11 Plus Exams Forum

Currently going through the appeals process for my son to go to Calday Grammar. Has anybody got any experience of appealing to this school, hints or tips which we may find useful? He missed the 11 plus by 10 points. His projected SATs are all 5s with the exception of maths (4c). There are extenuating circumstances in the form of parental redundancy the week before the test. Any advice or insight would be hugely appreciated.

Hi Cagney40

We went through it last year, good luck with it. Was your son referred to the independent review board? This could make a difference to how you appeal.

All the general advice in the Qs and As is good for Wirral appeals.

Hi Grumpy

No he wasn't referred to the indep board. Does that make a significant difference? From what I've read it may be good news.

On the upside it means you do not have to prove that the review system was flawed. Conversely you have to be prepared for the question as to why the head didn't refer your son - they are supposed to refer the children who they feel should have passed, and give the reasons why not.

I know some heads took the decision not to refer any children this year as they did not want to prejudice the appeals process in any way.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for that Grumpy. We're currently awaiting an appeal date. Can I ask how long after your appeal that you received the result? Will we be sending in the neighbour to check the post when we're away on our summer hols in July?

I think the results were available quite quickly, ie within a week or two. The first appeal we had was late april and we had heard by early May, so you hopefully won't need your neigbour, fingers crossed.

Cagney 40, noticed on another strand that your appeal was today. I hope it went well and that you and your son get some very good news soon.
Regards Keane34