CKT -v- The Office of the School Adjudicator (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtCivilHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Case number: AC-2025-LON-000422

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

In the matter of an application for judicial review

21 March 2025

Before:

The King
on the application of
CKT
(Claimant)

-v-

The Office of the School Adjudicator
(Defendant)

and

(1) Twyford Church of England Academies Trust
(2) London Diocesan Board for Schools
(Interested Parties)

Order

Notification of Judge’s Decision (CPR 54.11, 54.12)

Following consideration of the documents filed by the Claimant, the Defendant’s Acknowledgement of Service and Summary Grounds of Defence and the Claimant’s Reply

ORDER BY THE HON. MR JUSTICE CALVER

  1. Permission to apply for judicial review: Permission is granted on the single ground advanced.

2. Expedition: The Claimant’s application for expedition is refused.

3. Extension of time: To the extent it is necessary, the Court grants the Defendant an extension of time under CPR 3.1(2)(a) until 19 February 2025 for the service of their Acknowledgment of Service and Summary Grounds of Resistance.

4. Anonymity:

(a) Pursuant to CPR 39.2(4) and/or the Court’s inherent jurisdiction and/or s. 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998:

(i) the names of the Claimant and her eldest son are to be withheld from the public and must not be disclosed in any proceedings in public; and
(ii)the Claimant is to be referred to orally and in writing as CKT; her eldest son is to be referred to orally and in writing as DGT.

(b) Pursuant to s. 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and s. 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, there must be no publication of the identity of the Claimant and her eldest son or of any matter likely to lead to the identification of them in any report of, or otherwise in connection with, these proceedings.

(c) Pursuant to CPR 5.4C(4):

(i) the parties must within 7 days file a redacted copy of any statement of case filed, omitting the name, address and any other information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant or her eldest son;

(ii) if any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant or her eldest son, a redacted copy omitting that information must be filed at the same time;

(iii) unless the Court grants permission under CPR 5.4C(6), no non-party many obtain a copy of any unredacted statement of case.

(d) Any person wishing to vary or discharge this Order must make an application, served on each party.

  1. Case Management Directions:

(a) This claim shall be joined with Claim AC-2024-LON-002899, permission to apply for judicial review having been granted in that case also.

(b)The Defendant must, within 35 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.

(c)The Defendant may comply with sub-paragraph (b)(i) 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.

(d) Any application by the Claimant to serve evidence in reply must be filed and served, together with a copy of that evidence, within 21 days of the date on which the Defendant serves evidence pursuant to (b) above.

(e) The parties must agree, together with any other parties in Claim AC-2024-LON- 002899, the contents of the hearing bundle. An electronic version of the bundle must be prepared and lodged, in accordance with the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide Chapter 21 and the Guidance on the Administrative Court website, not less than 28 days before the date of the substantive hearing. The parties must, if requested by the Court, lodge 2 hard-copy versions of the hearing bundle.

(f) The Claimant must file and serve a Skeleton Argument (maximum 25 pages), complying with CPR 54 PD para. 15 and the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide paras 20.1 to 20.3, not less than 21 days before the date of the substantive hearing.

(g) The Defendant must file and serve a Skeleton Argument (maximum 25 pages), complying with CPR 54 PD para. 15 and the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide paras 20.1 to 20.3, not less than 14 days before the date of the substantive hearing.

(h) The parties (together with any other parties in Claim AC-2024-LON-002899) must agree the contents of a bundle containing the authorities to be referred to at the hearing. An electronic version of the bundle must be prepared in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties must, if requested by the Court, prepare a hard-copy version of the authorities bundle. The electronic version of the bundle and if requested, the hard copy version of the bundle, must be lodged with the Court not less than 7 days before the date of the substantive hearing.

(i) The time estimate for the substantive hearing of this claim and joined claim AC- 2024-LON-002899 is 2 days. If either party considers that this time estimate should be varied, they must inform the court as soon as possible.

OBSERVATIONS AND REASONS

(1) The grounds for judicial review are arguable.

(2) However, expedition is not justified. The First Claimant’s eldest child now attends another school within the Trust, namely Ada Lovelace High School and does not wish to attend Twyford Church of England Academy (“the School”). The Claimant’s middle child will not yet have applied for a place at the School for the 2026/27 year. There is nonetheless a practical point to the claim for the reasons set out in paragraph 2 of the Claimant’s Reply.

(3) This claim should be joined with Claim AC-2024-LON-002899. The Claimants accept that “there is a very substantial overlap in the subject matter of both claims”, and they “both concern the lawfulness of the admission arrangements for the [School]” which are set by the Twyford Church of England Academies Trust (see Eversheds Sutherland’s letter dated 11.02.25). Whilst the court is mindful of keeping costs to a minimum, the Twyford Church of England Academies Trust is a party to both claims (albeit as an Interested Party in this claim). Hearing both claims together rather than separately will reduce costs.

Signed: Mr Justice Calver

Date: 21 March 2025