appeals query
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kentmum2
appeals query
Can you advise me?
I know that you have previously said that being ill on the test days will not be looked upon as a good enough reason not to pass, but our son who has throughout his school life been in the top 2%, according to his teachers, was ill and had a doctors certificate for proof, did not reach the pass mark required for kent. His teacher is insistant that we appeal for him as she feels that he needs to be in a Grammar school, we also feel he would thrive in a Grammer school - how do we successfully appeal for him? We will have a letter from his school teacher to back us up, but our main worry is how do we convince the appeal panel that he really would benefit from going to a Grammer?
I know that you have previously said that being ill on the test days will not be looked upon as a good enough reason not to pass, but our son who has throughout his school life been in the top 2%, according to his teachers, was ill and had a doctors certificate for proof, did not reach the pass mark required for kent. His teacher is insistant that we appeal for him as she feels that he needs to be in a Grammar school, we also feel he would thrive in a Grammer school - how do we successfully appeal for him? We will have a letter from his school teacher to back us up, but our main worry is how do we convince the appeal panel that he really would benefit from going to a Grammer?
Dear kentmum2
Are there alternative arrangements in Kent for children who are ill at the time of the tests? If so, I imagine the panel will want a very good reason why you allowed your son to sit the tests when he was unwell.
What were his scores?
Have a look at section B11 in the Q&As. How many of the academic "indicators" do you think you might have?
Regards
Are there alternative arrangements in Kent for children who are ill at the time of the tests? If so, I imagine the panel will want a very good reason why you allowed your son to sit the tests when he was unwell.
What were his scores?
Have a look at section B11 in the Q&As. How many of the academic "indicators" do you think you might have?
Regards
Etienne
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Guest1964
Hello kentmum2,
Whilst I'm not in Kent, it was very clear from my child's application forms for selective schools that if they were ill, either on the day of the exam or some time preceding, you needed a Doctor's note to justify them taking the exam on a different day (there were provisions for this). If you chose to send them to the exam on the allocated day, then you were implying that you believed they were capable of taking the exam and, therefore, could not rertospectively claim illness as a reason for them underperforming.
Sorry for being so negative as I understand that you are keen to get your child into the best school in your area, but if a school is full, as a Governor myself, there would have to be more exceptional circumstances than those you described. However, please do not think that I am dissuading you from appealing - do what you think is best for your child! My own child has severe epilepsy, but I didn't tell any school of his disability as I wanted him to pass or fail based only on his (un-tutored) ability - so that, if he got selected, (which he did) then, both of us could be confident that he would have a comfortable and enjoyable school life for the next 5-7 years - from my point of view, happiness and confidence are so important for young people...
Good luck whatever you choose to do!
Whilst I'm not in Kent, it was very clear from my child's application forms for selective schools that if they were ill, either on the day of the exam or some time preceding, you needed a Doctor's note to justify them taking the exam on a different day (there were provisions for this). If you chose to send them to the exam on the allocated day, then you were implying that you believed they were capable of taking the exam and, therefore, could not rertospectively claim illness as a reason for them underperforming.
Sorry for being so negative as I understand that you are keen to get your child into the best school in your area, but if a school is full, as a Governor myself, there would have to be more exceptional circumstances than those you described. However, please do not think that I am dissuading you from appealing - do what you think is best for your child! My own child has severe epilepsy, but I didn't tell any school of his disability as I wanted him to pass or fail based only on his (un-tutored) ability - so that, if he got selected, (which he did) then, both of us could be confident that he would have a comfortable and enjoyable school life for the next 5-7 years - from my point of view, happiness and confidence are so important for young people...
Good luck whatever you choose to do!
