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is it worth it

Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 4:27 am
by kazoco
Daughter got VR 134,NVR 140,M 106. failed head teacher appeal. some class mates got lower VR and NVR (but just over 120) and only 4 or 6 more points on Maths and passed headteacher appeal and got place at Grammar.

Is this fair and is it worth an appeal?

Do i appeal direct to Grammar school, thought I couldn't as failed 11+ where do I start?

low maths mark

Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:09 am
by unsure
Contact admissions section at Kent CC education to get full and up to date information on your rights at this stage, how to appeal etc.

Look on the appeals section for advice on how to construct a good appeal if you decide to go ahead. But don't count on succeeding and put some effort into getting you child into the best non-selective you can.

Did the headteacher appeal take place for your child? I thought headteachers only appealed when marks were pretty close to the boundary, and your maths mark is not.

Do you have reason to believe that your child is in the top 20% or so of the population for maths and the test score of 106 was due to poor performance on the day, and do you have some reasons for this? And was your child prepared or tutored at all for the types of question that come up on the Kent 11+ maths paper?

It is no use looking at the test score and saying that your child only fell a few marks short of those who received a selective assessment on headteacher appeal. The scores are based on a "bell curve" - like a standard distribution curve with many more children having scores around 100 than at either ends of the curve. e.g. there would be very few children scoring between 134 and 140 compared with the large numbers of children scoring between 100 and 106.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but this is the sort of critical thinking you need to do to make your mind up rather than just seeing that someone else got through on headteacher appeal with a slightly higher score in their failed paper and feeling that it is unjust so how about an appeal.

Hope this helps.

Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:47 pm
by kazoco
Thank you for your really sound advice.

I now have to count myself extremely lucky as today my daughter got offered a place in a fantastic independant school. I didn't think we would be so fortunate and so was preparing to do battle to get the best alternative that we could hence my previous question but luck has smiled on us and her future is now secure.

It came right for us in the end and I know how very very lucky we are,having been through the emotional turmoil that this system brings I wish everyone the best of luck in their fights for their childrens education.