11 Plus Exams Forum

Just thought I'd pop on to offer a little encouragement for anybody currently gearing themselves up for an appeal and wondering if it's all worth it.
I don't want to give too much away about who I am, but 12 months ago, I was in a bit of an emotional state, worried about appealing, doubting myself, and wondering if it was worth the effort. I walked out of the parents evening last night with so much pride after being told how fantastically well my daughter is doing and listened to all the teachers telling me how much they enjoyed teaching her. Each teacher made a happy sigh when I told them who's parent I was and went on to quite literally gush about her acheivements. Not one tiny hint of her not being Grammar School material, or of her not being able to keep up, or even of her just managing to hold her own.
I am confident that she would have proved herself no matter which school she ended up at, but so many comments last night led me to believe this is the school she was meant to be in from the start. I know it's easy for me to say, as our appeal was succesful, but if I hadn't tried I would have been left with a lifetime of 'what ifs'. In our case, it was absolutely worth every bit of stress, and every bit of hair I pulled out, and even the collosal wine bill I managed *needed* to run up to get me through it.
Now, I'm just starting to build up my wine collection in time to go down the same road with daughter no.2 in 2014. (BTW - I would appreciate a PM from anybody who can recommend me a new tutor - don't want to go down this road again if I can help it lol!!!)

Lovely to hear from you again It's me. Well done to your DD, you must be so proud.

We too have no regrets about appealing last year even though it was stressful at times. We however were not sucessful in our appeal as the panel did not recognise the evidence supplied of DDs academic ability (she did not pass on the day) which makes me smile as she just achieved a level 7 on her latest maths test and is pretty much a 6a for everything else. We had a similar experience of gushing at her parents evening and luckily for us she loves her school and is doing really well even though it is not a Grammar.

Its a shame the 11+ focuses on just one days performance but win or lose I feel that appealing is of benefit (where else can you boast of their achievements without it being seen as bragging and demostrate such faith in your DC ability) so best of luck to all going through the process.

That's fantastic to hear CarpeDiem Well done to your dd.

It just goes to show that bright children will shine whichever school then end up at, and that one test, on one day, is not the sole indicator of their true academic potential.

No regrets and congratulations all round

Hello you two! We are another Trafford appeal failure whose child is doing fantastically at her comp - to the extent that we might not bother with the 11+ for our other two If I said all the things that my daughter has achieved it would be unbearably smug boasting - so I won't But I would like to reassure people who may be going through the appeals process: I have one daughter at an outstanding grammar and one at a satisfactory comp. They are both very happy and their grades are pretty much identical. Please don't worry.

Fantastic to hear from you too Overanxious. It seems a very long time ago that we were all going through the appeal process. Just shows what a difference a year makes and that children who are of a certain academic standard can rise to the top Grammar school or not. All the best to you and your DC. I'm sure now the pressure is off the others will probably sail through the grammar system but the question is will they want to? There is a lot to be said for the extra time gained from being at the local school making after school activities easier to join in as you still have time for homework afterwards without it taking up the whole night.

Hi there, we appealed last year at our local grammar as daughter now in yr 7 missed by a few marks, but, it was obvious from the beginning that the appeal was doomed, we did not have enough evidence, just a strong belief in our child's potential and drive. She did 1 term in our local comp, hated it, didn't feel appreciated or that people got her, she was one of the 'nerds' and was bullied. She took an in year grammar test (12+) in November, and this time with the pressure off, easily passed, and just had parents evening yesterday, got wonderful reports from every single teacher, and she is being put on the gifted and talented register too. She is so happy now at her school, it's so friendly, nurturing and challenging without being difficult or overwhelming. You have to keep trying if you don't get the result you wanted the first time, and if you are disappointed or not happy with your children's school, you have plenty of choice, especially in this area, so a change is possible if you're child is not happy.

Hi overanxious (waves) !!
Love your post- so pleased it's worked out - please feel free to smug boast xx