Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

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eacb.2
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:24 am

Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

Post by eacb.2 »

HELP !!!!!! Can anyone give me help/advice with appealing for our daughter at AGGS ? Already have 1 daughter at school but we are approx. 100m out of catchment so our 2nd girl hasn't been offered a place. She did really well in the exam and we desperately want them both at the same school.
Are there any companies around that you've used who can help put together the appeal? We know our appeal will be 4th week in May so really need to get cracking on this one!
TraffordMum
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Trafford

Re: Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

Post by TraffordMum »

Hello and welcome.

First thing to do is read the Q&A about appealing, which are here. http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They contain a wealth of information put together by some of the moderators of this site, gleaned from years of dealing with appeals. You do not need to deal with non-qualification (i.e. not passing the exam or getting a high enough score). Your concern is with an oversubscription appeal (Section C of the Q&A). The panel weighs up the prejudice that the admission of an extra child to the school would cause, and balances that against the strength of the parental case.

Once you have read the information and digested it you should be able to put together a draft letter of evidence that contains the reasons you think your daughter should get a place. If any particular questions arise then please do ask again.

I am not an appeals' expert but you may be able to deduce from my name that I am local. I think that, on top of the list of common oversubscription arguments dealt with in the Q&A, specific ones you might want to consider are:

1. AGGS has a PAN of 174, which it usually distributes as 6 classes of 29 girls. I believe that this is what they are intending for the new Y7 but you will probably have more idea of that than I. In the past, however, they have exceeded this number and admitted an extra class of 29. The current Years 11, 10 and 9 all have 7 classes, whereas the current Years 8 and 7 have six classes (i.e. have kept to the PAN). (The PAN for Years 11, 10 and 9 was also 174 - it hasn't changed.) The Sixth Form is dealt with as a separate entity in terms of numbers, so an argument I might consider would be that as a cohort of 203 (give or take a couple) will be "leaving" in summer 2012 from the current Y11, then that gives capacity for more girls to be admitted into the new Y7.

2. Depending on which year your daughter already at AGGS is in then I think you should consider mentioning how the admissions criteria might have changed since her arrival at the school. AGGS have tinkered with their distances and sibling criteria quite a bit over the last few years. If at the time your elder daughter was admitted the criteria stated that all sibs got in first before distance became an issue (which was certainly the case at some point in the last 2-4 years) then you could legitimately state that you took that into account in sending your elder daughter to the school (because No 2 might benefit from it further down the line).

There are companies that deal with appeals. The opinion of the experts here is generally that they are not needed. You can do it yourself and there is plenty of advice and expertise here to help you on the way.
eacb.2
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:24 am

Re: Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

Post by eacb.2 »

Thanks for that info. Do you have any idea how I would find out what the criteria was re siblings in 2009/10? I do know that the map used at the school re catchment area has changed since then as I have a copy from that year and noticed the last time I was at school that the current one is different.
I have certainly considered the fact that in the past an extra form has been put in place but wasn't aware of the fact that this included a year that would be finishing in the summer.
We had considered using a company as we thought they may present our arguments more clearly at appeal and also be more able to counter argue if required due to their experience of the subject.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

Post by Etienne »

We had considered using a company as we thought they may present our arguments more clearly at appeal and also be more able to counter argue if required due to their experience of the subject.
See:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general#a11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Etienne
TraffordMum
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Trafford

Re: Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

Post by TraffordMum »

eacb.2 wrote:Do you have any idea how I would find out what the criteria was re siblings in 2009/10? I do know that the map used at the school re catchment area has changed since then as I have a copy from that year and noticed the last time I was at school that the current one is different.
2009/10 would be for a current Year 8 (i.e. did exam in 2009, entered Y7 in 2010). Is that the year you are thinking of? There have been subtle differences for several of the last few years so I just want to make sure that we get the right year.
eacb.2
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:24 am

Re: Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

Post by eacb.2 »

I'm thinking of someone who would be in current Y9 - must have worked dates out wrong!
TraffordMum
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Trafford

Re: Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

Post by TraffordMum »

Current Year 9 did the exam in September 2008 and started in Y7 in September 2009.

I found this thread on the Trafford sub-forum from that era. http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... =25&t=9928" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (For clarity's sake - the original poster in this old thread is asking about entry to the current Year 8 - then Year 5. My posts later in the thread talk about the position for the current Y9 - then Y6 which is what is pertinent to you.)

It looks to me as if the entrance criteria for the current Y9 was, effectively, all sibs (wherever they lived) followed by distance. As a parent of a girl applying in that cohort, therefore, I think it is reasonable for you to say, gently, that part of your decision to send No 1 daughter to AGGS was informed by their then admissions criteria, since the sibling rule in force at the time would have meant No 2 daughter only had to pass in order to secure a place - especially important when distance is an issue, as it is for you.
eacb.2
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:24 am

Re: Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

Post by eacb.2 »

Do you know if there's any way of obtaining the schools actual admissions criteria for that year - I know I printed out at the time but have obviously been stupid and recycled it!
eacb.2
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:24 am

Re: Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

Post by eacb.2 »

Ok have now got my brain in gear a bit more and am pretty sure that when daughter 1 got in a friend of hers from primary had a sibling in Y9 then and she did not automatically get a place which makes me think that by that time the criteria had changed to a siblings in and out of catchment rule. Said girls parents were separated with 1 in catchment and 1 out of but Trafford used the furtherest distance to calculate her criteria. Shame as that would have been a really good argument! Currently thinking we really don't have any strong ones.
scaredkentmum
Posts: 82
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 8:26 am

Re: Help with Trafford ( AGGS ) appeal for oversubscription

Post by scaredkentmum »

Hello

Have you tried calling the school and clarifying with them. We are appealing too and have found the school really helpful in answering all sorts of questions about pan and distances given a place. Might be worth a call?

Good luck - I share your anxiety about appealing, its not for the faint-hearted.
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