Advice regarding appeal of non qualification

[Tamara]

Hi Etienne

My son didn't pass the Sutton Grammar. He was 1 mark away from the pass mark. He got very upset in the maths paper and they asked him on a couple of occasions if he wanted to stop but he wanted to continue.

I believe due to this he failed by 1 mark. As maths is his strong point. I have spoken to the school and they state they were not aware he was upset in the first paper but were aware he was upset in the 2nd paper.

They state his scores from the first SET were similar to the 2nd papers. Though it's obvious his maths score in the first was nearly 20 points higher then the 2nd paper. English is his weaker point and so he scored just under 100 in each English paper.

Do you think we have grounds of appeal based on this? Or can they argue that because English he scored under 100, which they say is under average as 100 or above is above average. But he was only 1 mark away from passing.

He's a level 5 student at end if year 5. We can show school reports but that's all the evidence we have really.

Should they not have made a note he was upset in the first paper? As this is likely to be needed if appealed?

I understand a boy was upset in the maths and was taken out of the room and called his dad to speak to him to carry on. But this was not the case with our son.

Please advice if you think we may have a good case for appealing?

If you can PM too, that would be great.

Thank you.

Tamara

[Etienne]

Welcome to Appeals!

Should they not have made a note he was upset in the first paper?

If they were aware of it, I would have thought so. You could try asking - under Freedom of Information - for a copy of the instructions given to invigilators.

Do you think we have grounds of appeal based on this?

Although extenuating circumstances could be useful, I think alternative academic evidence of high ability is usually what matters most.
How strong a statement of support would you get from the present school?
Are you willing to risk paying for additional evidence which may or may not help? http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... ication#b3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Have you checked the success rate for appeals at this particular grammar school? http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general#a39" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tamara]

Thank you for your reply.

I have asked for the notes from the day, waiting to hear back.

I think the school will support by writing a letter but not approached them obviously yet.

What other academic evidence would you suggest? Paying for what evidence exactly and how important is this? Isn't end of year 5 report shoeing levels 5 achieved enough along with what the school thinks he will gain end of year 6? Esp if he is only a mark away from the passmark.

If an appeal is successful, does it mean he needs to be offered a place or just entitled to be on the waiting list?

Thank you once again for your advice.

[Tamara]

Sorry forgot to ask how can I find out the success rate of a particular schools appeals? Do I ask them and they must advice?

Thank you.

[Etienne]

What other academic evidence would you suggest? Paying for what evidence exactly

Have you seen this? ..... http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It sounds as if you may not have read the Q&As where we answer most questions to do with appeals.
Best to start here:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 35&t=35032" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Once you've finished reading, if you still have unanswered questions, do please let us know.

and how important is this? Isn't end of year 5 report shoeing levels 5 achieved enough along with what the school thinks he will gain end of year 6?

When you wrote "that's all the evidence we have really", I thought you sounded a bit concerned about the amount of evidence.
Difficult to judge the strength of your case when we don't know, for example, how the head's statement of support will be worded.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b41" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Esp if he is only a mark away from the passmark.

As a rule of thumb, it is true that the further away you are from the qualifying mark, the harder your task is likely to be. Even so, there are still appeals that fail with the sort of evidence and score you mention.

The more good evidence you have, the stronger your case.
As to what is the minimum you actually need, that depends on your particular appeal panel.
Where there is fierce competition for entry to schools, there could be a large number of appeals, and panels might have to be quite tough. This is why I suggested it would help to know the success rate for previous appeals. It should give you a clue as to how 'tough' this process might be.

If an appeal is successful, does it mean he needs to be offered a place or just entitled to be on the waiting list?

If you win an appeal, he would be offered a place. However, your case would have had to address successfully the issue of prejudice as well as qualification. See section C of the Q&As.

how can I find out the success rate of a particular schools appeals? Do I ask them and they must advice?

Sorry - I gave the wrong link above. I've corrected it to: http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general#a39" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Yes, under the FOI Act, they must respond.

Thank you once again for your advice.

You're welcome!