GFN -v- St Mary’s and St John’s Church of England School (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: AC-2026-LON-000280

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

22 January 2026

Before:

THE HON. MR JUSTICE CHAMBERLAIN

Between:

THE KING on the application of
GFN (by her litigation friend GIG)

-v-

(1) ST MARY’S AND ST JOHN’S CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL
(2) BARNET EDUCATION AND LEARNING SERVICES

and

STEPHEN PAYNE (EDUCATION APPEALS DOTCOM LTD)
(Interested Party)

Order

On an application by the Claimant for urgent consideration, interim relief and directions

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant

ORDER BY THE HON. MR JUSTICE CHAMBERLAIN

  1. 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 Claimant’s name is 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 GFN;
    (iii) the claimant’s litigation friend is to be referred to orally and in writing as GIG.
    (b) Pursuant to s. 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identity of the Claimant or her litigation friend or of any matter likely to lead to the identification of either 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 litigation friend;
    (ii) if any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant or her litigation friend, 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.
  2. Response as to status of Interested Party:
    (a) Pursuant to CPR 19.2(3), the Interested Party is to cease to be a party unless by 4pm on 5 February 2026 the Claimant explains in writing why the Interested Party is “directly affected” in the sense described in para. 3.2.3.1 of the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide.
    (b) If such an explanation is filed by that time, the question whether the Interested Party is to cease to be a party is to be determined on paper together with the question of permission and interim relief (see paragraph 3 below).
  3. Abridgement of time and expedition:
    (a) The Defendant’s Acknowledgement of Service (CPR 54.8), together with any response to the application for interim relief, must be filed and served by 4pm on 5 February 2026.
    (b) Any Reply from the Claimant (CPR 54.8A) must be filed, together with any reply to the Defendant’s submissions on interim relief, must be filed and served by 4pm on 9 February 2026.
    (c) The papers are to be referred to a judge or deputy judge immediately thereafter and in any event by 13 February 2026 for a decision as to:
    (i) permission to apply for judicial review; (ii) interim relief; and (iii) if the Claimant has filed an explanation pursuant to para. 2(a) above, the status of the Interested Party

Reasons

(1) Anonymity: The Claimant is a child. The claim relies on sensitive details about her educational record. These matters constitute compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the principle of open justice in paragraph 1 of this Order.
(2) Response as to status of Interested Party: The Interested Party appears to be an individual working for a service company which provides clerking and administrative support for appeal hearings. It is not obvious why this individual or this company is “directly affected” by the claim in the relevant sense.
(3) Adjournment of permission to a hearing: The Claimant is not currently receiving education. That makes a degree of expedition appropriate. However, the Claimant waited for a month after the result of dismissal of the appeal by the Appeal Panel before sending a letter before claim and the relief sought may impact on third parties (in particular any other child to whom the First Defendant has offered or proposes to offer the place initially offered to the Claimant). In any event, the timetable suggested by the Claimant would not allow a sufficient time for the Defendants to respond. The directions in para. 3 of this Order strike the appropriate balance between the interests of the parties and of third parties potentially affected by the claim.