Appeal-pass but fail

madmax · Post by **madmax** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:18 pm

My son passed the entry exam by 6 points for his chosen Gloucestershire
Grammar school but now is on the waiting list.
We are thinking about appealing but are unsure what evidence the panel are looking for.
Anyone have advice on this.Any consdered advice is welcome.

Many thanks

gloucestermum · Post by **gloucestermum** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:45 pm

Hello Madmax and welcome to the forum!

Can I ask for which school your son is on the waiting list for? This may help with any advice that you may be given.You should look at the appeals section of the forum for specific advice,as you will probably be appealiong on oversubscription? There is a wealth of useful info to be found there,and many knowledgeable people to help you.

Capers 123 may be along soon-he is the font of all knowledge for Gloucestershire in particular!

Good luck,
Gloucestermum.

capers123 · Post by **capers123** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:45 pm

gloucestermum wrote:Capers 123 may be along soon

Eh? What? It's a bank holiday, don't you know!

Hi,

I'd strongly recommend reading the FAQ's in th appeals forum, paying special attention to 'Oversubscriptions'.

Technically, all you need to do is persuade the panel that the school can take more children than the advertised number - have a look at the previous years admissions and see if the number is higher than the Standard / Published Admissions Number.

Your son passed, so his academic ability is proven. But it may well be that there are more children who are appealing than the panel might feel the school can cope with without prejudice to the rest of the pupils... Then it's down to giving better reasons than the other parents as why the schools is the most appropriate for your son, and why he needs to go there. Don't get sidetracked into 'why the school needs my son' or 'I'd be really useful on the PTA' - that just isn't of interest to the panel.

You could also introduce any academic evidence or notes from school if he performed less well on the day of the test than expected - just to say 'yes he passed, but he should of had a higher score'. 'Dead Grannies / Stick Insect, household trauma or broken neck the day before the exam' are also useful bits of evidence.

gloucestermum · Post by **gloucestermum** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:00 pm

Eh? What? It's a bank holiday, don't you know!

But I was right wasn't I???

madmax · Post by **madmax** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:16 pm

my son is on the waiting list for Tommys

gloucestermum · Post by **gloucestermum** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:28 pm

It would seem that the change in scoring for Tommies this year has caused this problem-last year if you scored 105 on both papers you got a place,but this year you only had to get an aggregate of 105 over both papers.Obviously this has resulted in more passes.

You may wish to see the FAQ part of the Gloucestershire forum-this gives a link to the appeals info for last year(taking the above scoring change into consideration,as last year the school had "spare" places after the initial allocations).

Do you have a good backup school if you are not successful?

GM

madmax · Post by **madmax** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:04 pm

We have accepted a place at Crypt but wolud prefer Tommies as his brother is there and we know more about Tommies then Crypt.

gloucestermum · Post by **gloucestermum** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:29 pm

Well I am slightly biased towards Crypt as my son is in year 7-so please feel free to ask any questions that you may have!

capers123 · Post by **capers123** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:16 pm

madmax wrote:We have accepted a place at Crypt but wolud prefer Tommies as his brother is there and we know more about Tommies then Crypt.

I'd certainly recommend appealing, then, as at least you have a good fall-back situation.

Mentioning the sibling at Tommies, and any problems with transport / logisitics, is a good idea.

I don't know Tommies at all, and only know Crypt from playing in various concerts there.

madmax · Post by **madmax** » Tue May 19, 2009 8:46 pm

We had our appeal hearing on Monday. It was very nervous time as we were kept waiting. Our appointment was at 2.00 pm and we finally got to put our case forward at 3.45pm. I must admit by then I was not in a good state. Lucky my husband was with me and he has a much calmer head then me.

The panel was very sorry for keeping us waiting but the morning appeals had run over their time. They were friendly and did their best to put me at ease.
They ask question of us and the education team and I feel that they did listen to what we had to say. We were thank for our presentation as we has given them all the information they needed.

One of the panel said that my son's pass mark would have got him into Tommies last year.

What the decision will be? I couldn't say. They have more appels to hear this week and then after half term so it's looking like the mid of June before we know.

I like to thank you all for the advice and help that I have been given. This site has been a gold mine of information.

Thanks
Madmax

PS I'm glad there was a big box of tissues on the table as I need them.