successfully defending a judicial review
the challenge:
A mother appealed to the admissions appeals panel following the
refusal of her son’s application for a place at a popular voluntary
aided secondary school. When the appeal failed the mother sought a
judicial review of the decision. We were instructed by the school
and the diocese (a named interested party) to defend the
proceedings.
our approach:
Priority was given to resolve the legal challenge as quickly and
cost-effectively as possible. Robust grounds of resistance were
served, stating that the application for Judicial Review was
brought out of time and there were no grounds to challenge the
decision. To minimise costs a request was submitted for the matter
to be heard on the papers instead of a full hearing.
the results:
A successful defence, with our request for the matter to be
heard on paper saving all parties the cost of a full hearing. The
school was awarded a portion of their costs and were not required
to admit the pupil allowing them to maintain their preferred
teaching ratio and reputation for high standards.