11 + appeal bucks help

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sturman
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:19 pm

11 + appeal bucks help

Post by sturman »

Hi
My DD has achieved 118/120 in her Bucks VR test. i have read nearly every appeal post and thread on this website and i am hoping that i will receive some of the great advice that others over the years have received.

Could anyone tell what i should do with the appeal form because it will take me a while to collect all the info? I did read on here that you can forward everything at a later date. I would like to get a hearing ASAP as i would love to get this over with.

On Friday i made an appointment with the HT to see him on Tuesday to discuss this matter.We live in Bucks but her school is in Hillingdon borough. I'm led to believe [rumor mill] that our HT is opposed to Grammar schools as a lot of able Hillingdon kids end up in Berks GS,Watford GS and Bucks GS.Hopefully with us living in Bucks that wont be an issue but you never know.We'll see on Tuesday.

DD school does not do either CAT Scores or NFER Maths Assessment or give a reading age. I spoke to her teacher on Friday and she told me that DD has just finished her mock Sats for science and maths and she received 86 and 90% respectively which is a 5b for both.English Sats will be complete on Friday and it may be in the 5's or at worst 4a. She told me that DD is in the top 10 of her year in maths and science and top set for English.With this in mind she states that there should be 5A predictions for maths and science.This is in a school that is in the top 5% in Hillingdon according to Sats school League tables.

Why did she fail? Well the truth is i don't really know and after thinking about it we can think of two things. Firstly, in October after a visit to her optician they said that DD eyesight had deteriorated so much so that they could only give her intermediate glasses while her eyes adjusted and later they would give her correct more powerful glasses. We can back all this up with a letter from the optician. With this in mind does anyone think it is beneficial to ask for a remark? Or could it adversely affect our appeal i.e. if she happened to lose a mark? .Secondly, we moved to Bucks in late August, this obviously caused a lot of disruption for DD, also having a 1 hr trip twice a day took longer than i realized for her to adjust to. And, as we were new to Bucks we only did the familiarization pack that was sent to us. We have since realised that a lot of DC are schooled specifically for this test.

I would appreciate any advice or help with my appeal and WISH EVERYONE ELSE GOOD LUCK

stur
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: 11 + appeal bucks help

Post by Sally-Anne »

Hi sturman, and welcome!
sturman wrote:My DD has achieved 118/120 in her Bucks VR test.
With a score of 120 you have very little to prove, provided you have good supporting academic evidence.
Could anyone tell what i should do with the appeal form because it will take me a while to collect all the info? I did read on here that you can forward everything at a later date. I would like to get a hearing ASAP as i would love to get this over with.
When you see the Head you need to establish if they will be willing to complete their Summary Form. If so, you must wait for that before submitting the appeal form. If they are not willing to complete it, you can tick the appropriate box to confirm that and send the form off straight away. Either way, you can simply write "our evidence will follow" in the box giving reasons for the appeal.

Appeals are allocated on a "first come, first served" basis, so you should encourage the Head to complete their form promptly.
We live in Bucks but her school is in Hillingdon borough. I'm led to believe [rumor mill] that our HT is opposed to Grammar schools as a lot of able Hillingdon kids end up in Berks GS,Watford GS and Bucks GS.Hopefully with us living in Bucks that wont be an issue but you never know.
I would tread very gently and politely and make it clear that you wish your child to attend a local school if at all possible. I think it is an entirely reasonable request, and hopefully the Head will understand that. If they are not personally willing to support an appeal, you might ask for permission to approach the class teacher for confirmation of her current levels.
I spoke to her teacher on Friday and she told me that DD has just finished her mock Sats for science and maths and she received 86 and 90% respectively which is a 5b for both.English Sats will be complete on Friday and it may be in the 5's or at worst 4a. She told me that DD is in the top 10 of her year in maths and science and top set for English.With this in mind she states that there should be 5A predictions for maths and science.This is in a school that is in the top 5% in Hillingdon according to Sats school League tables.
That is encouraging because the expectation would normally be for the children to improve by two sub-levels each year, so she may well be on traget for 5a in science and maths by the end of Year 6.
Firstly, in October after a visit to her optician they said that DD eyesight had deteriorated so much so that they could only give her intermediate glasses while her eyes adjusted and later they would give her correct more powerful glasses. We can back all this up with a letter from the optician.
It is worth a small mention if it affects her close eyesight, rather than distance. The answer sheet is very densely packed and that could present difficulties for a child whose close vision is temporarily impaired.
With this in mind does anyone think it is beneficial to ask for a remark? Or could it adversely affect our appeal i.e. if she happened to lose a mark?
A remark would virtually never cause the score to go down, but it is also rare for it to increase either. However on 120 there is no harm in it. If you ask for the remark and analysis it might show that she had difficulty with a specific type of question that might be linked to her eyesight, such as long code strings.
Secondly, we moved to Bucks in late August, this obviously caused a lot of disruption for DD, also having a 1 hr trip twice a day took longer than i realized for her to adjust to. And, as we were new to Bucks we only did the familiarization pack that was sent to us. We have since realised that a lot of DC are schooled specifically for this test.
The panel may ask about this at the hearing, in which case you can mention it then. On 120 you really don't want to throw too much in the way of mitgating cirumstances at the panel - academic evidence is what they are looking for.

Sally-Anne
sturman
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:19 pm

Re: 11 + appeal bucks help

Post by sturman »

Thanks Sally- Anne. I will let you know what my head says on Tuesday. BTW her teacher did say she should be predicted 5a for science and maths because she is currently 5b for both. but we have to wait for english due on friday.

Thanks
stur
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: 11 + appeal bucks help

Post by Sally-Anne »

sturman wrote:Thanks Sally- Anne. I will let you know what my head says on Tuesday. BTW her teacher did say she should be predicted 5a for science and maths because she is currently 5b for both. but we have to wait for english due on friday.
If the English turns out to be slightly weaker, then it presents the possibility that she is stronger in areas that a Verbal Reasoning test cannot assess. That is not an uncommon situation in Bucks.
sturman
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:19 pm

Re: 11 + appeal bucks help

Post by sturman »

Hi Sally-Anne or Etienne

Finally got to see the HT on Tuesday and he said he would complete the report by today, which i have just collected. I don't know what to make of it.

Firstly he gave her a 3/2 and next to each box he wrote a comment about her homework and organisation and she has potential.
Her predicted grades are maths 5a English 5c he didn't put any prediction about science but i can get proof that she is currently at 5b as i was told that we would be getting mock results. However when you turn the page to comments about the different subjects it doesn't make sense.

COMMENT MATHS.
"Able girl,already at level 5B,v.good problem solving with new concepts and can sustain effort in the class context, in the top set of a high achieving school of a high quality, etc etc

COMMENT ENGLISH
"Avid reader,enjoys writing stories, excellent comprehension skills but needs to develop her sentence structure

OTHER CUR. AREAS
SCIENCE
Achieves high level in science,understands investigation process etc etc

HEAD TEACHERS ADDITIONAL INFO IN FULL

A highly intelligent child who is certainly able to work well in a grammar school context.However there are organisational issues skills that she needs to develop and an awareness that tasks done at home should be carried out as if she were at school.



I don't know whether to laugh or cry. He makes it sound as if she comes from a seriously dysfunctional family by constantly mentioning organisation. However looking at her year 5 report there is no mention of missing homework,its only this term with this new teacher that she has handed homework in late and i believe the HT just asked her.
DD does lack organisation skills but then so do i. I work from home and my wife works full time.We have 3 kids some times i don't know if i,m coming or going. But the kids are never late, off school or unhappy. The school we go to, although DD is happy, i feel IS a little prigish and i dont really fit in [probably would if i have time]

anyway love to show you SA OR ETIENNE, HT letter if thats appropriate and would love your opinions

Sturman
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: 11 + appeal bucks help

Post by Etienne »

Can you scan and send to the Appeals box?
Etienne
sturman
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:19 pm

Re: 11 + appeal bucks help

Post by sturman »

hi Etienne the HT form is in the appeal box.

When you look at it you will also see he has mentioned DD eye sight.I dont know why i just mentioned it in passing as a possible reason i never thought he would put that. I dont think he will change a thing on that appeal form he seems a very "i don't change my mind sort of person"Maybe i will have to gather as much evidence to counter his bad points ie Homework and organisational issues, as possible. Three quarters of it you couldn't asked for a better reference.

Anyway thanks again and tell me what you think when you've seen it

Sturman
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: 11 + appeal bucks help

Post by Sally-Anne »

Hi sturman

What appalling handwriting! And such a scruffy form! However ...

I will leave Etienne to comment on most of the content because I would like to explore the specific issue of eyesight.

Please can you give us more information about her problems. Is she long-sighted or short-sighted? Are there any unusual aspects to her prescription, or a named condition? How long has she worn glasses? What issues would her eyesight present her with in completing school work if it was uncorrected?

If you would prefer to send the information to the Appeals Box you are welcome to.

Thank you!

S-A
sturman
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:19 pm

Re: 11 + appeal bucks help

Post by sturman »

Hi Sally -Anne

Me and wife really laughed at that. I'm usually quite quick with things like that but i think stress gets to us all.

I have investigated the eyesight situation fully now and according to the optician DD is shortsighted so should not affect her near vision. However her eyesight did deteriorate and was diagnosed in October but contrary to what i thought earlier she only received her new glasses on 17/11/2011 after the tests.It may be worth mentioning in passing at the appeal she was waiting for her new glasses and it may of affected her vision.I have statements from optician confirming those dates.


Thanks

Sturman
sturman
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:19 pm

Re: 11 + appeal bucks help

Post by sturman »

also Sally-Anne she has worn glasses for 2 years and the optician wont state that it directly affects her reading.
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