joan_joan appeal thread

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joan_joan
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joan_joan appeal thread

Post by joan_joan »

Dear moderator, I also want to ask you a question on the selection review.

My son came from aboard this summer, only joined the school in the UK this September ( he was studying English as a second language from aboard). His score for the test is 101|103. I am now applying for selection review. But I am worried it might be hard for the headteacher to conclude his Academic potentials at this moment. He was a straight A student back in the homeland. Can I include some photocopies of his foreign transcripts and awards as the evidence for this application?
hermanmunster
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Re: Bucks Selection Review

Post by hermanmunster »

joan_joan

I am going to start a new thread for your case so the advice does not get lost
joan_joan
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Re: Bucks Selection Review

Post by joan_joan »

Thanks. Will my question be answered? I know the question itself might be silly, but I have no other ways to convince the panel.
hermanmunster
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Re: joan_joan appeal thread

Post by hermanmunster »

am sure there will be some advice soon - it is quite a problem coming to UK so near to the exam. There are some comments in the FAQ for starters:

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b19" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Sally-Anne
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Re: joan_joan appeal thread

Post by Sally-Anne »

joan_joan wrote:He was a straight A student back in the homeland. Can I include some photocopies of his foreign transcripts and awards as the evidence for this application?
This is something that can prove extremely difficult. Firstly you would need to provide authenticated translations of the reports for the panel. Secondly you would then need to demonstrate that the school system in the previous country was of an equal standard to the English system.

Although it does seem unfair that your son took a verbal reasoning test when English is not his first language, with scores of 101/103 you face a huge mountain to climb. Statistically I am afraid your chances of success are below 1%.

See what the Head has to say and come back to us for more advice if you need it.
joan_joan
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Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 3:48 pm

Re: joan_joan appeal thread

Post by joan_joan »

Hi hermanmunster, thanks for replying back. That helps, but my son's experience is a bit different as her daughter, as my son wasn't in an English environment at all.

He picked up his English very quickly and his recent math SAT practice came out a level of 5 (hope his headmaster mention it)

Hope there is further advise to help me write his selection review form.
hermanmunster
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Re: joan_joan appeal thread

Post by hermanmunster »

I have to agree with Sally-Anne (message above) that you are going to struggle with those scores as there is quite a big gap between them and the qualifying score. Proving ability using reports from abroad is difficult for all the reasons she listed - best to have a word with the headteacher for more advice re evidence
joan_joan
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Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 3:48 pm

Re: joan_joan appeal thread

Post by joan_joan »

Hi Sally-Anne, hermanmunster, thanks for your reply.

He came to the UK with very little English. He is actually still receiving the English assistance in the school at the moment.

To him it is more like studying French for a English student. I am sad that the panel would not consider this fact. Could a student born and living in the UK for his whole life, then move to France and attend their VR testing in French in 2.5 months time and get such scores?
hermanmunster
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Re: joan_joan appeal thread

Post by hermanmunster »

I am sure he has progressed very well in English, and I am sure my kids would have struggled to do the same abroad if I had taken there at that time.

However I would have had to accept that any tests that they sat were aimed at children who were far more fluent in, say, french than my child and that they were unlikely to do well and I could not expect huge allowanes to be made for that. It is a difficult time / age to move and you may need to consider the 12+ exam as an option as your DC will have had a further year in English schools by then
joan_joan
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Re: joan_joan appeal thread

Post by joan_joan »

Thanks.

Yes, I believe with his current progress, if he attended a UK school from this Spring, he would have been well above 121 (it is just the vocabulary difficult to pick up in a couple of months time).

I thought the selection review panel does the justification to select the best suitable students (not merely according to their scores). If a student who has been born in UK and studying for the last 6 years in the UK and has score of 120 has 99% percent higher successful chances and my son has less than 1% chance to be successful, then Bucks should have stated on their website that any non-qualified candidates should not apply for selection review with below certain score.

I still believe Bucks' selection review panel will make a fair judgement on his application.
Last edited by joan_joan on Fri Dec 07, 2012 9:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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