Should we appeal? Don't know what to do
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Should we appeal? Don't know what to do
Hi,
I've been through the Q&A's and lots more info but still feel confused and not sure what to do as it's our first time going through the whole secondary school scenario.
Basically my son has been suffering emotional upset for around 2-3 months due to one of his friends passing away. It got so bad that we had to take him to the doctor's and speak to his school who referred him for counselling as his emotional state was quite bad. Throughout all of this he was also sitting the entrance exams which I wanted to pull him out from but he wouldn't hear of it.
Anyway to cut a long story short he failed one of the entrance exams by 5 points. In the lead up to the exam he wasn't sleeping more than 2-3 hours a night. The time that he did sleep he would sleep walk or have nightmares etc so a bit of a vicious cycle. On the day of the exam he even wrote about things he wanted to do before he died in the essay.
He's a very bright boy but we didn't inform the school as I didn't want them to think we were wrangling for an appeal or making excuses for our DS. In addition, having read through the forum etc it says that the panel look for evidence that normal school work was affected. In our case our DS's performance didn't deteriorate at school as it kept him busy from thinking about his friend and the whole situation.
If anyone could offer any advise it would be much appreciated as not sure what to do.
I've been through the Q&A's and lots more info but still feel confused and not sure what to do as it's our first time going through the whole secondary school scenario.
Basically my son has been suffering emotional upset for around 2-3 months due to one of his friends passing away. It got so bad that we had to take him to the doctor's and speak to his school who referred him for counselling as his emotional state was quite bad. Throughout all of this he was also sitting the entrance exams which I wanted to pull him out from but he wouldn't hear of it.
Anyway to cut a long story short he failed one of the entrance exams by 5 points. In the lead up to the exam he wasn't sleeping more than 2-3 hours a night. The time that he did sleep he would sleep walk or have nightmares etc so a bit of a vicious cycle. On the day of the exam he even wrote about things he wanted to do before he died in the essay.
He's a very bright boy but we didn't inform the school as I didn't want them to think we were wrangling for an appeal or making excuses for our DS. In addition, having read through the forum etc it says that the panel look for evidence that normal school work was affected. In our case our DS's performance didn't deteriorate at school as it kept him busy from thinking about his friend and the whole situation.
If anyone could offer any advise it would be much appreciated as not sure what to do.
Re: Should we appeal? Don't know what to do
Hi cakemummy, how awful for you and your DS. It might help if you can say which area this is as I think the system for appeals can vary by area.
mad?
Re: Should we appeal? Don't know what to do
Hi Mad?,
Yes sorry it's London Borough of Sutton.
Yes sorry it's London Borough of Sutton.
Re: Should we appeal? Don't know what to do
Bereavement is definitely an extenuating circumstance.
They may question that he went ahead with the exam on the set date, but this should be mitigated by the obviously long term effect.
Be sure he gets all the counselling he needs. My sister had a similar experience age 13, her one and only friend in this case, it triggered disastrous mental effects, which continued into adulthood because she had no counselling at the time. But this was 30 years ago, fortunately things have improved a lot with regard to support these days.
Even if he does not get into the Grammar, remember that there will be other like minded DCs at the local comp who only just missed out as well.
They may question that he went ahead with the exam on the set date, but this should be mitigated by the obviously long term effect.
Be sure he gets all the counselling he needs. My sister had a similar experience age 13, her one and only friend in this case, it triggered disastrous mental effects, which continued into adulthood because she had no counselling at the time. But this was 30 years ago, fortunately things have improved a lot with regard to support these days.
Even if he does not get into the Grammar, remember that there will be other like minded DCs at the local comp who only just missed out as well.
Re: Should we appeal? Don't know what to do
Even though his routine work wasn't affected, you can produce a letter from the GP, and also one from the school about the referral for counselling, which should help to get the panel to take the issue seriously.It got so bad that we had to take him to the doctor's and speak to his school who referred him for counselling as his emotional state was quite bad.
An appeal will most likely be won or lost on the basis of academic information, however -
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and, if the school is oversubscribed, on having some good reasons for wanting a place there.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... -school#c2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Etienne
Re: Should we appeal? Don't know what to do
Hi All,
Thanks for getting back to me on this.
DS is one of the youngest in the class, he's consistently been working above level since Y2 and is in the top 5 of his class. At the end of Y5 his level for all subjects was 4a. He also attends a study group for English and Maths which he really enjoys and is working on material a 13/14 year old would be covering however not sure if this is relevant. Before putting him forward for Grammar school I spoke to his teacher who advised that he was GS material and she had no doubt he would do well as he's very bright.
I will be speaking to his teacher regarding his predicted SAT level. I know other's have paid for their child to be assessed however is this something we would have to do?
Thanks again for all your help
Thanks for getting back to me on this.
DS is one of the youngest in the class, he's consistently been working above level since Y2 and is in the top 5 of his class. At the end of Y5 his level for all subjects was 4a. He also attends a study group for English and Maths which he really enjoys and is working on material a 13/14 year old would be covering however not sure if this is relevant. Before putting him forward for Grammar school I spoke to his teacher who advised that he was GS material and she had no doubt he would do well as he's very bright.
I will be speaking to his teacher regarding his predicted SAT level. I know other's have paid for their child to be assessed however is this something we would have to do?
Thanks again for all your help
Re: Should we appeal? Don't know what to do
A point worth making, especially if the school comments on increasing maturity.DS is one of the youngest in the class
How far above? Straight 3s at KS1 would be a good indicator.he's consistently been working above level since Y2
Depends on the standard of the class!and is in the top 5 of his class.
Quite good!At the end of Y5 his level for all subjects was 4a.
It depends what the 'study group' is - anything to do with private tutoring is unlikely to count.He also attends a study group for English and Maths which he really enjoys and is working on material a 13/14 year old would be covering however not sure if this is relevant.
It's certainly not a requirement - but it might help strengthen your case if you have no other evidence of reasoning ability (such as CATs).I will be speaking to his teacher regarding his predicted SAT level. I know other's have paid for their child to be assessed however is this something we would have to do?
Etienne
