Appeals

[Catherine]

To anyone who has received the news they wanted, here’s a few quotes from our appeal guru Etienne:

Last year, newcomers found it difficult to follow the multiplicity of scattered threads on appeals, so we have concentrated advice in two areas. First there is the Appeal Questions and Answers section, available via the home page. Secondly Forumadmin set up a separate section in the forum specifically for "Appeals".

Looking ahead to the 11+ appeals season, the latest version of the Q&As (Appeal Questions and Answers) is available at:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... nswers.php
The main change is in Section B where there is now some simple advice on writing a letter for an 11+ appeal. Just my suggestions - feel free to ignore!

I firmly believe that the quality of the written submission makes no real difference to the outcome of an appeal. Why should those who are unfamiliar with the system, have poor literacy skills or limited English, be disadvantaged and denied a fair hearing? Panels are meant to have an “enabling role" when it comes to the actual hearing, and my experience was that they are rather good at teasing out all the information they need!

Together with other regular contributors I am happy to try and help with general questions in this Appeals section wherever possible. Without meaning to be too prescriptive, please help us by:

* Giving yourself a nickname (you don’t have to register unless you want to). The reason is that in a long thread it can get confusing when trying to respond to numerous “Guests”!

* Reading the Q&As to see whether your question has already been answered:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... nswers.php

* Reading previous threads in “Appeals” to see what has already been discussed. (Meaningful subject titles can help here - see below.)

* Giving as many relevant details as possible (including an informative title for the thread, e.g. “Timing of appeals in X local authority”, “Deadline for submitting appeals in X County”)

While I cannot speak for other contributors, please be aware that, if I respond to private messages, there is no entitlement to a private service and I may use any points discussed, suitably anonymised of course, to assist as many other parents as possible in the Q&As.

Finally! Although this forum provides a valuable opportunity for parents to share experiences, beware of generalising from the particular. Few parents who are successful at appeal really know why. It may be that the panel decided to give particular weight to something that hadn’t even occurred to the appellants. On the other hand, if everyone says “We wore a copper bracelet to our appeal and it worked,” it’s probably worth a try!

Best of luck