Invigilation breach, Lighthall School, room 110

[scgsdad]

Many Thanks for all your comments. Clearly specialist advice will be required as the FO have advised me to now go through the formal appeals process for EACH grammar school. Acknowledgement and acceptance that formally on the day any ambiguity or maladministration has occurred has been denied based on the invigilators account of what they did. However, blank booklets with no workings has been confirmed in writing. So it is a shame that the FO has stood by the account of the invigilators comments. These should be accessible under the freedom of information act to enable a proper legal response to manage and deal with this situation at appeal.

Clearly to direct blame on children and accepting the invigilators account that they did everything properly suits the FO as the matter can be down prioritised to make an appeal. They did follow the instruction to confirm papers were not marked with any working outs but also stated based on the invigilators account the proper instructions were given AND the tape was paused to emphasise working outs can be done in the booklet. Utter Nonsense!

DS is 3rd and much brighter than the older 2 siblings who passed the 11+ but directing us to appeals day and good grounds for appeal is being done in the hope that maybe the onerous need to attend 2 or 3 appeals may deter us from going through this procedure. That is unfortunately an under estimation of how strongly my son and I feel about what happened to our son and to the other children at Lighthall, KE Five Ways and KE Camp Hill Girls where similar incidents were reported. All I was told by FO was these incidents were reported but are UNSUBSTANTIATED! Which invigilator is going to admit they created ambiguity or confusion? Reliance should be placed on the booklets identified which were unmarked and how many in that class were not marked! Clearly if there is more than even one booklet in any instance then that is sufficient grounds to accept some element of confusion and ambiguity was created and that could only have been created by the invigilators administering the test.

I am disappointed that with 3 different situations having been reported the reponse for any parent is yes - your child's paper was unmarked and all you can do is appeal on offer day! Our DS was not allowed to do retest of a previous year and the only option was the appeals process where 3 lay persons decide on the outcome in 15-20 minutes!

Clearly ambiguity in the way this test is being delivered and the letters that are sent out results in confusion. Surely it can be simplified to eliminate any kind of situation like this happening. Equally, how many parents on getting a qualifying score for KE Five Ways and KE Aston/Handsworth thought great our DC has passed with a score of 200+ or 204+.

Many thanks to all on this forum, I need to enlist specialist advice on appeals for KECH and KEA sons first 2 choices and this is what he wanted and is hopeful for so we will no choice but to pursue proper advice and go to appeal.

I do feel I should have made this public news in the local educational press or even national press because all the parents effected do not know each other and the FO do not want to write to parents to get any feedback or investigate the incidents fully. I do feel for all those who were disadvantaged. I suppose most parents have just given up having been told the invigilators account confirms instructions were followed properly and it is unfortunate, but it is your child that misunderstood instructions! I do genuinely feel for those parents that may have given up after their child got a score that was not a qualifying score and did not do any workings in the test.

[Nard]

Clearly ambiguity in the way this test is being delivered and the letters that are sent out results in confusion. Surely it can be simplified to eliminate any kind of situation like this happening. Equally, how many parents on getting a qualifying score for KE Five Ways and KE Aston/Handsworth thought great our DC has passed with a score of 200+ or 204+.

I totall agree with you SCGSDAD the way the letters are sent out does result in confusion. Last year my son got 206 and we at first mistakenly thought it was enough for KE Five Ways even though we weren't PP.

It was only after reading the letter a few times did we understand what the cutoffs were. The FO seem to think that surrounding everything that they do with secrecy makes the schools more appealing. Why can't they just send everything out in plain English so that there is no confusion it isn't difficult to do.

Perhaps they should start reading this forum and get some tips from DP's.

[nervousmom]

Many Thanks for all your comments. Clearly specialist advice will be required as the FO have advised me to now go through the formal appeals process for EACH grammar school. Acknowledgement and acceptance that formally on the day any ambiguity or maladministration has occurred has been denied based on the invigilators account of what they did. However, blank booklets with no workings has been confirmed in writing. So it is a shame that the FO has stood by the account of the invigilators comments. These should be accessible under the freedom of information act to enable a proper legal response to manage and deal with this situation at appeal.

Clearly to direct blame on children and accepting the invigilators account that they did everything properly suits the FO as the matter can be down prioritised to make an appeal. They did follow the instruction to confirm papers were not marked with any working outs but also stated based on the invigilators account the proper instructions were given AND the tape was paused to emphasise working outs can be done in the booklet. Utter Nonsense!

DS is 3rd and much brighter than the older 2 siblings who passed the 11+ but directing us to appeals day and good grounds for appeal is being done in the hope that maybe the onerous need to attend 2 or 3 appeals may deter us from going through this procedure. That is unfortunately an under estimation of how strongly my son and I feel about what happened to our son and to the other children at Lighthall, KE Five Ways and KE Camp Hill Girls where similar incidents were reported. All I was told by FO was these incidents were reported but are UNSUBSTANTIATED! Which invigilator is going to admit they created ambiguity or confusion? Reliance should be placed on the booklets identified which were unmarked and how many in that class were not marked! Clearly if there is more than even one booklet in any instance then that is sufficient grounds to accept some element of confusion and ambiguity was created and that could only have been created by the invigilators administering the test.

I am disappointed that with 3 different situations having been reported the reponse for any parent is yes - your child's paper was unmarked and all you can do is appeal on offer day! Our DS was not allowed to do retest of a previous year and the only option was the appeals process where 3 lay persons decide on the outcome in 15-20 minutes!

Clearly ambiguity in the way this test is being delivered and the letters that are sent out results in confusion. Surely it can be simplified to eliminate any kind of situation like this happening. Equally, how many parents on getting a qualifying score for KE Five Ways and KE Aston/Handsworth thought great our DC has passed with a score of 200+ or 204+.

Many thanks to all on this forum, I need to enlist specialist advice on appeals for KECH and KEA sons first 2 choices and this is what he wanted and is hopeful for so we will no choice but to pursue proper advice and go to appeal.

I do feel I should have made this public news in the local educational press or even national press because all the parents effected do not know each other and the FO do not want to write to parents to get any feedback or investigate the incidents fully. I do feel for all those who were disadvantaged. I suppose most parents have just given up having been told the invigilators account confirms instructions were followed properly and it is unfortunate, but it is your child that misunderstood instructions! I do genuinely feel for those parents that may have given up after their child got a score that was not a qualifying score and did not do any workings in the test.

Would you mind sharing what score your son got? I was wandering if he was close enough on his score for your chosen school that an appeal may not be necessary.

This is a stressful enough time anyway, but for something like this to have happened, it only adds to it.

These are bright children, so they know exactly want the invigilator told them. The FO seem to be insinuating these kids are lying. If a number of children are saying the same thing and their question booklets are blank, surely that in itself warrants more of an investigator by the FO, without the need for appeal.

[Bob1892]

Scgsdad- your situation crossed my mind the other day- how did your dc get on?
And what about the other similar cases at chg and Sheldon I think it was- what was the outcome- any good news??

[Bob1892]

Scgsdad- your situation crossed my mind the other day- how did your dc get on?
And what about the other similar cases at chg and Sheldon I think it was- what was the outcome- any good news??

come on guys- surely you're not also vanished in the ether?