Ribston/SHS

[hopefulandstressed]

Guess we have to keep fingers crossed and wait and try not to think about the situation the entire time! Good luck!

[ofsoundmind]

Good luck to you too. Let me know how you get on. Cross everything

[hopefulandstressed]

I keep checkiing the forum hoping beyond home that there will be posts from those turning down a place!! Think the situation has made me delusional!!

[ofsoundmind]

Have you considered any other grammar schools, or not interested in the travelling?

[Tolstoy]

OSM, when you appeal for a school there are two parts to an appeal.

The first thing you need to do is provide proof that your child is academically of the standard required at the school. If you passed the exam then you are half way there but it would still be a good idea to perhaps show academic evidence that your child would have been capable of scoring higher.

In regards to having a reason for appeal i.e trauma during the exam or at home, this is would be very helpful so it is worth thinking back to the time she took the exam and thinking if anything was going on that might have affected her score. This is more significant when appealing for a school where DC didn't pass. I have read on here though that it helps but it is not a strict requirement the main thing is to have strong evidence of academic ability, some children do under perform on the day and it is not always possible to ascertain why.

The second part of an appeal is based on the space available at the school. If the school has not filled all its spaces then these will automatically be filled by appeal candidates starting with the strongest cases and working down. For schools that are full then you have to prove that giving your child a place will not have a detrimental effect on the schools ability to deliver the curriculum. Most schools are able to do this despite taking a few extra children and it is those extra couple of places that get filled by appeal candidates, they won't be filled from the waiting list and as I explained earlier every successful appeal in a school already at full capacity will lessen your chances of gaining a place off the waiting list.

In your case I would certainly appeal for Ribston. For the last two years they have had spaces at the school after allocation. Personally I think they have their pass mark set too high. It is not that far off the HSFG pass mark and when you consider that the majority of people coming from Cheltenham (and a lot do) will want HSFG because of its close proximity, it is bound to be the more popular school. If your DD was close to the pass mark proving the academic ability will be easier as is the fact that she has passed for one of the Grammars. The second part of this appeal will be easier as you know there is space in the school.

I would also appeal for SHS as you can appeal for more than one school so you may as well kill two birds with one stone. For this one the second part will be the bigger challenge but the appeals section will help you there and I know Capers has mentioned that SHS does have the capacity for a few extra girls. The reason for this appeal is to prevent people jumping ahead of you on the waiting list. Some lower down will appeal and therefore will jump ahead if you have not been offered a place before the appeals start.

Hope that helps.

[ofsoundmind]

Thanks Tolstoy. It makes much more sense now. We couldn't have been closer to the pass mark at R so presume we have a strong case, although do not know exactly what happened on test day. There are no cicumstances that would explain her test result compared to practice tests at home, only maybe nerves and I'm sure most of the girls felt those. Thanks for advice on SH as probably wouldn't have considered appealing if not for advice on this site. Thanks All.

[ofsoundmind]

Hi again Tolstoy. One other thing I forgot to ask, do you appeal individually to each school or is it one panel which considers all schools?

[Tolstoy]

Each appeal will be done separately. I know some people do sit on more than one school's appeals panel so there is a slight risk of meeting the same person at both appeals. However there is no other reason for the schools or panels to know how many schools you have appealed for.

[capers123]

Each appeal will be done separately. I know some people do sit on more than one school's appeals panel so there is a slight risk of meeting the same person at both appeals. However there is no other reason for the schools or panels to know how many schools you have appealed for.

True - there's a shortage of panel members, so occassionally we get to sit on more than one, but we must not (and do not) consider evidence given to one panel when considering an appeal for a different school. For instance, a parent may well say to both panels that each school is their number one top favourite choice - and we must take them at their word.

Appeals panels sit at different locations. The only exception are ones for LEA controlled schools (or schools who have chosen to use the LEA's services), which tend to be heard in Shire Hall. As far as I am aware, all the grammars run their own appeals.

[ofsoundmind]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice, it's heped considerably. I hope everyone gets the school they want.