Parents in England won 20,540 appeals against decisions not to give school places to their children in 2005-06.

This represented a slight fall in the number of successful appeals from the previous year.

But there was a sharp rise in the number of complaints about primary school admissions, the figures from the Department for Education and Skills showed.

Parents made 14,930 appeals to independent panels against decisions to refuse their children primary school places last year.

This was up from 13,600 a year earlier - an increase of more than 1,300, or about 10%.

And more appeals over primary school admissions were decided in favour of the parents.

The figures showed that parents won 5,390 appeals against decisions to refuse to give primary school places to their children in 2005-06, compared with 4,700 the previous year.

Schools minister Jim Knight welcomed the overall decline in appeals heard by panels - down from more than 59,000 in 2004-05 to 56,590.

He said: "We already know most children get a place at their first choice school and today's figures show that the vast majority of parents are satisfied with the schools their children are admitted to. I share every parent's desire to get their child into the school they want - young people deserve no less."