 3–11 and Sixth Form admissions, so please ensure that you select the correct form for your child’s year group.
Before completing your appeal, you may also wish to read the explanatory booklet about the appeals process:
Admission Appeals Information Booklet
Grounds for appeal and supporting evidence
You must clearly state the grounds for your appeal when submitting your appeal form. An appeal cannot be accepted unless the grounds for appeal have been provided.
You should also upload any evidence, letters, reports or other supporting documents that you would like the Independent Appeal Panel to consider at the time you submit your appeal.
If you wish to provide additional evidence after submitting your appeal, it must be received by 12 noon, five working days before the Stage 1 hearing. Appeal panels will not accept late letters, reports or other evidence submitted after this deadline.
If you are appealing for places at more than one school, you must complete a separate appeal form for each school.
The online appeal form may also ask you to provide two utility bills dated within the last three months as evidence of your address. If you do not have access to a scanner, clear photographs of the documents taken on a mobile phone can be uploaded instead.
Appeal hearings
Admission appeals are normally heard in two stages:
- Stage 1: the school presents its case to the Independent Appeal Panel.
- Stage 2: each individual family presents their case privately to the Independent Appeal Panel.
For secondary transfer appeals, hearings will normally take place at least two months after the refusal letter, providing families with time to prepare and submit supporting evidence. Please take school holidays into account when preparing documentation.
The Stage 1 and Stage 2 hearing dates for Holland Park School will be published on this page once they have been confirmed by Education Appeals. Please check this page regularly for updates.
Full details of the hearing, including instructions for joining the online meeting, will be sent directly to appellants by Education Appeals.
For further information about the appeals process, please visit Education Appeals.
If you need to contact the appeals clerk directly, please email:
clerk@educationappeals.com
The timetable for appeals is as follows:
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Last day for lodging appeal forms for a place in year 7 to start in September 2026
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4pm on Thursday 2 April 2026 to guarantee that your appeal will be heard in the first tranche of appeals. Appeals lodged later may not be heard until the second tranche which could be in September 2026. You MUST state the reasons for your appeal and supply any documentary evidence at this stage.
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The stage 1 part of the hearing (with other parents present) will take place on
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Wednesday 20 May 2026 at 8.30 am.
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Part 2, the individual private hearings will take place on
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Wednesday 20 May 2026 (depending on the number of appeals)
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Invitation letter giving details about your hearing will be sent by the Clerk to the Independent Appeal Panel
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At least 10 school days before the stage 1 hearing.
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Any additional supporting evidence
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Closing date is 12 noon Wednesday 13 May 2026.
You are advised that additional paperwork received after this (including on the day of the appeal hearing) will not be taken into account. Please provide the Clerk with ONE copy of any new additional evidence BY EMAIL ONLY. These must be sent to clerk@educationappeals.com.
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Letter from the Clerk informing you of the decision of the independent appeal panel
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Due to the high number of appeals held at this time, this may not be sent until up to 15 school days after the last hearing for the school.
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Timetable for appeals for mid-term applications is as follows:
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Last day for lodging appeal forms following a refusal for a place ‘in year’ or ‘mid-term’ excluding 6th form.
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You must lodge the appeal form within 20 school days upon receipt of your letter of refusal. You MUST state the reasons for your appeal and supply documentary evidence at this stage. Appeals are held within 30 school days of receipt of the appeal form.
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Timetable for appeals for the 6th form is as follows
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Last day for Lodging appeals
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4pm on Thursday 27 August 2026 to guarantee that your appeal will be heard within the first weeks of September. You MUST state the reasons for your appeal on the online form and supply any documentary evidence at this stage e.g. a copy of your result sheet.
Please note the timetable is very short to enable those appellants who win appeals to start as early into the school year as possible.
Closing Date for appeals to be submitted Friday 18 September
Click here for the 6th form appeal form.
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Appeal date
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The date will be during the month of September 2026.
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