Fewer parents win challenges over first choice school spots for children

Fewer parents in Sunderland successfully challenged the first school place offered to their child, new figures show.

- by Echo Reporter

New figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show there were 77 admission appeals lodged relating to school entry in the city this year-with 62 being heard, and 53 successful.

Last year, 99 out of 173 appeals heard were successful.

The data also shows that, in England, 19% of the 38,639 appeals heard were approved-slightly down from the 20% the year before-but teaching unions warned many families "are still at the mercy of a postcode lottery" when trying to get their child into their preferred school.

The figures also show a significant gap in the rate of successful appeals across the country.

In both Solihull and Reading, just two per cent of appeals were successful.

By contrast, Sunderland - despite the fall in successful appeals-still had the highest success rate in the country.