PARENTS whose children fail the 11-plus are set to lose their right to appeal to county councillors against the decision.

County education chiefs say KCC is acting unlawfully by allowing parents to appeal to councillors in their bid to secure a place at a grammar school.

As part of the authority’s secondary schools admissions arrangements, parents are currently permitted to appeal to so-called “case panels” if their child has narrowly failed the entrance test. These panels, made up of county councillors, allow local members to present a case on behalf of parents, who cannot themselves be present at hearings.

KCC has recommended such appeals are abolished because changes in Government legislation has made them illegal. However, even if they are discontinued, parents will still retain the right to make a final appeal to a statutory independent panel.

This year, KCC’s case panels have dealt with 379 appeals but have upheld only 79. The previous year, nearly 600 appeals were heard but even fewer were upheld.

The process is considered by some to be costly and time-consuming and creates delays in the allocation of secondary places.

A final decision on whether to scrap member appeals is likely to be taken by the full council next year.