Appeals for Slough grammars
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Appeals for Slough grammars
Here's a few bits of information that I have gathered from friends who appealed last year and from this forum.
- The appeals for St Bernard are held separately from those for Langley/Slough/Herschel.
- The appeals take place after allocoation day (1st March)
- Unlike in Bucks, the letter giving the result is also an offer for a place, if appropriate. If the appeal is for Langley/Slough/Herschel, the offer is for the highest preference school that isn't full.
The distinction between selection appeal and allocation appeal is a bit of a blur in Slough, and the process is far from being transparent.
Here's a quote from Etienne about appeals and foundation schools in general.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... nswers.php
Best of luck
- The appeals for St Bernard are held separately from those for Langley/Slough/Herschel.
- The appeals take place after allocoation day (1st March)
- Unlike in Bucks, the letter giving the result is also an offer for a place, if appropriate. If the appeal is for Langley/Slough/Herschel, the offer is for the highest preference school that isn't full.
The distinction between selection appeal and allocation appeal is a bit of a blur in Slough, and the process is far from being transparent.
Here's a quote from Etienne about appeals and foundation schools in general.
That said, Etienne's advice is very relevant to Slough, and it is worth reading this whole thread as well as the appeal Q&As.Etienne wrote:It's interesting that, nationally, a lot of foundation schools seem to avoid publishing their appeals procedure on their website. Often all they say is "details available on request"!
Even when they do publish the arrangements, it's not always clear how they handle the two different aspects to the appeal, i.e. the appeal against non-qualification, and the appeal against the school being full.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... nswers.php
Best of luck
-
Boanerges
Appeals in Slough-reply to Etienne
Etienne is wrong and her quote should be discounted.
A separate Appeals Panel sits for the Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools. It is comprised of people who have no direct connection with any of the Slough Grammar Schools. Representatives from the grammar school in question may sit on the panel but they are rarely invited to comment. The independent panel comes to its own conclusions based on the evidence presentaed. There is guidance which is published in the letter that goes out to parents once they have written to Pangbourne to request an appeal.
Please don't think for a moment that Appeals are held in headteacher's study. This is a nonsense.
A separate Appeals Panel sits for the Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools. It is comprised of people who have no direct connection with any of the Slough Grammar Schools. Representatives from the grammar school in question may sit on the panel but they are rarely invited to comment. The independent panel comes to its own conclusions based on the evidence presentaed. There is guidance which is published in the letter that goes out to parents once they have written to Pangbourne to request an appeal.
Please don't think for a moment that Appeals are held in headteacher's study. This is a nonsense.
-
Erica
I am sure that Etienne would agree that her experience (in Bucks?) doesn't make her an expert on all appeals everywhere. Whilst her opinions are valid to many there are going to be some areas that she will have no knowledge of. I don't think there is any need to 'challenge' new posts. That is what makes this such a great forum.
Dear Erica
This forum is great and is used by many parents to gain information. Etienne posts with the utmost integrity. Boanerges has posted a comment disagreeing with Etienne. Parents will now be confused , who is correct?
I know Etiennes credentials, if I am to believe Boanerges [an unknown poster] I need to know if he/she is talking factually or just voicing an opinion.
Patricia
This forum is great and is used by many parents to gain information. Etienne posts with the utmost integrity. Boanerges has posted a comment disagreeing with Etienne. Parents will now be confused , who is correct?
I know Etiennes credentials, if I am to believe Boanerges [an unknown poster] I need to know if he/she is talking factually or just voicing an opinion.
Patricia
Dear Boanerges
The quotation comes from a thread which was about a Lincolnshire foundation school, and the failure to respond to a parent's request for information about its appeals system.
However, I wasn't accusing the Lincolnshire foundation school of anything - even less the Slough schools!
Catherine is a respected poster on this forum and can speak for herself, but if you read my quotation again, and also my comments in the Q&As, it should be obvious that I was talking in general terms about the standard of appeals in some foundation schools.
Why do you think that, nationally (let me repeat that word - nationally), the percentage of successful foundation school appeals is regularly over 10% worse than for local authority schools?
Why do you think that the ombudsman, in his special report on appeals, wrote: "We have observed differences in performance between LEAs and other admission authorities ..... we found faults proportionately in virtually twice as many cases involving other admission authorities as compared with cases involving LEAs (39% and 20% respectively)."
It's good to hear you say that the appeal panel for the Slough Consortium "is comprised of people who have no direct connection with any of the Slough Grammar Schools". Well, that's a relief! - But who appoints them, I wonder, and on what basis?
Why do you then muddy the waters by saying "Representatives from the grammar school in question may sit on the panel ......."? I don't believe that to be true for one second, and confusing who sits on a panel with who attends a hearing is the sort of basic error made by someone who posted on this forum under his own name earlier in the year .......
The quotation comes from a thread which was about a Lincolnshire foundation school, and the failure to respond to a parent's request for information about its appeals system.
However, I wasn't accusing the Lincolnshire foundation school of anything - even less the Slough schools!
Catherine is a respected poster on this forum and can speak for herself, but if you read my quotation again, and also my comments in the Q&As, it should be obvious that I was talking in general terms about the standard of appeals in some foundation schools.
Why do you think that, nationally (let me repeat that word - nationally), the percentage of successful foundation school appeals is regularly over 10% worse than for local authority schools?
Why do you think that the ombudsman, in his special report on appeals, wrote: "We have observed differences in performance between LEAs and other admission authorities ..... we found faults proportionately in virtually twice as many cases involving other admission authorities as compared with cases involving LEAs (39% and 20% respectively)."
It's good to hear you say that the appeal panel for the Slough Consortium "is comprised of people who have no direct connection with any of the Slough Grammar Schools". Well, that's a relief! - But who appoints them, I wonder, and on what basis?
Why do you then muddy the waters by saying "Representatives from the grammar school in question may sit on the panel ......."? I don't believe that to be true for one second, and confusing who sits on a panel with who attends a hearing is the sort of basic error made by someone who posted on this forum under his own name earlier in the year .......
Etienne
Dear Erica
There is a national framework for appeals, set out in the code of practice. I accept that there can be local variations, but these should not go so far as to breach the guidance.
I have justified my reservations about foundation schools by quoting the ombudsman above.
Of the 42 sections I have written in the Q&As, which ones would be considered inapplicable in your particular area?
Regards
There is a national framework for appeals, set out in the code of practice. I accept that there can be local variations, but these should not go so far as to breach the guidance.
I have justified my reservations about foundation schools by quoting the ombudsman above.
Of the 42 sections I have written in the Q&As, which ones would be considered inapplicable in your particular area?
Regards
Etienne
