Here we reveal how likely parents in each south east London borough are to win an appeal over their child's selected school - compared with other parts of the country:

In the North East’s County Durham, the rate was 48%, while in the London borough of Kensington, just 3% of appeals were won.

Matt Richards, founder of law firm schoolappeals.com, said the urban landscape of an area could be a factor in the variation in success rates.

He said cases in urbanised areas of London were more likely to feature parents simply wanting their child to be placed in a better school, but in rural areas with schools more than five miles apart, it could be down to logistical reasons.

But he added: "It can also be down to the training and advice given to independent panel members which they stick to for their decisions."

Schools follow the Government's admission code when deciding which pupils to allocate places to each year.

When a parent is unhappy about an allocation, such as not achieving their first-place preference, an appeal can be submitted to the school's admissions authority.

That can go to an independent appeal panel which then assesses whether the school was right to turn down the application.

Across England, the number of appeals heard fell sharply last year, from 48,100 in 2019-20 to 41,100 in 2020-21.

Bexley

Parents in Bexley are much less likely to win an appeal over their child's selected school than in other parts of the country, figures reveal.

In Bexley, parents took 121 cases against their child’s school placement for the 2020-21 academic year to an appeal hearing, with nine successful – a win rate of 7%.

The success rate was on a par with the year before and far lower than the national average of 19%.

When a parent is unhappy about an allocation, such as not achieving their first-place preference, an appeal can be submitted to the school's admissions authority.

That can go to an independent appeal panel which then assesses whether the school was right to turn down the application.

In Bexley, 84% of pupil applicants were offered a first-choice school place last year.

The number of appeals heard equated to 1.5% of all admissions, up from 1.4% the previous year.

Of the appeal outcomes, parents of primary school-age pupils were more likely to win than those of secondary school pupils, with a success rate of 29% compared to 6%.

Bromley

Parents in Bromley are much less likely to win an appeal over their child's selected school than in other parts of the country, figures reveal.

In Bromley, parents took 143 cases against their child’s school placement for the 2020-21 academic year to an appeal hearing, with 11 successful – a win rate of 8%.

The success rate was down from the year before, when it was 13%, and far lower than the national average of 19%.

In Bromley, 79% of pupil applicants were offered a first-choice school place last year.

The number of appeals heard equated to 1.4% of all admissions, down from 1.6% the previous year.

Of the outcomes, parents of secondary school-age pupils were more likely to win than those of primary school pupils, with a success rate of 9% compared to 4%.

Greenwich

Parents in Greenwich are much less likely to win an appeal over their child's selected school than in other parts of the country, figures reveal.

In Greenwich, parents took 222 cases against their child’s school placement for the 2020-21 academic year to an appeal hearing, with 15 successful – a win rate of 7%.

That was the lowest success rate since comparable records began in 2015-16 and far lower than the national average of 19%.

In Greenwich, 78% of pupil applicants were offered a first-choice school place last year.

The number of appeals heard equated to 2.9% of all admissions, down from 3.3% the previous year.

Of the outcomes, parents of secondary school-age pupils were more likely to win than those of primary school pupils, with a success rate of 9% compared to 2%.

Lewisham

The proportion of parents in Lewisham winning an appeal over their child's selected school fell last year, figures reveal.

Department for Education data shows in Lewisham, parents took 85 cases against their child’s school placement for the 2020-21 academic year to an appeal hearing, with seven successful – a win rate of 8%.

The success rate was down from the year before, when it was 11%, and far lower than the national average of 19%.

Parents are facing a postcode lottery for appeals across England, the figures show, with wide variation in success rates between local authorities.

In Lewisham, 74% of pupil applicants were offered a first-choice school place last year.

The number of appeals heard equated to 1.3% of all admissions, down from 1.7% the previous year.

Of the outcomes, parents of secondary school-age pupils were more likely to win than those of primary school pupils, with a success rate of 9% compared to 7%.

The DfE said measures were put in place to let parents to appeal during the pandemic.

These included allowing appeals hearings to be held by telephone or video conference, or be decided on the basis of written submissions.

The Local Government Association said it could not comment on specific appeal hearings.

But a spokesperson said: "Every child should have a fair chance of getting into their parents’ preferred school and councils and schools work extremely hard to try and ensure that as many pupils as possible are allocated their first preference.”

A Department for Education said with an increase in schools found to be "good" or "outstanding" by Ofsted inspectors since 2010, parents could be "confident their child will get the high-quality education they deserve".

A spokesperson added: "School admissions appeal panels are independent bodies and make decisions on an individual basis, without admission authority involvement in the decision.

“The number of appeals heard in each area varies widely, so the number of successful appeals cannot be meaningfully compared as the volume can impact the success rate of appeals.”

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.