§ Mr. SternTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many appeals against placement in secondary schools are expected for September; and what was the figure a year earlier.
§ Mr. ButcherThe results of an informal survey of local education authorities suggest there were some 6,850 appeals in respect of secondary school admissions in the calendar year 1987. No figures are available for 1988. The Department has not made any specific forecast of the likely number of such appeals in 1989 but we hope that more parents will be satisfied this year, as a result of preparations for the implementation of more open enrolment in secondary schools in September 1990.