Has anyone had luck with school appeals?

Nope and unless it's banning school prayer I don't think you will..

More often then not it is unsuccessful, however I have heard of a couple of people winning. You do however need a strong case. My neighbour got in to a good school on appeal as for religeous reasons she wanted an all girls school for her daughter - even though we are out of catchment area. My daughter got her appeal through on health grounds as she was offered a school with a three bus journey and she is bad with asthma, allergies etc. and the journey particularly in winter would have done her in!! Try it, its worth a punt.

I think in general, when a school has made it's mind up, that is final. They don't want to look vulnerable or have their position of power undermined, and are very unlikely to change their minds. I sat on a board of governors for a while at a primary school, and any appeals that came up had a foregone conclusion- the head had made his decision, and who were we to question him. The school had to portray a united front. I left the governors as I felt unable to make any contribution to the running of the school- what the Head says goes. I also had to complain to governors/ appeal school decisions for my daughter at Secondary school, and came up against the same problem. No-one was willing to listen to what I had to say or question the validity of the Heads decision. Don't let that put you off though. It is worth sticking to your guns and standing up for your principles- for your own peace of mind if nothing else. You could be lucky and make a difference. You never know, there might be someone with a conscience on the panel! Try and garner as much support as you can from outside bodies such as Education Welfare officers, Citizens advice bureau, Community Law Centres etc. Having professionals on your side can make all the difference.