Appealing twice

dissapointed mum · Post by **dissapointed mum** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:39 pm

Hi Etienne and everyone
If you remember me, I was the mum who moved from Berks to Dorset and my son sat the 11+ in Dorset in March 2007. He passed, but due to the school being full we among 42 others had to go to appeal for a place for just 6 children.Unfortunately we didnt get one, and so he had to go to a local school where he is extremely unhappy. Hes top of his class etc but hates school because the kids there dont want to be there and dont like to do any work. We are appealing for a place at a Catholic school which he wants to go to, but what Id like to know as a back up plan, are you allowed to appeal again at a Grammar school if it is a different year group, as he will now be going into year 8, or are Grammar schools different and once you have appealed once thats it you cant ever get a place in the school?
Just trying to explore all options!
Dissapointed mum

Sam's Mum · Post by **Sam's Mum** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:46 pm

I believe you can appeal once in every school year - but you might want to check this.

ealingmum · Post by **ealingmum** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:46 pm

On what grounds are you appealing in relation to the Catholic school?

dissapointed mum · Post by **dissapointed mum** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:09 pm

Hi
We are appealing for not being offered a place again... We went to appeal for year 7 but due to the fact we moved here once all the places were allocated, we had to go for appeal but due to over subscription we didnt get in. We have remained on the waitlist but there has been no movement so still havent been offered a place. We will go to appeal again now for year 8 and hope and pray we get a place. Its first day back at school tomorrow after the Easter Break, and my son is dreading going back. He really hates where he is, and constantly says theres no point in going, we dont get anything done! He keeps asking when the appeal is for the Catholic school. so hes pretty desparate.
Dissaponted mum

Post by **Etienne** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:56 pm

Hi, DM

Good to hear from you again, but so sorry to hear of the circumstances.

As Sam's mum says, you can appeal once every academic year. You should apply in writing for a place because it is the letter of refusal that entitles you to appeal.

Good luck

dissapointed mum · Post by **dissapointed mum** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:23 am

Hello Etienne,
Thanks for your reply, and Sams mum too,
I have written to the Catholic school for an appeal, which Ive been told will be heard in June, It was the Grammar school that I was wondering about whether you are allowed to appeal again. With it being a selective school, would another test have to be sat for another academic year, or because there was a pass initially and we didnt gat a place due to the school being full, are we entitled to appeal again.
Also, for the Catholic school appeal, do we reiterate our case from our first appeal, or just concentrate on how much our son now hates going to school because of where he is, and all that has happend during the past year at the school.?
Thanks for your help once again Etienne, all your advise before was great, Ive reccomended so many people to this site, due to all the superb help and support that is offered.Its really appreciated
DM

ealingmum · Post by **ealingmum** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 11:21 am

Not being offered a place is not in itself a grounds for appeal. If you are on the allocation list you might get a place from that - it is not however a waiting list and others who move into the catchment area and meet the admission criteria can move ahead of you.

Sam's Mum · Post by **Sam's Mum** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Not sure whether your son would have to sit entrance tests for grammar school again - I think you may have to check this with the school.

With regards to grounds for appeal, I would have thought that you would need to approach it from a more positive viewpoint, concentrating on why that particular school was the right school for your son. I don't think it would be enough to just argue that he isn't happy where he is. Etienne would probably be in a better position to advise you about this though.

Guest55 · Post by **Guest55** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:59 pm

I would have thought that both lines of argument for a place at the Catholic school were relevant i.e. its the best school for our child because ....

Also with moving to the area I think you could also say how unhappy he is at current school.

Post by **Etienne** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 9:08 pm

Dear DM

With regard to grammar school entry, year 8, the Code of Practice says:

Appeals following casual applications for grammar schools
3.38 Admission authorities for grammar schools are bound by the same duty as those for other maintained schools. This means that they must consider applications made at any time and if they refuse to admit the child, must offer the parent a right of appeal. See paragraph 4.1 for further appeals within the same academic year.
3.39 Some grammar schools do not offer a facility for testing applicants for admission outside the normal admissions round. In this situation, if the admission authority is not willing to accept that a casual applicant is of the required academic ability for admission, it should make arrangements for an appropriate assessment of the childâ€™s ability to be made if their parents lodge an appeal e.g. by obtaining information from the current or previous school. Otherwise, the panel must work on the assumption that the child is of the required academic standard, and follow the two-stage process described in paragraphs 3.1 to 3.7.

I agree with Sam's mum that you should check with the school what their policy is regarding previous qualification/re-testing.

As far as the Catholic school is concerned, I think it would be reasonable to explain why your son is so unhappy at the present school, but don't spend too long on this. If I were on the panel, I would be most interested in why he wants to come to this school! It's an appeal for a school, not an appeal against a school, so it's important to get the emphasis right. It doesn't matter if you repeat the case you made before.

Good luck