11 Plus Exams Forum

My daughter failed the 11+ plus by 4 points on her English. On the day she was really full of cold and over the week before we were keeping the school updated on her progress. English is also her strong subject so we were miffed. We have letters showing she was ill. Is it worth chasing a place at weald. Her other score were really good. Also on calling the council she got 14 questions right. And answered them all. Does anyone know how many questions there was ?

If your daughter's scores on the other papers were really good I would definitely appeal in March. You will need to provide academic evidence to show that she is suitable for a GS as you will be dealing with non qualification as well as probably oversubscription. There is a lots of really useful information on this forum about what to include in your appeal. Good luck.

Have you put Weald down on your CAF?

These are very helpful links to KCC's appeals guidance, well worth a read.


https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-c ... ffer#tab-2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/p ... -notes.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Have you put down MGGS or Invicta as another option? According to another helpful website they allow a lot of girls in on appeal when are generally not over subscribed. Not sure what the journey would be like though.

Sparklecat wrote:Have you put down MGGS or Invicta as another option? According to another helpful website they allow a lot of girls in on appeal when are generally not over subscribed. Not sure what the journey would be like though.

No offence meant to you, Sparklecat, but unless someone does have concrete proof that Kent CC / Kent own admissions authority schools are indeed exempt from the Admissions Appeals Code, could we please knock on the head the concept of the school 'letting in' (or not letting in) anyone at appeal? The Admissions authority (be it LEA or own admissions authority school) has the responsibility for organising appeals, but the actual panel must be independent of the authority - the clue being in the title 'IAP' - Idependent Appeal Panel.

The purpose of the panel is to hear the case of the school as to why the place could not be offered and the case of the parent as to why it should be - and to weigh up the two, within the framework of the law. Neither the parent nor the school gets to make the decision as to whether the child should be admitted.

I am sorry ToadMum, but yours appears to be a naive view of a commercial activity. I have tracked and been involved in school appeal outcomes for many years across Kent and Medway. I have reports from headteachers of appeal panel groups asking schools how many children they want to go through. I see and analyse trends. I have had direct feedback of schools telling appeal panels that they would like particular children to be offered places, which undermines any freedom the panel would have to turn the child down.

I have written elsewhere about patterns of outcomes, as panels often work to oblige the schools by delivering the right numbers.
I have seen schools change to a more amenable panel group because they don't like the numbers put thorough. As you know schools are able to set up their own appeal panels and select their own 'independent' panellists. It has become a market place!

One commercial group a few years ago when the school had no experienced presenting officer, provided their own to help, so that everyone in the room apart from the parent was from the 'Independent' organisation.

Having said that, I still believe that the overwhelming majority of appeal panellists and appeal panels do their best to be courteous and much more importantly fair within the parameters they are set. If you are considering an appeal. I would advise you to look at previous appeal patterns, although they can sometimes change abruptly with a change in school circumstances.

P.S. Invicta grammar this year, although technically just full, let through 89% of the 65 appeals heard, almost all, if not all girls who had not been successful in the Kent grammar assessment process. This was not by any standard a panel acting independently. This was a Kent County Council Panel. The Kent County Council Panel for Dartford Girls Grammar allowed no successful appeals for the 93 cases heard. It beggars belief that there was not a single case strong enough to overcome prejudice.

Peter wrote:
P.S. Invicta grammar this year, although technically just full, let through 89% of the 65 appeals heard, almost all, if not all girls who had not been successful in the Kent grammar assessment process. This was not by any standard a panel acting independently. This was a Kent County Council Panel. The Kent County Council Panel for Dartford Girls Grammar allowed no successful appeals for the 93 cases heard. It beggars belief that there was not a single case strong enough to overcome prejudice.

The panel that allowed the 57/58 appeals at Invicta clearly did not give proper consideration to the school's prejudice case. Maybe the case was extremely week. I don't see how any school could cope with an additional 50 odd unplanned pupils at short notice. If they have that much classroom space, yet alone ability to find quality teachers at short notice, their published admission number should be increased to meet demand.

TM. I don't pretend to know how the appeal system works or is constituted. I was just trying to ascertain which schools the OP has put down for their daughter, so they know what their options are. If they have put down certain schools with a history of girls getting in on appeal, then that is useful information. I didn't design or approve of the system, but do sympathise with those trying to navigate it. Once again, credit to Peter for his amazing work.