PARENTS in Merseyside face a “postcode lottery” if they appeal after being refused the secondary school place of their choice, new figures show.

They are roughly twice as likely to succeed in Sefton and Knowsley as in Liverpool or St Helens, where the majority of appeals are thrown out.

Wirral parents are also odds-on to lose a challenge to the local education authority (LEA) decision, but those in Cheshire, Halton and Warrington have a good chance of winning, the statistics reveal.

Meanwhile, the postcode lottery is even more stark at primary level, where the chances of winning an appeal range from 61.8% in Sefton to just 8.3% in Liverpool.

The Conservatives leapt on the figures, for the 2006-07 school year, as evidence that the Government was simply “divvying up a limited number of good school places” – instead of creating more good schools.

But schools minister Jim Knight said he was already introducing a mandatory appeals code, which would make the process “more impartial, independent and transparent”.

The annual statistics were published amid increasing focus on the struggle of many parents to get their child into their preferred school, particularly at secondary level.

At the same time, there has been an explosion in internet advice services, offering expert help to overturn an LEA’s decision on appeal.

The figures show that, at secondary level, the best chance of success was in Knowsley (62.5% of appeals won) although the number of appeals was very small, at just eight. Parents could also be reasonably confident of winning in Cheshire (60.9%), Warrington (58.2%), Sefton (53.8%) and Halton (51.2%), according to the department for children, schools and families (DCFS).

But they were odds-on to lose in Wirral (39.6%), Liverpool (30.2%) and St Helens (22.6%). The average success rate across England was just 35.3%.

The odds are a double blow for Wirral parents, because figures in March showed only three-quarters are successful with their first-pick school in the first place, the lowest proportion in the region.

Mr Knight said the statistics showed the system was "working for parents", with more than 94% of secondary places not the subject of an appeal.

He added: “I want every child to have a fair and equal chance of getting into a school, regardless of background.

“That's why we have toughened up enforcement of unlawful arrangements and made the appeals process even more transparent.”

But Nick Gibb, the Tory schools spokesman, said: “Rather than divvying up a limited number of good school places, the Conservatives will concentrate on increasing the number of good schools.”

And the Advisory Centre for Education, an organisation which helps with appeals, said the government was heightening anxiety by misleading parents about “choice”.

Simon Hepburn, its chief executive, said: “Many parents believe they have a choice about which school their child goes to. The system does not provide a choice, it is based instead on preference.”

OPINION: PAGE 6