Help - how do I appeal for non-qualification in Bucks?

[Rags]

... but BCC made it clear you needed mitigating circumstances and we had none, so combined with all the help from this site we made our choice.

's funny - but I didn't think it was quite that clear that mitigating circumstances were required - just that if you had them, you should detail them.
We didn't, and went for review, with only the HT's supporting letter and our covering letter - sucessfully, as it turned out, to our great joy and relief (no way we would have better grounds for not-FCO than others here have argued, in vain...)

So I don't know, The review seems like a complete lottery, from what I see.
but you do need nerves of steel to skip it.

Thanks to the whole team and the contributors on here - you do great work:-)

Seconded.

[NanoNano]

ummm... well we read into the wording that we needed mitigating circumstances of which we had none. If it helps others who choose to skip review, I will say that all appeal panels we sat before did seem to have wanted/considered mitigating circumstances even though we offered none (other than DC didn't perform to his best on the day). Maybe, on reflection, we interpreted it a different way as we didn't have strong support from our school (it is a long time ago with many ups and downs in between, so having trouble remembering details... if I did remember all the details then I think I would still be having those horrid nightmares!!) Will re-read the wording and get back to you on that one!

In honesty, I think you need nerves of steel whichever route you take, just that the appeal route needs your nerves to hold out much longer! We parents only take the challenge on to ensure our DC can achieve their potential at the school we believe can offer that chance. I am sure parents wouldn't go through this unless they thought it was the right thing to do for their DC.

And congrats, Rags, glad you were successful too

[Etienne]

all appeal panels we sat before did seem to have wanted/considered mitigating circumstances even though we offered none

I think appeal panels are usually looking for an explanation if there is a significant shortfall in marks. However, with scores closer to 121 I suspect they may be less concerned about extenuating circumstances.

Review panels, on the other hand, do (in theory) seem to require extenuating circumstances.
We have pointed out on the forum that the headteachers' manual refers to a normal expectation of 'exceptional extenuating circumstances' (even though it sounds to me like an improbably high threshold!).
Perhaps this is what persuaded NanoNano not to risk a review?

[NanoNano]

I think it was a combination of things, Etienne. When we received the form for "Selection Review Process" we felt Section 2 was too big a hurdle for us as we had no illness or disruptions to the exam. It states "Think about any reasons why your child may not have performed as well as you and their headteacher expected. Collect copies of any documents such as medical certificates that show why this was the case."

We read that as needing something more for review, which we really didn't have and, thankfully, all the information on this site also confirmed to us that Appeal was the only way we had a chance of success (though you do point out that the chances are very slim!)