Feedback from all areas - see 1st post to copy feedback form

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MCon2019
Posts: 24
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2019 9:59 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas - please post here

Post by MCon2019 »

:
• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place: Slough

• 2. What you were appealing against?
• a. non-qualification only?
• b. oversubscription only?
• c. both non-qualification and oversubscription?
BOTH

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for: St Bernards

• 3b. Year group being appealed for:
(e.g. Y7 entry) YR 7

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
(e.g. academy, foundation or voluntary aided)

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: 20th May

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers? 2 weeks- wrong case sent first then new case later

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices) AT SCHOOL

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time? We took an earlier time slot

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
N/A
• 9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
• b. A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
• c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
• d. Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)
2 Old governors and one local businessman


• 11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)
YES
• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? YES
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel? NO
(sometimes applies to non-qualification)

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
QS about our extenuating circumstances
No qs about her academic levels
What schools were on our CAF and where
Did we tutor?



• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)
They were very friendly. Came back feeling very positive

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.) NO

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)? NO

• 18. Did you feel rushed? NO

• 19. How long did the hearing last? 20 minutes
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision? NO
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
NO

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends? 5 working days for the decision and then a further 3 weeks for the reasons!

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion 2/57

• b. in previous years


• 24. Any other comments:

The appeal panel were very lovely and really seemed to understand our case. My daughter passed another test with a massively High result and they said wow that's a great score. They didn't ask anything else about her academic ability. Strangely in our appeal decision letter it stated that they couldn't compare another test but that her other scores showed above average.
The whole process was so stressful. We knew hope was slim but felt that our extenuating circumstances were very strong ( they seemed to understand this when discussed).
I feel that it was a forgone conclusion really as the only reason in our decision letter stated that we have been allocated a suitable school ( not a Grammar) to continue her catholic education and that she would make new friends and be ok at the allocated school ( extenuating circumstances)
na100681
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2018 11:21 am

Re: Feedback from all areas - please post here

Post by na100681 »

• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place: Barnet

• 2. What you were appealing against?
Oversubscription only as my son was well above the minimum score to enter the school.

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for: QE Boys

• 3b. Year group being appealed for: Y7
(e.g. Y7 entry)

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
YES

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: 5 June 2019

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers? 45 days

• 7. Where was the appeal held? Hotel
(e.g. council offices)

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time? on time ( was the first hearing on the afternoon the first day)

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?

• 9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
I think it was a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)
2 women, 1 man. 2 of them had had some experience in school and the third not at all

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
No

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
YES
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
No

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
What was my son's score in the other schools and why QE.


• 15. What were the panel like?
Friendly, polite and considerate. Very nice

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)
No I found him outside with the clerk

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)? Yes they did ask me.

• 18. Did you feel rushed? No at all

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one) around 20 min

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do) NO

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
YES it was and we were ecstatic.

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
I had my hearing on Thursday with an answer on the next Tuesday. There was 2 days of hearing

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion

• b. in previous years: 2 each years (some year, 0 )


• 24. Any other comments:
If you have good ground for an appeal just go for it.
I think my case was decided before even the hearing, I put a lot of proof showing that my son would benefit from going to that school compare to the other school. The headmaster's letter from his primary school showed in detail my son's strength and I linked it to the school I wanted. There was also a big gap in learning between QE and the other school so I think it works for us.
geocachers
Posts: 37
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 1:43 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas - please post here

Post by geocachers »

• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place:
Gloucestershire

• 2. What you were appealing against?
• a. non-qualification only?
• b. oversubscription only?
• c. both non-qualification and oversubscription

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
Marling School


• 3b. Year group being appealed for:
(e.g. Y7 entry)
Y7

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
(e.g. academy, foundation or voluntary aided)
Academy

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
Second week of June 2020

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?
18 days

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices)
Via Zoom due to Covid-19

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?
Yes

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
N/A

• 9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
• b. A panel appointed by the school - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
• c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
• d. Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)
A retired School Admissions Officer, a local MD, a layperson - all parents of children who are currently or were in the local Grammar Schools.

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)
No

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.
Yes

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(sometimes applies to non-qualification)
No

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Were we appealing for any other school? We were not.

• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)
Friendly and professional.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)
They were on the Zoom call already when we joined and we were the first to leave the call, so probably yes.

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?
Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed?
Not really - I think we spoke for far too long. At the end of one section they did ask if we could try to keep to the main points but they didn't interrupt.

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)
One hour

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)
No

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Yes it was. We are delighted! :D

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
They said we would receive a letter no later than 7 days after the last appeal hearing. In fact, we heard by email 2 days after the last appeal hearing which was late afternoon on a Saturday.[/color]

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion
Unknown, but we know at the time of the appeal they were 2 under PAN at 148. And they have accepted 10 over PAN for the last 4 years. They had no real objections to taking 10 over PAN as an absolute limit.

• b. in previous years
Rumoured to be about 1 in 4 ie. 10 out of 40 appeals.

• 24. Any other comments:
It was a stressful experience but so worth it if you have the necessary evidence. We got our evidence together early (a lot of it medical) which was just as well as lockdown happened in March. It was difficult trying to get the correct data information from our Primary - lockdown made it so much harder as we could not discuss face to face with the teachers and Head as they were so very busy with Covid-19 chaos. Prepare early is my top tip!
Nodoio
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2019 5:53 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas - see 1st post to copy feedback

Post by Nodoio »

1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place.[/color]
Answer: KENT


2. What you were appealing against? (a) non-qualification only? (b) oversubscription only? (c) both non-qualification and oversubscription? (d) or something else?[/color]
Answer: NON QUALIFICATION



3a. Name of school you were appealing for:[/color]
Answer: (1) INVICTA (2) MGGS


3b. Year group being appealed for (e.g. Y7 entry):[/color]
Answer: YEAR 7


4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority? (This means it's an academy, foundation or voluntary aided school)[/color]
Answer: NO


5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:[/color]
Answer: 11th – 16th JUNE


6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?[/color]
Answer: approx 3 weeks


7a. Either: Where was the appeal held (e.g. council offices)? [/color]
Answer: COVID-19 – by written submission only



7b. Or: How was the appeal held during covid-19? Were there any particular problems using this way of conducting the hearing?[/color]
Answer: WRITTEN SUBMISSION ONLY


8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?[/color]
Answer: N/A



8b. If not, how late was it in starting?[/color]
Answer: N/A


9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
(a) A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
(b) A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
(c) A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
(d) Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.[/color]

Answer: APPOINTED BY LOCAL AUTHORITY



10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)[/color]
Answer: NAMES WERE GIVEN BUT NO OTHER DETAILS



11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)[/color]
Answer: N/A


12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? This is as follows:
(a) the case for the admission authority;
(b) questioning by the appellants and panel
(c) the case for the appellants;
(d) questioning by the admission authority and panel;
(e) summing up by the admission authority; and
(f) summing up by the appellants.
[/color]

Answer: N/A – COVID-19



13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(Sometimes applies to non-qualification cases)[/color]
Answer: NO


13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?[/color]
Answer: N/A



14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Answer: N/A – COVID-19





15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)[/color]
Answer: N/A – COVID-19


16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)[/color]
Answer: N/A



17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?[/color]
Answer: N/A



18. Did you feel rushed?[/color]
Answer:N/A



19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)[/color]
Answer: N/A


20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision (most authorities do not allow this, although some do)?[/color]
Answer:NOT ALLOWED



21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?[/color]
Answer: YES FOR BOTH INVICTA & MGGS



22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?[/color]
Answer: INVICTA -1 Day MGGS 2 DAYS



23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if known):
(a) on this occasion[/color]
Answer: INVICTA 2019 80 appeals 20 upheld. MGGS 2019 114 appeals 75 upheld.


(b)in previous years[/b]
Answer:



24. Any other comments or information which might be helpful to other parents?[/color]
Answer:

BOTH SCHOOLS HAD SPACES – INVICTA 26 MGGS 56. PLEASE USE KENT COUNTY COUNCIL APPEALS EMAIL FOR ANY QUESTIONS AS THEY WERE VERY HELPFUL – ALWAYS RESPONDED TO ANY QUERY I HAD AND REALLY HELPED. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO PUSH SCHOOLS, LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR INFORMATION. ACADEMIC SUPPORTING EVIDENCE IS THE KEY TOGETHER WITH A SUPPORTING LETTER FROM CURRENT SCHOOL. ENSURE THE LETTER SAYS THEY BELIEVE YOUR CHILD SHOULD BE AT GRAMMAR AND WOULD THRIVE THERE AND ALSO CONTAIN ALL TEST SCORES FROM YEAR 4 UP TO ANY MOCK YEAR 6 SATS TAKEN - NOT JUST A CHARACTER REFERENCE.

I AM GLAD I HAD DONE A VERY COMPREHENSIVE APPEAL POWER POINT PACK WHICH I HAD PREPARED IN PLENTY OF TIME GIVEN THE ISSUES WITH COVID-19 THIS MEANT I SUBMITTED THIS IN PLENTY OF TIME BEFORE THE SCHOOLS SHUT AND I DIDN’T HAVE THIS EXTRA WORRY. PREPARE EVERYTHING WELL IN ADVANCE OF ANY DEADLINES.
MountainDweller
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 4:31 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas - see 1st post to copy feedback

Post by MountainDweller »

1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place.
Gloucestershire



2. Both non-qualification and oversubscription



3a. Name of school you were appealing for
Stroud High School



3b. Year group being appealed for
Year 7



4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority? Academy



5. Approx. date of appeal hearing 9th June 2021



6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers? 3 weeks



7a.Where was the appeal held
Online



7b. Or How was the appeal held during covid-19?
Online



8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?
Yes



8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
N/A



9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had?

(b) A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.



10. Who was on the panel?
A retired headteacher, someone who has worked in education and a school governor



11. Was there a group hearing?
No



12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?This is as follows:
(a) the case for the admission authority;
(b) questioning by the appellants and panel
(c) the case for the appellants;
(d) questioning by the admission authority and panel;
(e) summing up by the admission authority; and
(f) summing up by the appellants.
[/color]

Yes

13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
No



13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?
N/A



14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Why DD wanted the school and why it would be the best fit for her. They said we had already covered any questions they had with our covering letter and our presentation





15. What were the panel like?
Polite and professional.


16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?
No. Joined the call after us, and left before us



17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case.
Yes



18. Did you feel rushed?
Not at all



19. How long did the hearing last?
31 minutes


20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision
No, we were told we would get a letter. I have been stalking the postman each day but it was sent via email



21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Yes! Can’t quite believe it!



22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends
The appeals finished on the Friday, decision emails sent the following Wednesday. 5 Days



23. Success rates for appeals for this school
Not known, will update if I find out.



(b)in previous years
1 in 4



24. Any other comments or information which might be helpful to other parents?
This forum was invaluable, thank you to everyone who takes the time to fill these forms in and to anyone who has contributed to the appeals forum. Read everything you can. Get as much evidence as you can. Use the letter template. Practice your presentation. Be honest. Talk from the heart.
snoflake
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:12 am

Re: Feedback from all areas - see 1st post to copy feedback

Post by snoflake »

1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place.
Answer:
Gloucestershire



2. What you were appealing against? (a) non-qualification only? (b) oversubscription only? (c) both non-qualification and oversubscription? (d) or something else?
Answer:
Non-Qualification and Oversubscription


3a. Name of school you were appealing for:
Answer:
Stroud High School


3b. Year group being appealed for (e.g. Y7 entry):
Answer:
Year 7


4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority? (This means it's an academy, foundation or voluntary aided school)
Answer:
Academy



5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
Answer:
9th June 2021


6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?
Answer:
17 days



7a. Either: Where was the appeal held (e.g. council offices)?
Answer:
Over MS Teams


7b. Or: How was the appeal held during covid-19? Were there any particular problems using this way of conducting the hearing?
Answer:
No issues with the hearing being held over Teams


8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?
Answer:
Yes



8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
Answer:



9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
(a) A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
(b) A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
(c) A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
(d) Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.


Answer:



10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

Answer:
A retired headteacher, a school governor and someone who worked in education - all had connections with schools in Gloucestershire


11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)

Answer:

No

12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? This is as follows:
(a) the case for the admission authority;
(b) questioning by the appellants and panel
(c) the case for the appellants;
(d) questioning by the admission authority and panel;
(e) summing up by the admission authority; and
(f) summing up by the appellants.


Answer:

Yes

13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(Sometimes applies to non-qualification cases)

Answer:

No

13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?
Answer:



14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Answer:

- Question around the doctor's note and whether it was the doctor's opinion or mine
- How was DD before and after exam
- How does DD's anxiety manifest in other scenarios/circumstances
- What did DD say about the questions she had not answered
- What range of literature does she read


15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)

Answer:

Friendly, professional, made me feel at ease

16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)
Answer:

No. They joined after I joined and left before I left.

17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?
Answer:

No

18. Did you feel rushed?
Answer:

No

19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

Answer:

30 mins

20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision (most authorities do not allow this, although some do)?
Answer:

No

21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Answer:

Yes!

22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
Answer:

I had to wait 8 days. They actually sent out the results by email on the 7th day but unfortunately I did not receive mine, so I rang admissions at the school the following morning who then asked the clerk to urgently send on my letter.

23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if known):
(a) on this occasion

Answer:

Unknown. They were 6 under PAN at the time of the hearing and have 160 in year groups 7-10 currently

(b)in previous years[/b]
Answer:

2020 - 10/31
2019 - 10/27
2018 - 10/34

24. Any other comments or information which might be helpful to other parents?
Answer:

Read everything on this site - I could not have put a case together without it. Be prepared, prepare again, and go with your heart.

25. If you have a separate thread with further information about your appeal, could you provide a link here?
(Moderators will be happy to provide a link if asked to do so in your other thread.)

Answer:
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum ... 35&t=61897" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Heidimaghellian
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:13 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas - see 1st post to copy feedback

Post by Heidimaghellian »

1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place.
Wirral:


2. What you were appealing against? (a) non-qualification only? (b) oversubscription only? (c) both non-qualification and oversubscription? (d) or something else?
Non-qualification only :



3a. Name of school you were appealing for (optional - but it would be of interest!):
Upton Hall:



3b. Year group being appealed for (e.g. Y7 entry):
Y9 in-year transfer:



4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority? (This means it's an academy, foundation or voluntary aided school)
Yes:



5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
9 September 2021:



6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?
Approx 24 days:



7a. Either: Where was the appeal held (e.g. council offices)?
Zoom:



7b. Or: How was the appeal held during covid-19? Were there any particular problems using this way of conducting the hearing?
No problems - well organised:



8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?
Yes - was allocated a time slot and duration of 25 minutes:



8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
5 minutes:



9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
(a) A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
(b) A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
(c) A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
(d) Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.


Panel appointed by the school I think - links to the associated boys' school:



10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

The Chair introduced himself as a retired headmaster and 2 just 2 Lay representatives who were introduced by name:



11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)

No:



12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? This is as follows:
(a) the case for the admission authority;
(b) questioning by the appellants and panel
(c) the case for the appellants;
(d) questioning by the admission authority and panel;
(e) summing up by the admission authority; and
(f) summing up by the appellants.


Initially, but after the Chair of the Governors presented his case and I and the panel asked questions, he left the meeting and never returned.:



13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(Sometimes applies to non-qualification cases)

No:



13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?
Answer:



14. What questions were you asked about your case?
I had been very thorough in my appeal so allowed them the opportunity to ask something! Namely about my daughter's friendships at her current school and outside of school:





15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)

Answer:

Absolutely lovely - welcoming, caring, polite, considerate, relaxed and friendly.

16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)
As it was via Zoom I'm not sure but I think I was the last to enter the meeting online.:



17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?
No:



18. Did you feel rushed?
Perhaps if I hadn't have been so well prepared and given them all relevant paperwork - including my speech - in advance given that I was only allocated 25 minutes:



19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

15-20 minutes:



20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision (most authorities do not allow this, although some do)?
Not mentioned:



21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Awaiting result:



22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
In the letter they said I would hear within 7 days - the DoE has amended the timescale from 5 - but that they try to do this asap:



23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if known):
(a) on this occasion

:


(b)in previous years[/b]
From the 3?? I saw on here all were successful:



24. Any other comments or information which might be helpful to other parents?
Given that my daughter was already in a high-achieving grammar school (Wirral Girls) I argued that in her case it was more a matter of her being in the wrong grammar school rather than needing to proving her academic ability, especially as she had passed Upton's exam the first time round with a score of 244 - this time she scored 233 (3 marks short) and had even been offered a place there after rising up the waiting list which we declined as she had already had her induction and uniform etc. I therefore presented my case in the following order: 1) Extenuating circumstances, given that we had extremely strong ones all based around her SEND, which at the time of the exam was undiagnosed but which was diagnosed before the appeal hearing. I wanted to be totally honest. 2) Reasons for wanting to transfer : based this on pastoral care, SEN, curriculum. I was humble and didn't take anything for granted because although I think we have a strong case, you just never know. I also questioned the Governor on the school's case for non-admission based on capacity as well as non-attainment of pass mark (which annoyed me when I saw their case because we had already been told upon enquiring at the school that there was one place in Y9 and my daughter was the only one taking the exam so the place was hers if she passed!) This was an ace up my sleeve and stumped the Governor. The Chair seemed a bit annoyed and asked the Governor if there was a place but the Governor had to say he was unable to comment! So the Chair apologised and said they would contact the school to ascertain if this was the case. I really enjoyed it because I was so well prepared thanks to everyone's input on this site. Just be honest and fair. At the end the Chair told me that, whatever the outcome, in his 43 years of education he had never seen a parent fight so hard and so well for their child. Gold star me. Thank you Etienne et al. :



25. If you have a separate thread with further information about your appeal, could you provide a link here?
(Moderators will be happy to provide a link if asked to do so in your other thread.)

Answer:
Rgsmummy
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2018 11:02 am

Re: Feedback from all areas - see 1st post to copy feedback

Post by Rgsmummy »

color=blue]• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place.[/color]
Please write your answer in the space below:

Medway

2. What you were appealing against? (a) non-qualification only? (b) oversubscription only? (c) both non-qualification and oversubscription? (d) or something else?
Answer:

Over subscription

3a. Name of school you were appealing for (optional - but it would be of interest!):
Answer:

Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School

3b. Year group being appealed for (e.g. Y7 entry):
Answer:

Year 7


4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority? (This means it's an academy, foundation or voluntary aided school)
Answer:

yes, an Academy

5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
Answer:

28/04/22

6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?
Answer:

12 days

7a. Either: Where was the appeal held, if you had to attend a particular location? (e.g. council offices)
Answer:

Local hotel conference room


7b. Or: How was the appeal held during covid-19? (e.g. Zoom, or Microsoft Teams, or written submissions only) and were there any particular problems using this way of conducting the hearing?
Answer:

Written submissions in advance of hearing date and then a live appeal hearing.

8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?
Answer:

We arrived early and went in approximately 15 mins early.

8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
Answer:
N/a


9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
(a) A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
(b) A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
(c) A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
(d) Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.


Answer:

A panel appointed by the school.

10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

Answer:

A retired head teacher (from out of area), a midwife and other panel member occupation unknown.

11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)

Answer:

Yes.

12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? This is as follows:
(a) the case for the admission authority;
(b) questioning by the appellants and panel
(c) the case for the appellants;
(d) questioning by the admission authority and panel;
(e) summing up by the admission authority; and
(f) summing up by the appellants.


Answer:

Yes.

13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(Sometimes applies to non-qualification cases)

Answer:

No.

13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?
Answer:

n/a

14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Answer:

Asked lots of questions about the specific reasons we had already submitted as to why this was the school that our son needed to go to as it offered things the other school did not . For example Rugby, Hockey and Latin.



15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)

Answer:

Very friendly, polite and genuine. Gave us plenty of time to explain our case and made sure we had said everything we wanted before it concluded. They asked lots of questions stemming from our submissions but to extract extra information from us. One of the panel even added an additional reason why the offered school wouldn’t be ideal compared to the one appealed for (journey to school on foot was via country lanes without footpaths and with no street - lighting relevant in winter) as opposed to school appealed for (that we have to drive past to drop off older child at nearby school on our way to work via car). This wasn’t something we had included in our original submissions but was clearly relevant in addition to the points we had raised ourselves.


16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (In a face to face hearing it's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)
Answer:

No


17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?
Answer:

Yes.

18. Did you feel rushed?
Answer:

No.


19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

Answer:

Approx 35 mins

20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision (most authorities do not allow this, although some do)?
Answer:

No, we were told result would be posted, we were the first day of appeals, where 4 days were scheduled either side of a bank holiday weekend. They explained they would make their decisions at the end of the following week and we would hear via 1st class post with letters coming out in 12/13 days time.


21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Answer:

Yes! So happy.

22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
Answer:

13 days!

23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if known):
(a) on this occasion

Answer:

Don’t know yet, previous couple of years 13/14 were successful. There were 45 appeals this year in total but don’t yet know how many were also successful.

(b)in previous years[/b]
Answer:

13/14 each year for the past few years with on average 75 appeals per year. Also it looks like the successful appeals were only to already qualified candidates (had already passed the 11+).

24. Any other comments or information which might be helpful to other parents?
Answer:

This was very stressful but ultimately worthwhile. We were surprised that other appellants had taken their child along to both the grouped appeal stage and the actual hearing (even though it was during the school day). Everything we had read suggested this was not recommended. We ended up explaining why our child was at school and not there which did slightly worry us that we should have brought him along. We had submitted some photos of our child playing rugby and hockey for his teams over several seasons to support our sport arguments, and were aware that sending in photos also wasn’t recommended. However, we wanted to show he had been playing these sports since he was tiny and it wasn’t just a recent ‘staged’ photo to use in the appeal. We did explain this reasoning to the panel and given other parents had brought their children with them I don’t think it harmed our case. The children that had attended looked worried and we wouldn’t have wanted to put that pressure on our child, or for them to feel in any way they had caused them not to win the appeal, definitely recommend going without your child but felt the sporting photos were useful in our case.


25. If you have a separate thread with further information about your appeal, could you provide a link here?
(Moderators will be happy to provide a link if asked to do so in your other thread.)

Answer:
MrsCh
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2022 1:24 am

Re: Feedback from all areas - see 1st post to copy feedback

Post by MrsCh »

---------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place.
Please write your answer in the space below:

Wirral

2. What you were appealing against? (a) non-qualification only? (b) oversubscription only? (c) both non-qualification and oversubscription? (d) or something else?
Answer:

Oversubscription

3a. Name of school you were appealing for (optional - but it would be of interest!):
Answer:

West Kirby Grammar School

3b. Year group being appealed for (e.g. Y7 entry):
Answer:

7



5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
Answer:

May 2022

6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?
Answer:

Approximately 3 weeks

7a. Either: Where was the appeal held, if you had to attend a particular location? (e.g. council offices)
Answer:

Local function rooms

7b. Or: How was the appeal held during covid-19? (e.g. Zoom, or Microsoft Teams, or written submissions only) and were there any particular problems using this way of conducting the hearing?
Answer:

Stage 1 - Teams
Stage 2 - in person

8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?
Answer:

Yes


9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
(a) A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
(b) A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
(c) A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
(d) Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.


Answer:

A

10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

Answer:

Unsure of occupations of members, Chair (male) and two ladies

11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)

Answer:

Yes, Stage 1 via teams

12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? This is as follows:
(a) the case for the admission authority;
(b) questioning by the appellants and panel
(c) the case for the appellants;
(d) questioning by the admission authority and panel;
(e) summing up by the admission authority; and
(f) summing up by the appellants.


Answer:

Yes

13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(Sometimes applies to non-qualification cases)

Answer:

No, not possible in this Authority

14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Answer:


Very little, as we had submitted all the evidence and our case via email beforehand


15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)

Answer:

Lovely, very pleasant and understanding

16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (In a face to face hearing it's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)
Answer:

No

17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?
Answer:

Yes

18. Did you feel rushed?
Answer:

No

19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

Answer:

25 minutes

20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision (most authorities do not allow this, although some do)?
Answer:


Not told, said it would be via email

21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Answer:

YES :D :D

22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
Answer:

10 days

23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if known):
(a) on this occasion

Answer:

This is the first year they had on record (5 or 6 years on the system) that the school was oversubscribed. Some years they admit 20+, on Appeal but this year being oversubscribed I imagine it would be less, and we were told all the Grammars on Wirral this year were oversubscribed

Told 45 appellants on this occasion.


24. Any other comments or information which might be helpful to other parents?
Answer:

We had a strong case, although DD had already reached the required standard, we still had the head teachers report showing she is Greater Depth in all areas, reading and spelling ages plus school test scores, and evidence of our personal and family factors, showing why she needed this particular school. Irrespective of the outcome, the Appeal was not stressful and we were glad to have the opportunity to Appeal
Dorset23
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2023 9:12 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas - see 1st post to copy feedback form

Post by Dorset23 »

---------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place.
Please write your answer in the space below: BCP Council



2. What you were appealing against? (a) non-qualification only? (b) oversubscription only? (c) both non-qualification and oversubscription? (d) or something else?
Answer:
B - Oversubscription only


3a. Name of school you were appealing for (optional - but it would be of interest!):
Answer: PGS



3b. Year group being appealed for (e.g. Y7 entry):
Answer: YR 7 Entry



4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority? (This means it's an academy, foundation or voluntary aided school)
Answer:
n/a


5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
Answer: 04/05/23



6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?
Answer:
18 days


7a. Either: Where was the appeal held, if you had to attend a particular location? (e.g. council offices)
Answer:
At the school


7b. Or: How was the appeal held during covid-19? (e.g. Zoom, or Microsoft Teams, or written submissions only) and were there any particular problems using this way of conducting the hearing?
Answer:
Face to face


8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?
Answer:
15 mins early - we arrived around half an hour early.


8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
Answer:
n/a


9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
(a) A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
(b) A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
(c) A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
(d) Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.


Answer:
A panel appointed by the LA


10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

Answer:
2 experienced in education and chair, plus clerk.


11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)

Answer:
Yes stage 1 - was held in group to all parents


12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? This is as follows:
(a) the case for the admission authority;
(b) questioning by the appellants and panel
(c) the case for the appellants;
(d) questioning by the admission authority and panel;
(e) summing up by the admission authority; and
(f) summing up by the appellants.


Answer:
We were asked to explain our case first and then a few questions from the panel. We provided lots of evidence so i don't think they needed to ask many questions. They asked us to clarify a few dates with reference to our extenuating circumstances but because our son passed they didn't need academic evidence although we did also provide this.



13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(Sometimes applies to non-qualification cases)

Answer:
Don't think so.


13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?
Answer:
N/A


14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Answer:
Asked to explain our circumstances and why our son sat the late exam
They asked about our son and how he felt about going to this particular school.



15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)

Answer: Friendly and understanding, gave us plenty of time to speak.



16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (In a face to face hearing it's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)
Answer:

No, wasn't left alone.

17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?
Answer:
Yes on two occasions.


18. Did you feel rushed?
Answer:

Not at all.

19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

Answer:

20 mins or so

20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision (most authorities do not allow this, although some do)?
Answer:
No, we were told we'd receive an email the day after giving a decision to be followed by a more in depth one the following week.


21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Answer:
Yes!!!



22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
Answer:

24 hours

23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if known):
(a) on this occasion

Answer:
last year no boys got in on appeal.


(b)in previous years[/b]
Answer:
year before 2 in year


24. Any other comments or information which might be helpful to other parents?
Answer:
Don't panic, collect your evidence. Our case was unusual in the sense it was an oversubscription appeal with extenuating circumstances, from historical data the appeal success is very low, so you need a very strong case.


25. If you have a separate thread with further information about your appeal, could you provide a link here?
(Moderators will be happy to provide a link if asked to do so in your other thread.)

Answer:



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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