School admissions policy needs reform

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/01/school-admissions-policy

Version 0 of 1.

That time of year is here again – national offer day – when parents, children and schools discover which secondary school each child is destined for. Some parents will be understandably distraught and believe the whole system to be desperately unfair. Politicians go out of their way to promise the impossible, and parents think they have been assured their "choice" of school.

The reality is that, as long as some schools are perceived as better and have more applicants than places, some parents will be disappointed. Changing the admissions rules simply changes who is disappointed – it does not create more desirable places.

The admissions system is supposed to ensure allocation is fair and objective. Schools cannot "choose" children; the choice belongs to the parent. And if a school is heavily over-subscribed, the criteria and procedures for allocating places are rigorously controlled.

So is it fair to parents? Well, of course the 85% of parents nationwide who get their first choice will say yes. The 10% who get one of their typically three choices will be less convinced, and the 5% who are allocated a school they did not choose at all will give it a resounding thumbs down.

Those parents who refuse to accept their allocation can appeal. It is their "right". And some seek legal help. An appeals panel is set up by the admissions authority – the local authority or, in the case of faith, foundation, trust, academy and free schools, the governing body – which is entirely independent of the school.

The chances of success at appeal will depend on the level of oversubscription. A heavily oversubscribed school such as my own, Northampton School for Boys, has some 100 appeals for year 7 each year. Typically only about half a dozen are successful – and so far none of those that have brought a solicitor! (Perhaps the panel is worried as to perceived "fairness" if they only give places to those who can afford such support?)

Do schools think the system is fair? The current code is hugely bureaucratic. The admissions code and the appeals code together fill more than 200 pages. It is micro-management to a ludicrous degree. At least the new code – to come into effect for the next round of secondary school admissions – has been clarified, simplified and considerably shortened, but remains largely unchanged in principle.

Personally I believe that the "right to appeal" should only apply where there are grounds for an appeal, such as maladministration by the admissions authority or failure to follow procedures. Currently any disgruntled parent can appeal, using up valuable teacher time better spent in the classroom. Every April, my assistant head in charge of admissions spends five or six days attending the 100 or so appeal hearings. This means that his A-level and AS-level chemistry and GCSE science students miss his teaching at a crucial time just before their exams. What about the rights of those children deprived of specialist teaching? What if they miss a grade by the 1% that would have got them to their chosen university? The Association of School and College Leaders wants there to be an extra stage – to establish grounds – in the appeals process.

I would like to see a system whereby parents can make a case as to why their child should be allocated a place at a particular over-subscribed school, but to the school itself, which could perhaps allocate 5 or 10% of places this way. Why should a panel of three people – trained volunteers recruited by the clerk to the independent panel – with no knowledge of the school or the children be empowered to allocate places to a full school? The school is obliged to take, house and teach them. There is no appeal for the school. It is bizarre.

Until the admissions code is changed along these lines, we will continue to have disappointed and angry parents every year and schools braced for a protracted and unsatisfactory appeals process.

• If you are a teacher and would like to share your knowledge and insight by contributing to the debate on issues shaping education, visit the Guardian's Teacher Network. You can also find thousands of free teaching resources and share your own