§ Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many appeals he had sent to him regarding the placement of children in secondary and grammar schools; how many of the appeals were successful; how many were refused; and on what grounds.
§ Mr. Goodhart[pursuant to his reply, 13 November 1979]: My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for education received 82 appeals from parents in respect of the placing of their children in secondary schools under the 1978–79 transfer procedure. Further consideration of these cases by the boards concerned led to 21 of these cases being resolved to the satisfaction of parents. The nature of the appeals differed substantially from case to case but in none of them was it considered that the board concerned had acted unreasonably.