Appeal - Glos

[BMS1A]

My DD achieved the qualifying score but missed out on a place by about 8/10 places (not sure because of reallocation).
She can get a supportive letter from the school and is sitting the two english level 6's and level 5 maths in May.
Not sure we have a good enough excuse though. She was very nervous and doesn't tend to perform well in tests (unlike her brother which doesn't help). Her father does have some nasty illnesses that she does get upset and worried about from time to time. She does come into our bed in the middle of the night when she's worried and nobody then sleeps well. The night before the 11+ was once such night. This could have affected her performance, but there's no real proof. We can document his illnesses although he wasn't having any specific treatment.
She also had a really bad year 5 (mainly with friendships) which I am sure contributed to her having such a wobble at the beginning of year 6. She's now having a much better time.
Any advice on appeal specifically for this is gratefully received. I have been reading your website for 2 hours so far. Thank you

[DC17C]

Hi BMS1A,

The only way you can really know is to go through the appeal process. Focus on your academic evidence and reasons for that particular school. I am not sure about the sleepless nights etc especially as difficult to prove - someone else may have more of a view. Is there anything in school reports about the issues in YR5 and did this cause a dip in performance? Every case is unique so it is difficult to say what is enough to win an appeal and what is not- it also depends on so many other factors such as the school and their ability to accomodate numbers over their PAN or not as the case may be.
There is loads of great information in the appeals section and many questions you have may already have been asked and answered before...so keep reading.....
regards DC

[BMS1A]

Thank you.
Do you think it's worth mentioning the increase in PAN? Also worth mentioning that every other year she would have got in with her score? or indeed if we lived closer that the standardisation score would have come higher on the list? Or indeed that she may have got a higher score than children 6 months younger than her, even though they have spent the same amount of time at school?
Or does that sound like I'm being childish?

Just found out she's first on wait list. Surely that will help?

[hermanmunster]

Hi BMS1A

I think you have to be very wary of using some of these arguments - there is a bit in the FAQ worth thinking about :

It would be unwise, though, to set out to criticise the system, as this rarely goes down well! If the local admission arrangements are lawful, an appeal panel has to accept them. An appeal gives you the opportunity to ask the panel to consider alternative evidence of high ability.

So distance, what the score was last year & having to get a higher score than younger children are all things related to local the admission arrangements. Also if you think about it, the reasons quoted could apply to a very large number of people. best to concentrate on academic evidence for your DD

[DC17C]

Oh goodness - to know you are now number 1 on the waiting list -is that after a re - allocation has happened? There is no effect on ranking on distance to school and the age standardisation is there for a reason so not worth arguing about. Focus on the academic evidence you have, reasons for wanting a place and any extenuating circumstances you have.

[Etienne]

Welcome to the forum.

Good advice above from DC17C and Herman.

Do you think it's worth mentioning the increase in PAN?

See:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... an#p507669" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also worth mentioning that every other year she would have got in with her score? or indeed if we lived closer that the standardisation score would have come higher on the list? Or indeed that she may have got a higher score than children 6 months younger than her, even though they have spent the same amount of time at school?
Or does that sound like I'm being childish?

Not childish at all, but the chance of any of these arguments succeeding is around zero!
They would just be a distraction.

Focus on academic ability:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and reasons for wanting a place:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... -school#c2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For how to handle extenuating circumstances that aren't very strong, see:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just found out she's first on wait list. Surely that will help?

An appeal panel shouldn't know about - or be influenced by - the waiting list.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... school#c17" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;