Underperformance in English

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Kiki01
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:22 pm

Underperformance in English

Post by Kiki01 »

I am concerned that my son's attainment in English is not up to the required standards, which may impact the success of my appeal (non-qualification). Does being bi-lingual carry any weight in trying to provide a motivation for this? He has only been in the UK for 2 years.
tiredmum
Posts: 1161
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:51 am

Post by tiredmum »

what level is he currently at, or expected to obtain in the upcoming sats? :)
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Underperformance in English

Post by Etienne »

Kiki01 wrote:Does being bi-lingual carry any weight in trying to provide a motivation for this? He has only been in the UK for 2 years.
I think we would need more information to be able to help. How much English - if any - did he know before coming to the UK? Which country did he come from, and what is the other language? If you prefer you can write to the Appeals Box (see link at top of page regarding confidential information.)
Etienne
katel
Posts: 960
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:30 pm

Post by katel »

My niece's head teacher successfully appealed on her behalf based largely on the fact that she had only come to England at the end of year 4, and only spoke quite basic English before then.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

Etienne
katel
Posts: 960
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:30 pm

Post by katel »

I'm impressed, Etienne!

It turned out that my niece failed the 11+ quite badly - but was the only one from her school to get through on HT appeal - so it seems that the "powers that be" certainy give a lot of weight to the second language thing. Hope this helps.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

I'm so pleased it worked out. :D

It can be a difficult issue for panels to decide, especially where the evidence is limited.

There was a brief discussion in the Q&As, following on from your case:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... ers.php#e7
Etienne
Kiki01
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:22 pm

Post by Kiki01 »

Thanks to all for the feedback! It's definitely very encouraging.

My case is slightly different. We came from South Africa, where the main language is English, with a big emphasis given to Afrikaans as a second language. However, I am Spanish and my son is bi-lingual in English and Spanish.

He is now in Year 8 and recently did the 13+ exam where he got a score of 120. He has made rapid progress at the school where he is now. As a result, he was moved up to the accelerated KS3 learning program, aiming to complete the KS3 curriculum in 2 years (end of Y8) as opposed to the standard of 3 years. His KS3 targets are therefore set for the end of Year 8. He is already achieving level 6 in most of his subjects with 7 in some subjects.

However, he is a bit short of getting level 6 in English, based on the latest Spring report. He had a supply English teacher for this term and I know he has been finding Shakespear a bit difficult. His Autumn term English teacher had said to me that he was one of her top students and that she wanted to change his target to high level 6 or 7.

It may help to know that he is on the able, gifted and talented register and he received a certicate for the best progress made across this group in the Autumn term.

Since his VR score is quite high, I am focusing my motivation more on the academic achievements and the accelerated progress he has made since been in the country (2 years ago). English is my main area of concern and your suggestions on how to motivate this would be much appreciated.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

I think your approach is right. The emphasis for your appeal should be on the alternative evidence of high ability.

Assuming the qualifying score was 121, you haven't got much to explain in the way of extenuating circumstances - just a brief mention that your son has only been in the country for two years, and - from a bilingual background - has had to adapt to 'British English'. Don't make a big issue of it - no more than a sentence or two. Keep the focus on all the alternative evidence.
Etienne
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