Bi-lingual Appeal

Eleven Plus (11+) in Gloucestershire (Glos)

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EmeraldE
Posts: 431
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Bi-lingual Appeal

Post by EmeraldE »

Hi All

I would like to ask a question on behalf of some friends. Their son has been brought up bi-lingual, although they speak very little English (and only their native tongue in the home). He failed to qualify for Crypt, by about 4-5 points, but they would like to appeal. They had limited knowledge of the system as they cannot speak nor read English terribly well (did not know grammar schools even existed until the summer before the test). This has obviously disadvantaged their son and although his spoken/written English is a good standard he does not have the knowledge of the nuances of English needed for many questions in the test.

Would this be decent grounds for appeal?
cairo
Posts: 276
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 3:09 pm

Re: Bi-lingual Appeal

Post by cairo »

Obviously there's no way of knowing how much weight any particular appeal panel will give to this argument, but as a totally "lay-person" it seems like a reasonable argument to me. And they won't know unless they try!

One thing that occurs to me is that they should look at his CAT scores in Y5. The non-verbal reasoning test (which uses symbols rather than words) is supposed to be a good indicator of inherent ability and is particularly useful where a person's native tongue is not English or they are bi-lingual. So if his NVR score is a fair bit higher than his VR score, this would add weight to their argument that his verbal ability is currently compromised by being bi-lingual. I think there are pieces of research out there which show that bi-lingual children are slower at reaching their verbal potential than mono-lingual...but that they do get there in the end. Quite at what age they are expected to catch up, I'm not sure.

I suppose the argument your friends will be making is that the Glos test (being totally VR) did not play to their son's strengths. If he is particularly strong in Maths/Science he won't have had the opportunity to demonstrate that. If he's expected to get some/all level 5 SATs that will help too.
max00
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2010 5:55 pm

Re: Bi-lingual Appeal

Post by max00 »

My good friend appealed 2 years ago with the same reason ( bi-lingual girl , very bright ) for one of the girls grammar Gloucester school and they lost.
capers123
Posts: 1865
Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 9:03 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Bi-lingual Appeal

Post by capers123 »

Hi,

It's really down to the panel on the day, and also partly which school. Might have a better chance for Crypt or Marling than Tommies or Pates, and for girls, Ribston.

The parents are entitled to have all the docs translated and have a friend and/or a translator provided on the day. This makes the appeal a little longer, but there's not affect on the outcome.
Capers
EmeraldE
Posts: 431
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Re: Bi-lingual Appeal

Post by EmeraldE »

They wish to appeal for Crypt. When do they need to get the forms etc? Does anyone know the time frame for all of this? Sorry I am a bit useless, I feel responsible in some ways for keeping them right in this issue and don't want to bum steer them (can you say bum?)
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: Bi-lingual Appeal

Post by yoyo123 »

have you looked at the Q&A bit on the appeals section? There is a wealth of information there
EmeraldE
Posts: 431
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Re: Bi-lingual Appeal

Post by EmeraldE »

yes, I have had a good look at the Appeals section :-) Thanks so much
EE
capers123
Posts: 1865
Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 9:03 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Bi-lingual Appeal

Post by capers123 »

Not sure when they have to get the forms in by, but as it's a non-qual appeal (so no chance of getting a place in the re-shuffles), there's no reason they can't start the process now, especially if they want a translator. The final docs need to be in 2 weeks before the appeal, but the intention to appeal form (or whatever it's called) needs to be in some time before that. They wouldn't need to put their case for the appeal on that form - or only brief details if they like.
Capers
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