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We have just received the fabulous news that we have achieved the impossible and won our infant class size appeal! We would not have been able to do this without John's expert help and advice. John attended the hearing with us and his wealth of knowledge and expertise far outweighed that of the LA's representative, thus proving that errors had been made and the published admission criteria had not been properly implemented and in some parts was in breach of the Schools Admissions Code. John was expertly prepared and put our case forward in a way which we could never have done, asking questions of the Admission Authority which we would have known nothing about. I cannot recommend John highly enough... a massive thankyou and a rewarding end to months of anguish!!
Dawn & Nick Corbett on Tuesday, 13th July 2010

I would just like to say how helpful and supportive John has been throughout our appeal. Without him I wouldn`t have known where to start. He has an incredible knowledge when it comes to the admissions procedures and what chance you have winning an appeal. It has been an extremely stressful time and John is well worth every penny! Thank you! Emma :)
Emma Holgate on Friday, 9th July 2010

We have just won our appeal for our son's primary school place with the help of John. Although, by the time it came to the appeal we were confident that we would win (the school were supporting not opposing our case), John's advice helped us underdstand the admissions process much more clearly and as a result we felt that we went to appeal having prepared the strongest case possible, which was very reassuring during a stressful time. The service from John was excellent, he was always available on the phone and emails were answered clearly and promptly. We would recommend his services to anyone who decides to appeal against the school allocation they have been given.
Lisa Willis on Thursday, 8th July 2010

We have just won a year 3 place for our daughter and have been really pleased with the help and support that John provided. I would definitely recommend his excellent service!
Emma and Jake Robson on Sunday, 4th July 2010

We have recently won an appeal which we wouldn't have done without John Chard's help. He was able to prepare us fully to put our appeal to the panel and be able to question and challenge them with points I would never have thought of myself. Getting our son into a brilliant school has been the highlight of out family's year and paves the way for our other 2 children in later years. The best money I ever spent and so reasonable! THANK YOU. From Stephen and Eithne
Eithne Deignan on Tuesday, 29th June 2010

We just won the appeal for a year 3 place for our son. Without John\'s help, we haven\'t got a clue where to begin. Excellent work and thank you very much
anthony on Friday, 25th June 2010

We recently found out we won our appeal for our daughter, thanks in no small part to John\'s help. We had no idea how to even begin building a case but John guided us through the process, advising us about what to bring up before the appeal panel to build our case and how best to present our case. We couldn\'t be happier and, more importantly, our daughter is absolutely delighted. Thank you John.
Grainne & Alan Jones on Thursday, 24th June 2010

John Chard helped us with our appeal for a secondary school place for our daughter. He was extremely knowledgeable about the entire admissions and appeal process, and helped us to know exactly what to expect. He carefully reviewed all the arguments we had put together ourselves, suggested numerous important points to raise, and helped us to respond effectively to the school's statement. We recently learned that our appeal was successful, and we are very grateful to John for his helpful and professional support throughout the process.
Robin on Monday, 21st June 2010

Using your book I raised questions at the start of the appeal regarding the school's statement.The panel agreed it was incomplete and granted our appeal and all the others.The best investment I've ever made!
Mike Maynard on Monday, 14th June 2010

Dear John Yesterday we received notification that our appeal has been upheld – we are absolutely delighted and frankly very surprised given the number of appeals! Many thanks to you for the work you did for us and the ‘out of hours’ advice you gave us (which truly makes it ‘unlimited support’ in my book), it really is most appreciated. We really are most grateful.
Ian & Sarah Dunn on Friday, 4th June 2010

We used John's book "Your School, Your Choice" to help prepare our application as best we could, but nothing could prepare us for the enormous number of applications in our daughter’s year which left 11 families with children already at the school without places for their Rising 5s. After being allocated our 3rd choice school, we contacted John and his reply was immediate and advice invaluable. My husband is a solicitor and held his hands up at the minefield surrounding the school admissions process - we needed an expert. John helped us to stay on track and focus on what was going to matter, rather than our knee jerk reaction of dwelling on the emotional aspects of our case. He reviewed our appeal case carefully, and came with us on the day, presenting our case clearly and factually - just what the panel wanted. We found going through a School Appeal a surprisingly traumatic experience (nothing can prepare one for a panel of strangers talking completely dispassionately about something that matters so much to ones family) and John was an enormous help, very professional and quick to reply to our emails and telephone calls. We would recommend his services unreservedly. Our appeal was the only successful Infant Class Size Appeal out of 9 families appealing for a place at our preferred school . It is possible to win an “Infant Class Size Appeal” after all!
J and G Morgan on Monday, 10th May 2010

We moved house during the Primary School application process and ended up with a house in an area where all the local school places had been filled. John was incredibly supportive and answered all phone calls and e-mails promptly in person. In the end the local school agreed to take my daughter and the appeal was averted. However I am confident that, had it gone to appeal, we would have given it our best shot due to John's thorough knowledge of the system. It took the stress out of what was a very difficult time for us. John immediately gave us a partial refund of his fee (minus expenses for work done). We would definitely recommend his services.
Joanna Green on Friday, 19th March 2010

We were lucky to be successful in our appeal to have a place for our children recently at a popular school and had a big psychological relief. We have no doubt to say that John's contribution has been immense. Our understanding of the appeal process changed the day we approached the school appeals. Despite intense study on the subject it was not until the day we heard John's approach to the issue. We will always remember the help and assistance we had from John Chard in this stressful time.
Fazal Akbar on Wednesday, 16th December 2009

We have just won our school admissions appeal for entry at key stage 2. I have no doubt whatsoever that John’s help will always vastly increase your chances of winning the appeal. He is extremely knowledgeable about the appeal Code but additionally he understands very well how schools and local education authorities work. Critically he understands how appeal panels think and what matters to them. He helped us with an admissions appeal in the summer. That appeal failed, however John spotted that the appeal had not been conducted correctly. With his help we complained to the Local Government Ombudsman who came down on our side. A new appeal was held which we won. John helps you present your personal case in the best way but where he really makes an enormous difference is with challenging the local authority’s case. This is an area where I think many parents wouldn’t even think of going, but it is absolutely critical. Throughout the period John always answered emails promptly and was always very happy to discuss issues on the phone. John is worth every penny and if you are considering appealing I can not recommend him highly enough.
Charles on Friday, 11th December 2009

I had spent weeks worrying about the forthcoming appeal. I had little idea what direction to go in as I felt it wasn’t a straightforward case. It was a mid- year application for year 7. The school I now wanted my daughter to go to was a Catholic school which I hadn’t put down on my list of choices last October. The school year was full – how was I ever going to convince a panel to accept an additional pupil? I felt desperate, not knowing whether I would even seem credible to an appeal panel. Then I came across John Chard’s website. He immediately put me at ease. It was obvious that he really knew his stuff and that I would have the best possible chance of succeeding. He prepared a great case focusing on many aspects of the school’s case against my daughter and questioning their accuracy. As a parent it is relatively OK to defend your child on the emotional part i.e. if they are unhappy, have been bullied etc. as was the case with my daughter. But there is a whole other side which I could never have contemplated and would not have been able to present without help from John. The best part was telling my 11 year old daughter that our appeal was successful and seeing her smile for the first time in ages. The impact of an unhappy child can be devastating on a family. But that is all in the past now as she will be starting her new school in a matter of days – big thank you goes to John.
Susan Hegedus on Monday, 30th November 2009

We were in the unfortunate position of having to move our daughter into another secondary school at the end of year 7. We approached John and he was able to support us through a long and arduous social and medical appeal. It was his help that ensured that our case was compelling and ultimately successful. My daughter is now undertaking her year 8 studies in a more suitable school. Thank you John for your huge contribution to this.
Colin Williams on Monday, 9th November 2009

After our initial Appeal had failed for a yeay 7 place at a Secondary school, we were guided by John through the Local Government Ombudsman process and granted a second Appeal. John prepared the case to the highest order always responding promptly to e-mails and phone calls. We won our Appeal at the second attempt with Johns help, our only regret was we did not seek his advice first time around. I highly recommend John Chard, God bless you John, Mr & Mrs Bagan, 8.10.09 liverpool.
Dan Bagan on Saturday, 10th October 2009

We appealed for a year 7 place at a faith secondary school last year unsuccessfully, after having sort the full proffesional advice and representation of another schools appeals service. This year we approached john chard and opted for a more limited and considerably less expensive service without representation. despite this the service we recieved from john was vastly superior. John was always available or responded promptly to e mails or phone calls and always kept us up to date on his whereabouts and contactability at what was an extremely busy time of year. He helped us prepare our case again and his advice on how to present it most effectively was invaluable. his technical knowledge and advice enabled us to go into our appeal feeling we could not have been better prepared. We won our appeal at the second attempt. We cannot recommend john chard highly enough, Thank you john.
clive and sarah on Saturday, 19th September 2009

We've just heard the news that our daughter has got a place at her preferred school and are absolutely delighted. Its been a long hard process with several setbacks along the way, but at each step John was there to give us advice and guidance. Without John we would just not have understood what our options were and what the most effective next step was. He helped us write letters, construct our appeal and clearly explained all the things we needed to know. We owe him a great deal and I would strongly advise anyone who faces the prospect of an appeal to make the most of Johns expertise. It really could be the decisive factor.
M & S Brown on Wednesday, 16th September 2009

We sought out John after our initial appeal for a primary school place for our daughter failed. He explained what avenues were available to us, and supported us in writing a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman. John’s thorough knowledge of the Admissions Code enabled us to clearly explain what we felt had gone wrong, and as a consequence we gained a second hearing due to the maladministration of the first. The whole process of going to appeal is emotional and highly stressful, no matter what anyone says to try to put you at your ease. John prepared our case meticulously, assembling the facts and questioning the Local Education Authority prior to the hearing in order to have access to every available detail that could be used. He accompanied us to our appeal hearing and helped put forward our case by highlighting the weaknesses in the Authority’s arguments. John’s in -depth knowledge of the Admissions Code proved to be invaluable. We were delighted to hear that our appeal was successful and would recommend John to anyone finding themselves in the unfortunate position that we were in. Our daughter is thrilled to be going to school with her friends, and that has made it all worthwhile. Thank you John!
Tom and Allie on Monday, 31st August 2009