The wait for parents and children transferring to secondary school in September is nearly over. On 1 March 2017 most prayers will be answered with roughly 9 out of 10 applications being successful. However, for those parents and children who are unsuccessful the statutory appeal process may provide some relief.
My advice would be to accept any place which is offered in the first instance; this does not mean that your child will attend this school but at least you will have a place at a school however unhappy you are with this place. If you reject this place, and are unsuccessful with any other options, you may end up with a school that is even less satisfactory.
At the same time, ensure that you child is placed on the waiting list for any school that you applied for but were unsuccessful.
There is plenty of time to prepare for an appeal; the admission authority must allow at least 20 school days to lodge an appeal and it is likely that your appeal will not take place until the latter part of April or May. In some cases it may not be until June. The admission authority is required to publish its appeal timetable on its website no later than 28 February. If the timetable is not on the website this is a breach of the School Admission Appeals Code.
If you need any help with your appeal then contact School Appeals who will be able to provide any practical help that you might need.