11 Plus Exams Forum

This is husband of Rainbow Mum asking a question. Bear with me if I have not processes this correctly.

Is there any mileage in asking the school rep a question when they have made their presentation? Or is it best to appear reasonable and let it ride and say the usual "we understand"?


The school has its submission to the appeal panel. Under the heading “School Accommodationâ€

Welcome, husband!

I think it's entirely reasonable to ask questions when something is not clear or requires explaining.

The main point I'm always seeking to put across is that it's unusual for the school case to fail at stage 1, and your energies are therefore best focused on stage 2 which is where most cases are won or lost.

In my view, for a school to lose stage 1, the case would probably have to be incompetently presented, or alternatively the school is eager to accept extra pupils! (The latter situation occasionally arises when the LA is the admission authority and is determined to resist, but a school representative states under questioning that additional numbers would not cause any problem.)

You have every right to ask for clarification, and might even dent the school case a bit in the process. Parents can sometimes get very angry at a group hearing, and it's always best, I suggest, to ask questions in a very reasonable manner, rather than launching into a full-frontal assault.
Stage 1 is also known as the "factual stage" - the panel is there to establish the facts, and cannot be swayed by the strength of feeling.

Hope this helps

Hello. We have asked for clarification on the above point. This is the answer we recieved.

The reference to small classrooms in a Secondary school context refers to seminar rooms most commonly used for small groups of no more than 20 students. The infomation presented in the Governor's statment relates to standard classrooms which are typically used at ***** grammar for groups of upto 30 students.

Please give your thoughts.

Thankyou

It's true that grammar schools are going to have some rooms more appropriate for small sets and for the sixth form.

56 sq.m. is the currently accepted size of a general teaching room in a secondary school if the school were being built now!

A few years ago it was 49 sq.m., and before that it was 46 sq.m.

It is normal practice for school cases to trot out the 56 sq.m. figure, and perfectly reasonable for them to point out what the ideal size would be.

In reality, of course, most secondary schools haven't been built recently, and so most will have some general teaching rooms with less than 56 sq.m.

Hi Etienne,

Is it worth me persuing this issue about class sizes? Should I concentrate more on my daughters abilities and why the grammar school would be better suited for her. We don't have any extenuating circumstances as to why she did'nt do well enough to be offered a place amongst the top 50, other than that it was her first entrance exam and she was nervous. I don't know if that carries any wait Her predicted SATS are 5a for English, possibly a 6, 5b for Maths and 5b for Science.

Rainbow mum.

Don't say a level 6 for English as this is not possble in the test!

Dear rainbow mum

Should I concentrate more on my daughters abilities and why the grammar school would be better suited for her.

Yes, I would always advise focusing on your own case, but no reason why you shouldn't ask one or two questions such as:

• "Isn't it the case that 56 sq.m. is the figure that would apply if the school were being built now?"
  
  "So doesn't it represent an ideal size?"
  
  "Isn't it the case that most secondary schools in the country were not built recently, and are going to have some rooms less than 56 sq.m.?"