CHO -v- Governing Body of Lonsdale School and others (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Case number: AC-2025-LON-002614

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court

In the matter of an application for judicial review

11 September 2025

Before:

The Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE

Between:

CHO
(a child by his mother and litigation friend CRL)
(Claimant)

-v-

(1) Governing Body of Lonsdale School
(2) Hertfordshire County Council
(3) Secretary of State for Education
(Defendants)

Order

UPON the Claimant’s application for permission to apply for judicial review;

AND UPON the Claimant’s applications dated 21 August 2025 and 1 September 2025 for anonymity orders; expedition; case management directions; extensions of time; and to amend the Statement of Facts and Grounds;

AND UPON consideration of the Defendants’ responses to the Claimant’s applications;

AND UPON consideration of the documents lodged by the parties;

Order by the Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE

  1. Rolled-up hearing. The application for permission to apply for judicial review is adjourned to be listed as a “rolled-up” hearing. For the avoidance of doubt, the applications for extensions of time and to amend the Statement of Facts and Grounds are to be determined as preliminary issues at the rolled-up hearing. If permission is granted, the court will proceed immediately to determine the claim.
  2. The claim is to be expedited. The hearing is to be listed in mid or late November 2025 if possible, and in any event, no later than the first week in December 2025. The time estimate is 2 days. If any of the parties consider that this time estimate should be varied, they must inform the court as soon as possible.
  3. Third Defendant. The Secretary of State for Education is joined as Third Defendant, without prejudice to its submission that the challenge to the Guidance is made out of time.
  4. Anonymity. Under the Court’s inherent jurisdiction and pursuant to section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and CPR 39.2(4):
    (a) The name of the Claimant and the litigation friend is to be withheld from the public and must not be disclosed in any proceedings in public.
    (b) The Claimant is to be referred to orally and in writing as “CHO”.
    (c) The litigation friend is to be referred to orally and in writing as “CRL”.
  5. Pursuant to section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identity of the Claimant and the litigation friend or of any matter likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant and the litigation friend in any report of, or otherwise in connection with, these proceedings.
  6. Pursuant to CPR 5.4C:
    (a) Within 7 days of the date of service of this order, the parties must file and serve a redacted copy of any statement of case already filed, omitting the name, address and any other information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant;
    (b) If any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant, a redacted copy omitting that information must be filed at the same time and must then be served with the unredacted version;
    (c) Unless the Court grants permission under CPR 5.4C(6), no non- party may obtain a copy of any unredacted statement of case.

    Case Management Directions:
  7. The Claimant must, within 7 days of the date of service of this Order, file an undertaking to pay the continuation fee (see below) if permission to apply for judicial review is granted.
  8. The Defendants must, within 21 days of the date of service of this Order, file and serve (i) Detailed Grounds for contesting the claim or supporting it on additional grounds and (ii) any written evidence to be relied on.
  9. The Defendants may comply with paragraph 8 above by filing and serving a document which states that its Summary Grounds are to stand as the Detailed Grounds required by CPR 54.14.
  10. Any Reply and any application by the Claimant to serve evidence in reply must be filed and served, together with a copy of that evidence, within 7 days of the latest date on which the Defendants serve their Detailed Grounds and evidence.
  11. The Claimant must file and serve an agreed hearing bundle not less than 21 days before the date of the hearing. The electronic version of the bundle must be prepared and lodged by the Claimant, in accordance with the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide Chapter 21 and the Guidance on the Administrative Court website, not less than 21 days before the date of the substantive hearing. The Claimant must also lodge a hard-copy version of the hearing bundle at the Administrative Court Office, not less than 21 days before the date of the hearing.
  12. The Claimant must file and serve a Skeleton Argument not less than 21 days before the date of the substantive hearing.
  13. The Defendants, and any Interested Parties, must file and serve their Skeleton Arguments not less than 14 days before the date of the substantive hearing.
  14. The Claimant must file and serve an agreed authorities bundle not less than 7 days before the date of the hearing. An electronic version of the bundle must be prepared and lodged by the Claimant in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website, not less than 7 days before the date of the hearing. A hard-copy version of the bundle must be lodged at the Administrative Court Office, not less than 7 days before the date of the hearing.

Reasons

  1. The ongoing issues in this claim directly affect the education currently provided to pupils at this special needs school, and therefore ought to be resolved as a matter of urgency. Therefore I have ordered an expedited rolled-up hearing, where the contested preliminary issues will be determined. Realistically, the Third Defendant has had to be joined at this stage.
  2. I have abridged standard case management directions to achieve
    expedition.
  3. I have directed that the hearing should take place in mid or late November if possible, and in any event no later than the first week in December 2025, with a time estimate of 2 days.
  4. Anonymity orders have been made as the Claimant is a minor.

Signed: Mrs Justice Lang

Dated: 11 September 2025