Bucks appeal
Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators
Bucks appeal
Our son scored 114/113, which was a bit of a shock to us and his school.
He was recommended 1.1 and is predicated at level 5's for end of year 6. CAT score at the 90th percentile (119) and top set for literacy.
He is bi-lingual and speaks two languages at home (his mum is not a native speaker of English).
I'd be very grateful for any advice on how we present his case to the appeals panel.
I have sent further details to the appeals box.
Many thanks!
He was recommended 1.1 and is predicated at level 5's for end of year 6. CAT score at the 90th percentile (119) and top set for literacy.
He is bi-lingual and speaks two languages at home (his mum is not a native speaker of English).
I'd be very grateful for any advice on how we present his case to the appeals panel.
I have sent further details to the appeals box.
Many thanks!
Hi Etienne,
We just received the HT's summary sheet - as already mentioned it shows the original assessment of 1.1 (School had 6 pupils out of 70 predicted at this level, 4 passed).
I asked about the CAT test in Feb 09 but was told it was just a VR test (GL assessments) so the 119 score relates to VR only. I'm not sure we should include this in the appeal as it's borderline but stronger obviously than his 11+ result.
The school themselves have mentioned his bilingual status. They've also drawn attention to his early years without any exposure to English as an extenuating circumstance, so I will tone down our reference to this in our letter. I'm still not sure how much relevance or weight this will have with the panel, if any.
The HT concludes with a stong recommendation for a Grammar school place. We will include the Head of Year's letter as well as his Year 5 reports and some other references.
Thanks for any further advice you can give us on how best to present our case.
Kindest regards,
Bucksdad
We just received the HT's summary sheet - as already mentioned it shows the original assessment of 1.1 (School had 6 pupils out of 70 predicted at this level, 4 passed).
I asked about the CAT test in Feb 09 but was told it was just a VR test (GL assessments) so the 119 score relates to VR only. I'm not sure we should include this in the appeal as it's borderline but stronger obviously than his 11+ result.
The school themselves have mentioned his bilingual status. They've also drawn attention to his early years without any exposure to English as an extenuating circumstance, so I will tone down our reference to this in our letter. I'm still not sure how much relevance or weight this will have with the panel, if any.
The HT concludes with a stong recommendation for a Grammar school place. We will include the Head of Year's letter as well as his Year 5 reports and some other references.
Thanks for any further advice you can give us on how best to present our case.
Kindest regards,
Bucksdad
Dear Bucksdad
Occasionally bright children with a similar background to your son's are stronger on the Maths/Science side - but at the moment it's rather difficult to make that argument with straight level 5s and no CATs NVR or Quantitative Reasoning.
Would you say that your son is particularly strong at Maths - more so than at English?
Just about all right, I would say. If you have figures for the 1:2's and 1:3's, please post them here or in the Appeals Box.(School had 6 pupils out of 70 predicted at this level, 4 passed).
It sounds as if this wasn't a CAT test but an NFER (GL Assessment) VR test. It cannot be directly compared with the 11+ because the standardisation is different (the one used for the 11+ is tougher). It's not quite high enough - ideally I'd like to see something around 125 - but you could consider using it on the basis that it 'looks' better than the 11+ results.I asked about the CAT test in Feb 09 but was told it was just a VR test (GL assessments) so the 119 score relates to VR only. I'm not sure we should include this in the appeal as it's borderline but stronger obviously than his 11+ result.
Occasionally bright children with a similar background to your son's are stronger on the Maths/Science side - but at the moment it's rather difficult to make that argument with straight level 5s and no CATs NVR or Quantitative Reasoning.
Would you say that your son is particularly strong at Maths - more so than at English?
Etienne
Dear Etienne,
Thanks very much for your comments and advice.
I wouldn't say he is obviously more able in maths and science - he is in the top sets for both subjects - and as you say unfortunately we don't have any solid evidence in the form of other CAT or NVR test results either way. We're checking how the schools overall predications fared; important these are accurate and the panel see the HT/School as credible as we're leaning quite heavily on the letter and comments they have provided.
We are realistic that ours is not such a strong case without the additional academic evidence, but we are encouraged by the strong letter of support from the school and we'll do our best of course at the appeal hearing.
Best regards,
Buckdad
Thanks very much for your comments and advice.
I wouldn't say he is obviously more able in maths and science - he is in the top sets for both subjects - and as you say unfortunately we don't have any solid evidence in the form of other CAT or NVR test results either way. We're checking how the schools overall predications fared; important these are accurate and the panel see the HT/School as credible as we're leaning quite heavily on the letter and comments they have provided.
We are realistic that ours is not such a strong case without the additional academic evidence, but we are encouraged by the strong letter of support from the school and we'll do our best of course at the appeal hearing.
Best regards,
Buckdad
Dear Bucksdad
If you decide to pursue this possibility, you'll find a BPS link here:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... ers.php#b3
Good luck, whatever you decide.
If you decide to pursue this possibility, you'll find a BPS link here:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... ers.php#b3
Good luck, whatever you decide.
Etienne
