If you have applied for, but been unsuccessful in obtaining, a place for your child at our school, you have the right to appeal. If you have not yet applied for a place, you must do this first. Please see our admissions pages for information on how to apply for a place. You can only appeal for a place in any academic year for a child once.

If you wish to appeal for a place at Caroline Chisholm School, download and complete the ‘Notice of Appeal’ (see below) form relevant to your child’s year group. Your form should be returned via the link below. Guidance notes relevant to your appeal are also available below as well as, further information on appeals.

In-Year appeals (appeals for current year groups)

To submit an In-Year appeal you must have applied for, and been refused, a place for your child in the current academic year.  You must submit your Notice of Appeal within 20 school days of notification that your application was unsuccessful, and your appeal will be heard within 30 school days of your Notice of Appeal Form (see below) being received. You will receive notice of the date of the appeal hearing at least 10 school days in advance. 

Sixth Form Appeals

Please click here to view our current Sixth Form Admission Appeals Information, including the current process to lodge an appeal. Please note, there is no requirement for a prior application to Northamptonshire County Council, so you may ignore that section of the form. 

There is no need to contact our school directly to appeal, however, if you require further information, please contact our Admissions Manager.

Note from the Independent School Appeals Clerk - The appeal process in 2023

Your appeal will be heard remotely.

All Admission Authorities are required to comply with the School Admission Appeals Code. This was most recently updated in October 2022 and allows for the Admission Authority to make arrangements for appeals to be heard by video conference or, in the absence of that, by telephone conference. That is the decision of the Admission Authority for Caroline Chisholm School.

All admission appeals for this school have been heard remotely since the beginning of the Pandemic in March 2020, and I have been happy - as well as a little surprised - at how well it has worked. During the course of the Pandemic there was no other option than for the appeal to be heard in this way, and ultimately it became clear that it offered benefits to all participants including efficiency and convenience.

All you need is access to a PC, a telephone or a tablet. You can choose the most comfortable place from where to present your appeal case, you will not have to appear within a more formal setting, and you will not have to travel to a venue to be heard.

Through the appeal administrator, the Admission Authority has made sure that no appellant has been disadvantaged by their appeal being heard in this way. No complaint has been received that an appellant has not had a fair opportunity to put their appeal case to the Independent Appeal Panel and any unexpected issues that have arisen with the use of technology have been overcome in order to prevent any disadvantage.

If you have any personal issues or restrictions that you feel might undermine your appeal being heard in this way, you can contact the appeal administrator, and he will look to provide any reasonable adjustments to give you the chance to participate in the same way and to the same level as any other appellant.

“The most important point for me is that you are offered a fair chance to present your appeal circumstances to the Independent Appeal Panel and thereby be satisfied that you have been offered every opportunity to try and secure a place at this school by making an appeal.”

Robert Hartgroves – Independent School Appeal Clerk, February 2023.