If your child is not offered a place at your preferred high school, you have the right to appeal against that decision to an independent appeal panel.
For community or voluntary controlled school appeals you can request an appeal form by calling Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council (01254 666605). Once you have completed your form, you should return it to the organisation that sent you it.
A copy of the information relating to your appeal and details of the hearing will be sent to you 10 school days before your appeal is heard.
You will be invited to attend the appeal hearing to tell the independent panel why you feel your child should have a place at your preferred school. Appeals are usually held in Blackburn Town Hall.
Below is the school appeals timetable for Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council for 2021.
31st March 2021 - Deadline for on-time appeals
Appeals will be accepted after this deadline but they may be heard at a later date than appeals lodged on time
26th April to 14th May 2021 - Notice of hearing issued
For appeals lodged on time, notice of appeal hearing date and time should be issued in this time
11th May to 11th June 2021 - Appeal Hearing will take place
All appeals lodged before the deadline of 31st March 2021 will be heard before the end of 11th June 2021
25th June to 1st July 2021 - Notice of hearing information issues for late appeals
For appeals lodged after the deadline, notice of appeal hearing date and time should be issued in this time period
w/c 12th July 2021 - Late appeal hearings will take place
Hearings for appeals lodged after the deadline of the 31st March 2021 will take place before the end of the 16th July 2021*
*Appeal hearings for all appeals lodged after 31st March 2021 will be heard with the on time appeals wherever possible. If they cannot be heard with the on-time appeals, they will be heard within 30 school days of the date the appeals is lodged. In some circumstances, this may mean appeals for the September intake will be heard after the school’s summer holidays.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council will endeavour to stick to the above dates wherever possible, however please be aware that these dates may be subject to change depending on the numbers of appeals received.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they may not be able to hold face-to-face hearings this year as the School Admission Appeals Code normally requires. However, it is very important that you are still able to have a fair hearing of your appeal for your child to attend your preferred school, so the Government has passed new legislation to enable this to happen safely. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s hearings will take place in telephone conference calls.