ALtrincham Girls Grammar School Appeal
Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators
The Code of Practice advises against children attending. If you were to turn up with your daughter, the panel will decide whether to allow her in - the chair might ask her to wait outside.Someone has asked me if I was planning on taking my daughter with me into the hearing! surely no one does that or am I wrong?
Etienne
Madam Doubtfire - I think anxious is an understatement!!!! I can't wait for it to be all out of the way. Our appeal is on Monday - when is yours?
No my daughter is definately not coming with us - that would just be awful, I hope nobody does that to their children!
Have you had the letter from AGGS with the 'Statement on behalf of the Governing Body'? I am rather confused by it all. Mine has point 1 and 2 telling me that my daughter didn't get a qualifying score, point 3 to say they had received our special circ form and then points 4 to 8 go into great depth as to why they can't take more than 174 girls.
Have I got this wrong. I was under the impression that if sucessful on appeal our daughters get added to the 298 that qualified for a place and then if necessary the school use the oversubscription criteria to offer the 174 places. So what is the relevance at this stage to not taking more girls - thats not what we are asking.
I had a horrid thought today - if sucessful we don't get put at the bottom of the list behind the 298 that passed on the day do we? - is that why they keep going on about not allowing 7 forms?? Have been trying to call the school and ask but no reply from the admissions office!
I still think 298 is very low to get 174 girls taking up the places. I personally know of 6 going to Sale GS, 2 going to private and 2 that only just passed and aren't going to go as they think they will struggle! 10 down then !!!! They maybe very keen to allow our appeals !!
No my daughter is definately not coming with us - that would just be awful, I hope nobody does that to their children!
Have you had the letter from AGGS with the 'Statement on behalf of the Governing Body'? I am rather confused by it all. Mine has point 1 and 2 telling me that my daughter didn't get a qualifying score, point 3 to say they had received our special circ form and then points 4 to 8 go into great depth as to why they can't take more than 174 girls.
Have I got this wrong. I was under the impression that if sucessful on appeal our daughters get added to the 298 that qualified for a place and then if necessary the school use the oversubscription criteria to offer the 174 places. So what is the relevance at this stage to not taking more girls - thats not what we are asking.
I had a horrid thought today - if sucessful we don't get put at the bottom of the list behind the 298 that passed on the day do we? - is that why they keep going on about not allowing 7 forms?? Have been trying to call the school and ask but no reply from the admissions office!
I still think 298 is very low to get 174 girls taking up the places. I personally know of 6 going to Sale GS, 2 going to private and 2 that only just passed and aren't going to go as they think they will struggle! 10 down then !!!! They maybe very keen to allow our appeals !!
Hi there....had our hearing yesterday...will not know the result till all the appeals have been heard.....they must be loads as they have allocated three whole days to them...do not know how the appeal went but but i will say one thing.....the panel was lovely...they made us feel at ease and explained everything really well....and they were all exceptionally nice!! So when I came out ..my thoughts were that this was not a bad experience whatever the outcome because i was terrified before going in...I took my husband with me for moral support which is highly recommended and whatever you do...do not take your daughter with you!!Let me know if you need any other info and good luck..we all need it!!
Hi Whattodo - how nice yours is all over and done with - you at least can have a nice weekend!
If you don't mind can I ask a couple of questions?
Who was there from the school and did they/she play a large part in the proceedings?
How long were you in there for?
Did they ask lots of questions - any really tricky ones?
Did you feel that they were well prepared ie had they read your submission before you got there or did you have to take them through it all as if for the first time.
Hope you don't mind me asking!
Thanks
If you don't mind can I ask a couple of questions?
Who was there from the school and did they/she play a large part in the proceedings?
How long were you in there for?
Did they ask lots of questions - any really tricky ones?
Did you feel that they were well prepared ie had they read your submission before you got there or did you have to take them through it all as if for the first time.
Hope you don't mind me asking!
Thanks
no, I dont mind at all!!only the headteacher Dana Ross was there from the school..she did not say much except what was in the letter regarding 174 places ..just a few lines really!! So, she did not have a big part in it but she was lovely!
There were no tricky questions and i felt that the panel had read my letter and all that I had sent with it beforehand though they did ask me to present my case. Again , it was sort of informal and I just briefly went over what I had written in the letter.
all in all, I was in the room for about 15 minutes..so went quickly. I was very nervous before entering the room but the panel were really good at putting us at ease!! Let me know how your appeal goes and good luck!!
P.S.It is a good idea to take in any other 11+ results where your daughter has got a good score.
There were no tricky questions and i felt that the panel had read my letter and all that I had sent with it beforehand though they did ask me to present my case. Again , it was sort of informal and I just briefly went over what I had written in the letter.
all in all, I was in the room for about 15 minutes..so went quickly. I was very nervous before entering the room but the panel were really good at putting us at ease!! Let me know how your appeal goes and good luck!!
P.S.It is a good idea to take in any other 11+ results where your daughter has got a good score.
-
Madam doubtfire
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 3:25 pm
AGGS appeals
Hi all
Thank you Etienne for this information. It makes sense not to have our children at the hearing. My daughter has already had one blow and I would not want to put her through another!
Thank you whattodo for your reassuring comments
. Our hearing is on Monday, so I'm a nervous wreck - can't wait till it's all over. Can I ask you if you took any of your daughter's school work with you? did they ask for it??
Altymum: I agree with you. We too received the forms from AGGS stating that it prejudices the school if they exceed the 174 places. Like you, we are also appealing against our daughter's non-qualification. According to Trafford education authority, if anyone appeals and they succeed then they are considered as having passed. Accordingly, our daughter would then be allocated a place according to their oversubscription criteria. Why are AGGS presenting the prejudice argument, if they are not at the stage of allocating the places? or have they done so already? if so, no one will know if they have a place till March! I seem to recall the head teacher mentioning at the open day that this year they have given the task of allocation to a company of some sort? so has this company already allocated the places??
Good luck everyone.
Thank you Etienne for this information. It makes sense not to have our children at the hearing. My daughter has already had one blow and I would not want to put her through another!
Thank you whattodo for your reassuring comments
. Our hearing is on Monday, so I'm a nervous wreck - can't wait till it's all over. Can I ask you if you took any of your daughter's school work with you? did they ask for it??Altymum: I agree with you. We too received the forms from AGGS stating that it prejudices the school if they exceed the 174 places. Like you, we are also appealing against our daughter's non-qualification. According to Trafford education authority, if anyone appeals and they succeed then they are considered as having passed. Accordingly, our daughter would then be allocated a place according to their oversubscription criteria. Why are AGGS presenting the prejudice argument, if they are not at the stage of allocating the places? or have they done so already? if so, no one will know if they have a place till March! I seem to recall the head teacher mentioning at the open day that this year they have given the task of allocation to a company of some sort? so has this company already allocated the places??
Good luck everyone.
Re: AGGS appeals
Only once have I known a child brought along to an appeal. It was highly unusual - it was an appeal or the child to be allowed to take the 11+. The governors had said no, primarily so that more parents didn't ask, but we were told afterwards by the school side that they didn't have any objections in this particular case.Madam doubtfire wrote:Thank you Etienne for this information. It makes sense not to have our children at the hearing. My daughter has already had one blow and I would not want to put her through another!
The child was there, we felt, to support the parents. However, some details came up which did cause the child to blush. Said childs presence did no harm to the case, and we allowed the appeal.
However, I think that in the vast majority of normal appeals (non-qualification or oversubscription), it would be very counter-productive to have the child there. Even bringing a photo of the smiling child and placing it facing the panel is likely to irritate me - if there were two equal appeals, and we could only allow one, I know that it could come down to that kind of thing (partly, if stacked with other pristine documents, it would imply to me that the appeal had been professionally prepared and the parents well briefed).
Capers
Hi Madam Doubtfire...I did take my daughters coursework with me ..I took her science, maths, literacy and some french work. However, I do not think they would have asked me for it. I offered to show it to them during the hearing and they looked at it for about five minures after we had left the room. The only other thing I took with me were her other 11+ results in which she had done really well.
With regards to allocation of places - no - they would not have allocated any places yet. If succesful, our daughters will be added to the pool of 274 girls and the oversubscription criteria applied. So if you are in the catchement area, an upheld appeal in this instance will insure a place for your daughter.
I am outside the catchment area so will most certainly have to appeal again if successful this time around.
I was a bit encouraged by the fact that the headmistress did state at the appeal that there has been no automatic review this year of girls who secured a mark or two less than 334.
Anyway, good luck for tomorrow and keep us posted!! It will be fine!
With regards to allocation of places - no - they would not have allocated any places yet. If succesful, our daughters will be added to the pool of 274 girls and the oversubscription criteria applied. So if you are in the catchement area, an upheld appeal in this instance will insure a place for your daughter.
I am outside the catchment area so will most certainly have to appeal again if successful this time around.
I was a bit encouraged by the fact that the headmistress did state at the appeal that there has been no automatic review this year of girls who secured a mark or two less than 334.
Anyway, good luck for tomorrow and keep us posted!! It will be fine!
Phewwwwww all over and done with! As Whattdo said it wasn't as gastly as we expected. The panel were very nice and tried to make us as confortable as possible. I really have no idea which way it went though. I felt they were sympathetic to our case but who knows.
I was surprised that the head made no reference to the 7 form entry argument that was the bulk of the letter they had sent us. I was all ready for a counter argument and was thrown off !! She basically said that there was no automatic review this time and all had to go to appeal and that was that - is that what she said to you Whattodo and Madam Doubtfire?
Anyway all said and done now and just have to wait until the 9th Dec. I wouldn't assume you will have to go through this again in March. My daughter has loads of girls out of catchment in her year 10 class - you may well be pleaseantly surprised! and if you do have to go to appeal again you will be an old pro!!
How did yours go Madam Doubtfire ???
I was surprised that the head made no reference to the 7 form entry argument that was the bulk of the letter they had sent us. I was all ready for a counter argument and was thrown off !! She basically said that there was no automatic review this time and all had to go to appeal and that was that - is that what she said to you Whattodo and Madam Doubtfire?
Anyway all said and done now and just have to wait until the 9th Dec. I wouldn't assume you will have to go through this again in March. My daughter has loads of girls out of catchment in her year 10 class - you may well be pleaseantly surprised! and if you do have to go to appeal again you will be an old pro!!
How did yours go Madam Doubtfire ???
-
Madam doubtfire
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 3:25 pm
Hi all
What a relief! I am glad it is all over. Yesterday was stressfull, nonetheless. (Felt like going into an exam, an interview, an operation!). Yes, they were all pleasant, but it was very formal.
Thank you whattodo for the info on coursework, I did take some with me. The headmistress was very brief and only mentioned the 174 places available. She seemed very understanding, but I guess she does not participate in the decision making process. No idea how it all went, though. 9th December is a long time to wait!! I thought that the last appeal is on 28th Nov.??
Thinking optimistically, anybody thought what to say to their daughter if the appeal is successful? what will her peers think of her? more importantly, what will she think of herself, knowing that she only got in through an appeal process?
What a relief! I am glad it is all over. Yesterday was stressfull, nonetheless. (Felt like going into an exam, an interview, an operation!). Yes, they were all pleasant, but it was very formal.
Thank you whattodo for the info on coursework, I did take some with me. The headmistress was very brief and only mentioned the 174 places available. She seemed very understanding, but I guess she does not participate in the decision making process. No idea how it all went, though. 9th December is a long time to wait!! I thought that the last appeal is on 28th Nov.??
Thinking optimistically, anybody thought what to say to their daughter if the appeal is successful? what will her peers think of her? more importantly, what will she think of herself, knowing that she only got in through an appeal process?
