Not granted Burnham, our number 1 choice

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Richo
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 6:14 pm

Not granted Burnham, our number 1 choice

Post by Richo »

My daughter passed her 11+ entry exam for Bucks schools and on the CAF we had placed Burnham as our number 1 choice. However the distance they allocated to is (distance) to 9.035 miles and we are 10 miles.
We would therefore like to appeal on oversubscription grounds based on the following points:

Has genuine interest and passion in Mathematics and Science, which was the primary reason for choosing Burnham due to its Science and Mathematics specialist status. - Supported by evidence from current school (references of ability)

It was always our intention to move house from our current location to Iver, which incidentally is in the catchment for the school and we had started the process of relocating. Unfortunately during this time her grand mother who lives with us had suffered multiple Hemorrhagic Strokes, the first of which was in early 2012. As you can understand this severely disrupted our plans and we were forced to put our relocation on hold whilst she underwent recovery. Supported by a letter included from estate agents as evidence to confirm we had placed our property on the market in 2012 and found a suitable property in Iver. Letter included from Doctor as evidence to confirm her grand mother suffered multiple strokes over this period.

In addition I will add all the trophy's she has won at her current school and include all school reports and commendation letters she received.

Do you feel I have a case for an appeal? I may get the school in round 2 or 3 allocations and we were only a fraction out in distance.

Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.
scary mum
Posts: 8840
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: Not granted Burnham, our number 1 choice

Post by scary mum »

The experts will be along soon but if she has already qualified you don't need to prove that she is achieving, simply that the advantages to you of them admitting outweigh the disadvantages to the school (or something like that!). I'm not sure the specialisms count any more as they don't receive extra funding, but of course it's worth stating her interests. It might be worth speaking to people you know about the schools strength in maths & science. At 10 miles away it would not surprise me if you got the school in the second round.
scary mum
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Not granted Burnham, our number 1 choice

Post by Etienne »

Welcome! :)

I've moved this to Appeals which is where we advise on specific cases.

The intention to move house is worth a brief mention, but is unlikely to carry much weight because the rules have been correctly applied.

All that matters will be your reasons for preferring the school.
In addition I will add all the trophy's she has won at her current school and include all school reports and commendation letters she received.
None of this will be relevant unless it supports your reasons for wanting a place. As scary mum suggests, it's a waste of time setting out to prove ability when your daughter has already qualified!

I can see the relevance of a trophy for maths/science. :)
And of a school report where she's described as "a brilliant mathematician/scientist"!
(Schools are no longer funded for specialisms, but no doubt they have some residual expertise.)

Please read the Q&As if you haven't already done so:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 35&t=35032" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck with the waiting list.
Etienne
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