Can anyone advise how I prove a disturbance during exam?

[panichead]

Hi, my DD missed out on 11+ (we are in Southend). Her sores for VR and Maths were above pass needed but her English mark was shocking. This is by far her strongest subject and we cannot believe this mark belongs to her!!

I have read and re-read all the information on the appeals Q&A's and am so unbelievably grateful for the information on there and we have decided to appeal. We have strong academic evidence, headteacher and class teacher support and in my humble (and slightly deranged) opinion, a valid reason why she needs to be at her first choice school. I am under no illusion that this will be a hard process and am resigned to the fact that we will probably not win but I feel she deserves the chance to prove she is more than able, and I if I do not appeal will have that overwhelming feeling of "what if".

Apologies for rambling but my question is this. My daughter informs me that on the day 2 girls had to be taken out of the exam - one just before her English test and one during. This obviously disturbed her and she said she felt really sorry for them and it took her a while to get back into (arrghh, must have told her about 20 million times to ignore any disturbances but hey ho!)

Is there any way I can find out whether this was officially logged etc??

Any replies would be most grateful, thanks.

[Etienne]

Suggest you write and ask if these incidents were recorded in the invigilators' log.

Make clear that you are not asking for names (or it will set the data protection alarm bells ringing!).

Explain why you need this information - i.e. to help prepare for an appeal.

It is important to get their response in writing.

Let us know if they refuse to be of assistance.

[panichead]

Thanks Etienne for your prompt reply. Do I contact CSSE or the school where exam held?

Thanks again.

[Etienne]

Whoever was responsible for the 11+ and its administration.

If in doubt, you may need to make some preliminary enquiries by phone to find out who has the invigilators' log.

[panichead]

Thank you!

Will be making some phone calls next week.

[capers123]

The schools I hear appeals for (not Essex!) all tend to keep quite detailed logs, such as 'child x dropped rubber at 10:45, child y sniffed twice at 10:46'. The school side seem to be happy to confirm any disturbance you ask about, but you'll probably never get to see the actual log, as it will show all the names. I have seen redacted logs passed around and also have known parents be annoyed when the school tells them that their child popped to the loo (and hadn't told them).

The now-usual caveat should apply, though, that the main thing a panel will be looking for is evidence of academic ability... mitigating circumstances (which once formed a major part of most grammar appeals) are now barely mentioned in the Appeals Code.