Ribston/SHS

[spottycat]

Crazybutsmiling ( the "nasty, vicious, miserable B" will know better than me) but as I understand it - there will most likely be more than 8 appelants on the day ( possibly there will quite a number of appeals over more than one day?) most will also have passed. This is where test scores, CATs scores, evidence of mitigating circumstances etc.. become important. Again, Capers knows about this and there's a lot of good advice about appeals on this site - all you can do is put the best case together - including - I would have thought - why SHS would be the best school for your daughter? Your daughter's VR score is within the range at a grammar school so not to worry about that - the other scores are high - maybe you could get a more recent prediction for her English SATs. I think it must depend, to an extent, on the strength of the other appeals on the day?

[capers123]

Seems clearer if it was a non qualifiaction!

Not really - with a non-qual, yes, you have to prove ability. Then you still have to get over the over-sub bit in the same way that the over-sub appeals have to.

So you have two steps to get up, not just one.

Thank you for your reassurances. My big question is if they do end up allowing 8 over PAN, what would make a strong case when using over subscription appeal. Why one person over another. Surely not just saying "well you allowed more last year so let my daughter in"!

If there were only 7 appeals, then that would be enough (assuming the panel thought that admitting 7 girls wouldn't have an adverse affect)!

I have lots of reasons why this school is the best for my daughter, should I use that?

YES!

Some parents come up with lots of reasons that they shouldn't go to the school allocated. That really isn't of interest to the panel (unless, for example, there's been bullying and the bully is also going to the other school) - because any school other than the allocated could be OK. What we need to hear is why it's vital that the child goes to this school - why it's best for them.

We're also not interested in why it's the best school for the parents: "We're very active in the PTA and will raise lots of money for the school". That makes no difference to us, apart from making us wonder in the back of our minds that maybe it's the parents who want the child to go to that school for social climbing reasons.

There is no magic formula of words to say at an appeal - every appeal is different.

[crazybutsmiling]

Thank you Capers and Spottycat, for your help. Sorry for all the questions! But one more! (Until I think of some more)
Approximately when do appeals occur?

[capers123]

Thank you Capers and Spottycat, for your help. Sorry for all the questions! But one more! (Until I think of some more)
Approximately when do appeals occur?

Late May or June. Sometimes going into July (but unlikely for SHS). That gives time for parents, once they've heard about the 'reconsideration' at the end of March(?), to get their case together & any letters / reports etc from the primary school or whoever (but pleeease dpn't send in a report from a private tutor), and likewise the school to get their case together (or mail merge it, as the case is pretty much the same for every pupil - just varying as to qualified or not).

No decisions are made on individual appeals until all the appeals for that school have been heard. However, that does not include 'late' appeals when a parent decides to appeal after the main batch have been heard - and they end up at a disadvantage, as the school will be even more over-subscribed if the panel has allowed appeals!

I would imagine that the clerk for SHS has been pencilling some dates in already - appeals panel members need to be booked in advance, as the same panel must hear all of the appeals. She will also need to book a venue.

There is always the chance of getting to the top of the waiting list & being offered a place up until the date of the appeals. I have known appeals withdrawn on the day because a space has come up and the child was the top of the list. I even once remember having heard the appeal, then a place being offered before the second day of hearings.

[crazybutsmiling]

More questions!!
Our main reason for SHS is my daughter loved the feel of the school, -the atmosphere.
She is very shy and quiet, as mentioned on every school report she's ever had, (there are reasons), I think an all girls school would help her here.
Also maybe Capers you could answer this, SHS is a maths and science specialist school, and as mentioned before these are her strong points, in fact last year I even took to 'banning' maths until she finished her literacy homework!
She loves maths and this is where she feels confident and unafraid to put her hand up in class!
So how much weight would that carry in an appeal, that this school would be very important to her?
Had considered Ribston, but some other threads on the forum compared it with SHS, saying one more dance and one more drama. Would I be correct in saying SHS is stronger in sport?
My daughter is extremely sporty, she competes in gymnastics, trains 12 hours a week, along with other sports. So could this possibly put into appeal?
Also she is the youngest in the class and maintained being on the top tables throughout school, is that useful info??
Just want to make sure I include enough, but not too much, so to annoy the panel!!
Thanks Again.

[capers123]

More questions!!
Our main reason for SHS is my daughter loved the feel of the school

Yep, know the feeling on that one.

Also maybe Capers you could answer this, SHS is a maths and science specialist school, and as mentioned before these are her strong points ,... So how much weight would that carry in an appeal, that this school would be very important to her?

Not a huge amount (but every little helps). I still remember the year after a boys school got a specialism, EVERY SINGLE APPEAL said that the boy happened to be really interested in that subject. To the point that I wondered if it had a needlework specialism, I was sure that the boys would suddenly all show an interest. If you've got great proof of a long-lasting love of maths, use it.

Had considered Ribston, but some other threads on the forum compared it with SHS, saying one more dance and one more drama. Would I be correct in saying SHS is stronger in sport?
My daughter is extremely sporty, she competes in gymnastics, trains 12 hours a week, along with other sports. So could this possibly put into appeal?

I have no idea if it's sporty - or more so than other schools. It doesn't register on DD1's radar. You can mention it, but don't forget that it's academic reasons we're interested in. Other schools in the area have sports specialities, so I would be cautions that the panel doesn't think 'would they be better off at Archway or TK, where sport has a higher profile'!

[crazybutsmiling]

Sorry if this sounds like ranting! DD1 came home today and talked about practise SATS tests they've been doing this week, there are top 3 students in the class that always score the highest -she is one of them! The other 2 are girls who got into SHS, their birthdays Jan and Sept, my daughter is an August baby, in fact 3 weeks after she turns 11 this summer the other girl will turn 12! I am so frustrated at being in no mans land, when in reality she is as capable (if not more so in maths as they usually score a point or 2 behind DD1) as they are, yet may be faced with not getting in! Can I even mention this at appeals.
Also Capers can I ask (sorry again) another ?
My daughter has been offered a school in ciren -as i thought we'd be moving there but are not now. So is going to be a nightmare for logistics but doable with some military planning. However, catchment area school is on a road which my brother was killed as a child which my parents will not drive on, I am a single working parent and they pick my children up after school, and my mother has already said she will not go to that school. Would this be useful to mention at appeal, or are they only interested in academic reasons? Which in that case is it is a maths specialist school!

[capers123]

Sorry if this sounds like ranting! DD1 came home today and talked about practise SATS tests they've been doing this week, there are top 3 students in the class that always score the highest -she is one of them! The other 2 are girls who got into SHS, their birthdays Jan and Sept, my daughter is an August baby, in fact 3 weeks after she turns 11 this summer the other girl will turn 12! I am so frustrated at being in no mans land, when in reality she is as capable (if not more so in maths as they usually score a point or 2 behind DD1) as they are, yet may be faced with not getting in! Can I even mention this at appeals.

You can mention anything you like. But the weighting is fair. My DD is a September birthday, so will have had points 'knocked off' to allow for that. It's just as fair. It gives children of the same ability an equal score, irrespective of their birth date. Hey - September... Not at a school between Stroud & Ciren, is she? If so, PM me.

My daughter has been offered a school in ciren -as i thought we'd be moving there but are not now. So is going to be a nightmare for logistics but doable with some military planning. However, catchment area school is on a road which my brother was killed as a child which my parents will not drive on, I am a single working parent and they pick my children up after school, and my mother has already said she will not go to that school. Would this be useful to mention at appeal, or are they only interested in academic reasons? Which in that case is it is a maths specialist school!

Hmm. Panels tend to be interested in why THIS school is the most appropriate for the child, not why the offered school isn't. You might just get some sympathy votes, but then again, they might wonder if your child should take pubic transport, then no-one would need to drive.

You can also appeal for other schools as well, even if they were not on your list (because you thought you were moving to Ciren). The panel will not know, and this can be a useful insurance policy; though even then, you may not necessarily win any appeal, it's just that non-grammar appeals don't have the academic ability hurdle to get over, just purely oversubscription.

[ofsoundmind]

Crazybutsmiling - Hopefully, you won't need to go to an appeal. There is normally a fair amount of movement from the waiting lists. But definitely worth appealing as well as waiting, as that gets you two bites of the cherry. Good Luck!

Hi All,
Does anyone have any idea how much movement there usually is between reconsideration and the appeal stage?
ofsoundmind

[hopefulandstressed]

Hi
Have just found out that we've now moved from first on SHS waiting list to third as 2 students with higher scores have moved into the area. Extremely bad luck for all on the waiting list as everyone will now be 2 places lower than originally placed. It's such a nightmare that all the movement is going the WRONG way. Oh bring on some good news please!
I'll be so glad when the whole process is over ...