appeals

[daisychain]

im going for appeal my child was diagnosed with epilepsy july 09 and his grandmother with terminal cancer all in the same month my grandmother has been a huge support as im a single parent, this was a tough year and
my child managed to make waiting lists for bv (49) and kea (currently 27).
will it be wise to prove my moms terminal illness at the appeal with hospital notes or the terminal illness benefit letter, im appealing for arthur terry as the school they offered is not in a good area ,and bv.
i have all my sons medical notes. any advice do i stand a chance?he is a sept birthday 1st!

[chad]

Hi daisychain.....sounds an extremely tough year for you and your son.

I am sure that someone will be along soon to reply on the documentation you could take regards your motigating circumstances. You will still need evidence of his ability (as for bc you are saying he should have done better and not been on the waiting list).

Have you read the 'Q&A' section? If not then click on the Q&A in the title at the top of this page... loads og great advice.

[Etienne]

Dear daisychain

Welcome!

Does your question relate to all three schools?

Are you appealing for all these schools?

Could you tell us exactly why your were refused a place? (Was it non-qualification? Oversubscription?)

[daisychain]

hi my son was offered a school not one of his choices , i listed 4 grammer schools and 2 local schools the one school is a catholic school so we didn't qualify currently placed 44 on waiting list and 6th choice a school slightly out my catchment , as you know i can only appeal for schools on my list, im not appealing for kea as i know its a hard call (he is 27 on the list) i have an appeal in for bishop vesey grammer and arthur terry. I can't send him to the school they offered its in a bad area and has a terrible reputation,he has been in private education since he was 18months old, to send him there would be too stressful for him.

[Etienne]

So you were refused a place at BV because a high enough score wasn't reached? You need proof of very high ability and of any extenuating circumstances. If your mother's illness, or your son's health, affected his performance in the 11+, yes, you should produce the evidence.

Difficult questions they may raise at the hearing are "Did his school work also suffer at the time? (If not, why not?)" and "Did you notify the school (or anyone else) of your concerns before the results were published?"

I assume the refusal from AT is because they were oversubscribed? In this case you need to explain why a place at this particular school is important. Examples of possible reasons parents put forward are:

• * It’s the catchment school.
  * Although not in catchment you live very close to the school.
  * Getting to any suitable alternative school would be logistically difficult (you would have to prove this, and I think the degree of inconvenience would have to be very considerable indeed).
  * There is a sibling already there.
  * Other family members are attending or have attended the school (perhaps not a strong point but worth a mention).
  * There are strong educational reasons (I don’t mean a preference for a type of school such as a grammar school – I mean something specific on offer at this particular school which is not available at any suitable alternative. You would need to prove why this is so crucial).
  * There are strong medical or social reasons why your child needs to attend this particular school. These are often the most compelling reasons, but you will need proof, and you will need to demonstrate convincingly why only this school is the solution.