Not sure whether to appeal

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Dougal
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:34 am

Not sure whether to appeal

Post by Dougal »

Not sure whether to appeal My dd missed the pass mark for Urmston Grammar by 13 marks which was a surprise. She got 106 in the English, 115 in the Maths and 121 in the NVR. Her CAT scores in March of year 5 were VR 119, NVR 127, Maths 121. She was level 5 in her Maths and reading and level 4b in Writing.
The only mitigating circumstances are that her prescription for her glasses had changed by 1 dioptre (which I believe is a lot) and we couldn't get her new glasses in time for the exam. The optician also said that she would only be able to wear her new glasses for short periods of time due to there being such a large change. The glasses she wore therefore for the exam were giving her bad headaches. The only other thing that may have affected her was the building work going on at home that meant we had no full kitchen and were eating microwave meals and confined to all living in one room in the house. Difficult to know if that could have affected her though.
As Trafford have a number of Grammars she has also sat another two exams, but we will not know the results of these before the appeal has to be in. Would appealing for one school affect our chances of appealing to each of the other schools?
Just very worried as I want to do the best I can for my daughter :?
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: Not sure whether to appeal

Post by hermanmunster »

Hi Dougal

You are starting down the right route here. You have to get evidence of her usual academic ability and also evidence of why she did not do so well on that day. TBH the kitchen chaos was probably more frazzling for parents - I've been through it and never noticed any problems with kids work, they tend to find it entertaining I think!
However the issue with the glasses is different - I think 1 dioptre is quite large and she must have been struggling. I take it these are distance glasses ?? ie that she is short sighted - they would have a dioptre of minus something? Did she wear them to do close work too? Worth having a chat with the optometrist who may be able to give you a professional opinion about how it affected her (and professional opinion is what you need...).

Have you tracked down the Q&A on appeals - loads of info there.

edit: here it is http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... nswers.php
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Not sure whether to appeal

Post by Etienne »

I agree with all of Herman's advice.

If in doubt, then appeal (but be prepared for a stressful process!).

I see no reason why it should prejudice appeals for other schools.
Etienne
TraffordMum
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Trafford

Re: Not sure whether to appeal

Post by TraffordMum »

Dougal, what exactly does the letter say? Are they offering an appeal or a review?

The Urmston website Admissions FAQs say:


Q8. What happens if my child fails the entrance exam?

A. As with the Trafford 11+ you will be able to appeal through a Local Review.

Q9. Who do I appeal to?

A. You will be offered a review by the School's "Admissions Review Body".


This sounds like a review and not a formal appeal and, whilst appeals is not an area I have any experience in, I know that the complex rules covering appeals don't necessarily apply to local reviews and you could, potentially, jeopardise an appeal by going for a review. I suspect that the formal appeal stage would come post March 2011, once school places have been allotted, in line with the other Trafford grammars.

If you look at the link Herman posted above, to the Q&A on Appeals, question B18 is possibly the relevant one.
Dougal
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:34 am

Re: Not sure whether to appeal

Post by Dougal »

Thank you so much for the advice above. It does help to feel you aren't completely on your own.

The review has already been done and so the letter only offers the opportunity of an appeal. I did mention the problem with her glasses on the special circumstances form that she handed in before the exam so the school were already aware of that when they did the review. That probably doesn't make my case particularly good, especially as her English result was so poor. She has always had problems with spelling and punctuation despite the fact she is a prolific reader.
At least my daughter seems to have taken the news quite well, but we do have the results for two exams to go yet and a different day might give us a result closer to the one we expected.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Not sure whether to appeal

Post by Etienne »

TraffordMum makes a very important point. It all depends whether the school intends to try and argue that the review was fair, consistent and objective. If so, the scope of an appeal could be very limited.
Etienne
TraffordMum
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Trafford

Re: Not sure whether to appeal

Post by TraffordMum »

Having been through the Trafford entrance exam system twice already, I can definitely confirm that the results tend to get better as you go on. That's a pretty common experience for most people I know. So fingers crossed that your second and third results are the right side of the pass mark and you maybe don't have to worry about Urmston as much.
Dougal
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:34 am

Re: Not sure whether to appeal

Post by Dougal »

Thanks TraffordMum. It does make me feel a little better to know that. I am keeping every thing crossed at the moment. :) I am sorting out an appeal for Urmston though as I need to be sure I have done every thing I can :|
I will let you know how things go.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Not sure whether to appeal

Post by Etienne »

If you just want to keep your options open for the moment, you can send in an appeal form, but where it says 'Grounds for appeal' (or words to that effect) you can simply write "details to follow". So long as you state your case, and provide any evidence, at least 10-14 days before the date of a hearing, it will be in order.
Etienne
TIDDLYMUM
Posts: 881
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 10:19 pm

Re: Not sure whether to appeal

Post by TIDDLYMUM »

Hi Etienne

I am not 100% but I think this school do some sort of in school appeal which is why the quick turnaround. The LA Appeal is not till June, I know because we went through it last year and your advice was very useful. Ultimately though our LA Appeal did not result in a place :(

The post below is about an Urmston appeal, I am sure the lady in question would not mind me drawing attention to it.

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 25&t=11791

If it is indeed a pre review before the LA Appeals ( as I think and Trafford mum seems to think as per her message below) then does that mean that they insist on having everything in by the deadline. Worth clarifying with the school whether this is the case and indeed separate from the LA Appeals.

Good luck.
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