Missed out by 5 marks...Please help or any advice..

[jayzee1]

Colmans no exams.....its a once a week club..thanks will google that info....


The more I read the more confused I get...should I do it or not....thanks x

[Colmans]

Its your choice. You have nothing to loose, but set realistic expectations. You also need to work on plan B.

Regarding musical talent, ABRSM (or equivalent) grades would be good evidence.

[tigger2]

Most ht's only submit a couple of review applications every year. It is quite possible that there were other near misses who perhaps were nearer to the cut off or had particular personal circumstances that merited it with strong academic evidence which would usually mean level 5's.
If I were you I would ask the deputy if they will support a parental appeal and once you have put the school on your scaf with your other choices give yourself a few weeks to think it over. Although this part is very stressful there is quite a large gap between filing your scaf and then the allocations in March which give you the right to appeal. Is there a non selective locally that your dd would be happy with?

[jayzee1]

Most ht's only submit a couple of review applications every year. It is quite possible that there were other near misses who perhaps were nearer to the cut off or had particular personal circumstances that merited it with strong academic evidence which would usually mean level 5's.
If I were you I would ask the deputy if they will support a parental appeal and once you have put the school on your scaf with your other choices give yourself a few weeks to think it over. Although this part is very stressful there is quite a large gap between filing your scaf and then the allocations in March which give you the right to appeal. Is there a non selective locally that your dd would be happy with?

I know the deputy put some cases forward not my daughter. I think as she is level 4s and not 5......class teacher was very supportive and told me to appeal
Dartford Girls will be very hard to get into...and there will be girls who are also just near misses by 1 or 2 points. We have a good second choice but dd has heart set on grammar as most friends will be putting this on scaf.....They have just carried out assessments on Monday and Tuesday and teacher said levels have gone up...but didn't know levels yesterday.....will give out next week. Been thinking of this all night....5 marks seems so much.....thanks for reply

[jayzee1]

Its your choice. You have nothing to loose, but set realistic expectations. You also need to work on plan B.

Regarding musical talent, ABRSM (or equivalent) grades would be good evidence.

We do have a good school near by non grammar....confused now as to how to list them on scaf.....dartford girls in my opinion will be hard to get into...will speak to music teacher too..Thank you

[tigger2]

You should list your choices in order of your true preference. So if you really want Dartford first put that as your first choice and your good non selective alternative as your second choice. The schools don't know your order of preference. Every school you list will be given your details and they each rank your dc according to their criteria. So for instance if you haven't qualified for your first choice or you meet the criteria but are ranked lower in the schools over subscription criteria (for instance say the school has 100 places to offer but according to their over subscription criteria your dc is ranked 101 your dc can't be offered a place) KCC look to see where you are ranked for your next choice. Basically they will stop at the first choice that can offer you a place.

If you decide to appeal for a grammar school place and you have named the school on your scaf you will be in the first batch of appeals in the Spring. Obviously though should you not want to consider an appeal and you have 4 good alternatives to try for then the situation is somewhat different. All I know is that I struggled to list 3 schools let alone 4 !

[jayzee1]

Thanks.....would love Dggs but as I keep hearing it's so hard to get into with a pass....and my little dd has not even qualified as it were....thanks for all the information you provide....i appreciate the help and replies xx

[jayzee1]

Jayzee

Not personally but family and friends have with some varying degree of success. There is a lot of great advice on here, as well as other sources on how to log an appeal, and from far more authoritive sources.

As an observer, I would say that unfortunately Dartford is going to be a challenge and that your success could be better at Wilmington. There is some FoI data available which I saw recently which showed the successful appeals for Dartford were very low.

Whilst DGS is not a selective school, its admission policy makes it selective due to it always being heavily oversubscibed. Its oversubscription policy is then to select highest scores locally, plus an allowance for OOC. The reality is that there will be a number of local girls who passsed 11+ who will not get a selection. You are therefore competing with them, as well as others who did not pass. e.g A boy in my DD class failed even though he scored over 360 as his maths score was 105, and I'm sure there will be many girls with similar stories.

If you live in Dartford area, but also closer to Gravesend, Mayfield may be a better alternative as this is generally undersubscribed, and so appeal places are more successful. This is one of the reasons why Mayfield had their own test this year as they wanted a wider test for girls that was more weighted to literacy and writing as opposed to Maths in the Kent test. I've no idea whether this will now fill the places locally with the combined options.

If you really dont think that the school head or representation is going to do you any favours, get the best advice you can today from someone who has a track record in this area. Dont leave it to chance.

Colmans have i not missed Mayfield test? X

[Colmans]

Jayzee

You have missed the test. The Mayfield test was on the Saturday following the 11+. The results came out with the KCC letter.

1. Girls had to take Kent Test in order to sit the Mayfield test
2. Girls can select Mayfield if they pass either test
3. If you failed Kent Test, but passed Mayfield (as some have) you can apply to Mayfield under their selection criteria.
4. If you failed Mayfield, but passed Kent Test, you are able to apply under Kent general selection for any Grammar (including Mayfield).

What is not clear, is how the tests will rank in oversubscription. This seems a tad ambiguous (based on school details) but should be cleared up this week during open days.

Given that the school has been undersubscribed in recent years due to the low pass rates of local girls, near misses have generally been able to select the school and gain entry on appeal. HT said at open evening that they wanted to find a way of getting local girls who may have missed kent test (probaly through Maths) but who were strong in English. We wait to see if any of the gap has been plugged!

[jayzee1]

Thanks Colmans..appreciate the help..