National Offer Day 2023 Yorkshire: How do I find out if my child has been accepted at a secondary school, how can I appeal and what does oversubscribed mean?

The moment you find out whether your child has been accepted into your preferred secondary school can be daunting and the waiting around can feel overwhelming, particularly if you don’t know your options. Luckily, even if your child doesn’t get into your preferred school, there are options available and we have included the necessary information below to help make the day less stressful for parents/carers and children.

When is National Offer Day 2023 and how do I find out if my child got into secondary school?

All schools in England will make their decisions on offers on the same day: Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Parents/carers will receive the school offers from 8am on the day either via email or by post via Royal Mail. Alternatively, parents/carers who have applied online may access their offers via their local authority portals at midnight on February 28.

If you have applied using a paper application, you will receive a letter in the post either first or second class.

How can I appeal if my child did not get their preferred school?

If your child is refused a place at your preferred school, you are legally entitled to appeal against the decision to an independent panel that is not affiliated with the school or local authority/council.

At the hearing, you will get to present your reasons for choosing that particular school and the panel will decide whether your reasons are strong enough to overturn the admission authority’s decision. You will have to submit an appeal form, which you can find on your local authority website. The deadline for submitting the form for most areas is late March 2023.

The process of appealing depends on the area you are living in Yorkshire. For York, you must submit the form within 28 calendar days from the date of refusal, for Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield the deadline is March 29.

For Leeds there are multiple options for when a child has not been accepted at their chosen secondary school; usually if a child did not get a place at their preferred school, they will be offered a place at their closest school with available places. Alternatively, you also have the option to check which secondary schools still have places on the Leeds City Council website, join a waiting list or make an appeal.

However, if your chosen secondary school is accepted anywhere in Yorkshire, you will need to confirm your child’s place directly with the school. You must accept your offer by the deadline given in the offer email or letter or it may be withdrawn and given to someone else.

In Leeds, you should also accept your offer even if you decide to join a waiting list or submit an appeal and this will not affect either process.

What does oversubscribed mean?

When a school has received more applications than places available, then that school is oversubscribed.

The number of places at a school is its public admission number (PAN).