11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi - has anyone in the Bexley borough ever appealed their 11+ result and can relay their experiences - where they were successful, what they were asked at the appeal hearing, what to look out for etc ?

We may need to be appealing next month and are starting to think about how to approach this, including the experiences of others who have been through the same process. Thanks.

Try the Q&A section on the Appeals Board as a starting place.

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yes, I have seen this section thanks, but I am after some Bexley Borough specific experiences.

I know someone on the appeal board...they told me only those who were innovative their excuses were accepted eg had a major operation

dwisdom wrote:I know someone on the appeal board...they told me only those who were innovative their excuses were accepted eg had a major operation

If the appeal board recognised an excuse, one would hope that they would turn the appeal down unless the supporting academic evidence rendered an excuse irrelevant?

If the child really had had major surgery just prior to taking the exam (and delaying to the reserve date would have made little difference in terms of how well recovered s/he would be, or they were already set to take the exam on the reserve date and illness intervened) that would be a valid reason to put forward as to why a genuinely grammar school standard candidate underperformed on the day. No need for 'innovation', just a statement of the facts. Presumably the appeal board would expect to see medical reports?

If you look at Bexley's info for applying to secondary schools there is a table giving the numbers of appeals heard and how many were successful - very few indeed, unfortunately.

A friend's son appealed about 4 years ago, having just failed to get a pass. He had broken his arm and kept knocking the paper off of the table as the table was so small. He had good academic evidence to back up his appeal and the head of the secondary school, who had been there, told my friend he would like to take him, but his appeal was turned down.

Sorry not to give you better news

I'm afraid as the table on page 15 of the Bexley booklet shows, only one appeal was occasionally upheld.

http://www.bexley.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=1901" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That person would have to disclose to you very personal information and as there was just the one successful appeal they could easily be identified.

Did your child pass the test?

Any other advice/guidance/tips please (specific to Bexley appeal) ?

Appeals aren’t built into the Bexley admission process in the same way that they are in other areas, Kent for example, where a certain percentage of successful appeals are part of the system. The test result is taken as proof of ability or not for grammar school, you will need to prove maladministration to have a successful appeal.

Fingers crossed that you have a positive outcome.