11 Plus Exams Forum

Had difficult time in our house,October born son was devastated to recieve 119 first test,115 second.( Only just recovering myself.) He is desperate for us to appeal. Have been wading through all the excellent advice from Q & A's and other posts.
Have spoken to Head and have excellent summary,1:1,
NFER Reading ages Yr3 11.06, Yr4 13.02, Yr5 14.04
Optional SATS Yr 4 Yr5
Maths 4a 5b
Reading 4a 5b
Writing 3a 5c
Predicted 5a's at KS2
Very strong support from head.
My school is OOC and does not do CAT or VR testing and as such the above is all the academic evidence that we have. Will this be a problem?
Extenuating circumstances, Grandfather staying with family in weeks immediately prior to exam, became very ill and disrupted family life, son very tired and upset. Have statement from Grandfather detailing dates etc and doctors letter confirming this. Head aware at time with letter from home, do we need evidence that confirms tiredness/ lack of concentration from school?
During first exam there was disruption with people outside the windows pulling faces,invigilator had to leave room and move them on. Have sent note to county to try to confirm this from invigilators notes, as such,no reply. With no evidence and no complaint at the time (only found out after), should I mention it in appeal? Confused!

Hi rubyblueruby

rubyblueruby wrote: Have spoken to Head and have excellent summary,1:1,
NFER Reading ages Yr3 11.06, Yr4 13.02, Yr5 14.04
Optional SATS Yr 4 Yr5
Maths 4a 5b
Reading 4a 5b
Writing 3a 5c
Predicted 5a's at KS2
Very strong support from head.

That is all very strong evidence, and on 119 you do not have very much to prove.

My school is OOC and does not do CAT or VR testing and as such the above is all the academic evidence that we have. Will this be a problem?

No, provided the Head's recommendations prove to be reasonably sound, you have assembled good academic evidence. CATs are less common than people often think.

Have statement from Grandfather detailing dates etc and doctors letter confirming this.

A letter from a family member will not carry much weight - I would go with only the doctor's letter.

Head aware at time with letter from home, do we need evidence that confirms tiredness/ lack of concentration from school?

If the school will confirm that it affected him during the week of the tests, that would be helpful evidence.

Have sent note to county to try to confirm this from invigilators notes, as such,no reply. With no evidence and no complaint at the time (only found out after), should I mention it in appeal?

Has the Head confirmed that the incident was recorded on the invigilation sheet? If so, County will have a copy and it will be included with the evidence that you and the panel receive.

Sally-Anne

We sat exams at external venue as we are OOC so Head not present. Can our head request notes?
Grandfathers statement details all dates and symptoms whilst staying with us, his Doctor at home has verified this to be a true record of events. Does that still count? Worried now!

Hi rubyblueruby

rubyblueruby wrote:We sat exams at external venue as we are OOC so Head not present. Can our head request notes?

I would get the Head to ring Bucks CC.

Grandfathers statement details all dates and symptoms whilst staying with us, his Doctor at home has verified this to be a true record of events. Does that still count?

Provided the letter simply states the facts and the doctor has verified them, it is fine. It is only a problem if grandfather is trying to add in evidence to support the appeal such as "I can confirm that my grandson didn't sleep well that night". The panel would discard such comments because obviously the grandparent is biased!

S-A

Thanks, will speak to Head in morning. Can sleep now!

Trying to piece together appeal. Is the Headteacher's selection appeal summary sheet the same as a' letter of support'? As it has all the relevant info and supportive comments on, is it necessary to have a separate letter? Just wondering how to refer to it in evidence!

rubyblueruby wrote:Trying to piece together appeal. Is the Headteacher's selection appeal summary sheet the same as a' letter of support'?

Yes, except that there is a structure to the summary sheet - there are specific questions for the headteacher to answer.

is it necessary to have a separate letter?

No, usually it's not necessary to have a letter as well, unless there's something the head wishes to include for which there is no space on the form, or unless the head wishes to add something at a later date.

Just wondering how to refer to it in evidence!

"The headteacher's summary sheet" or "the summary sheet".

Thanks Etienne!
Think I'm going mad! So much to take on board, so glad you are there for support.

Glad we can be of some help.

Have written letter of appeal and need to get it in. Is it ok just to list Head's summary sheet, letter and report as academic evidence and let the panel draw their own conclusions?
Or, should I (similar to Mary's letter) list reasons for appeal eg:11plus scores, highlight key areas SATS,NFER etc, asking them to refer to above as evidence? As all of this is contained in Head's summary, letter and report anyway , does it need to be spelt out on the appeal letter?