Appeal - 116 & death of Grandparent
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 11:53 am
hi - I've just joined the Forum as I've been glued all weekend to your excellent advice and am so amazed at all the time people give up to help and support others - thanks it has kept me going this weekend when I recieved the bad news on Friday that my son had only got 116/111 and therefore not got into the GS of his choice. After much sadness and disappointment on Friday I have been told by numerous friends that I must appeal as my Grandma passed away on Sept 2nd and the funeral was on Sept 15 92.5 wks before 1st exam) and my son was sure to pass we all thought.
Do you think we have grounds to appeal on? My Grandma was obviously my children's Great-Grandma, but as I'm a single parent, and my mother was widowed too, my Grandma was the real matriarch of the family and so very close to all of us 4 grandchildren (of whom i'm the eldest) and especially close to her 2 g-grandkids - of whom my 2 were the only ones. The whole family were actually by her bedside the whole night before she died - in hindsight I think that would have been very traumatic for both my children - (daughter is even younger, only 9) as she was in a coma with very shallow, noisy breathing etc. Then the funeral was completely overbearing, my son had to miss a Friday from school etc and the grief from the whole family was awful.
Perhaps I missed a trick - was it too much for him to get over in such a short space of time? His grades at school have always been good - predicted to pass his 11+ in Summer Term etc. Fantastic at English - not so good at maths. . but always tries hard etc. Doing well in other subjects too it seems from his books/reports. Received a school prize last yr for progress etc. A-team Rugby/football. Passed guitar grade 1 with merit etc etc so a happy middle of the road little boy who just didn't cope well on the day I think. I think the school will be supportive - making an appt with the head for today/tomorrow.
My concerns are that there is a disparity between the 2 marks - they are not that close together so less of a chance to say he nearly missed it. Also, he is a Sept baby so marked down because of that. Will the panel accept the situation with the death of a Great Grandparent causing so much unrest in the family in the month beforehand? how do I/should I prove to them what an important person she was in my kids lives? Should I focus on the academic details 1st or the bereavement?
Sorry to write such a long post, but I'm totally lost and have no-one else to turn to who can advise me.
Many thanks for any help you can offer me.
Do you think we have grounds to appeal on? My Grandma was obviously my children's Great-Grandma, but as I'm a single parent, and my mother was widowed too, my Grandma was the real matriarch of the family and so very close to all of us 4 grandchildren (of whom i'm the eldest) and especially close to her 2 g-grandkids - of whom my 2 were the only ones. The whole family were actually by her bedside the whole night before she died - in hindsight I think that would have been very traumatic for both my children - (daughter is even younger, only 9) as she was in a coma with very shallow, noisy breathing etc. Then the funeral was completely overbearing, my son had to miss a Friday from school etc and the grief from the whole family was awful.
Perhaps I missed a trick - was it too much for him to get over in such a short space of time? His grades at school have always been good - predicted to pass his 11+ in Summer Term etc. Fantastic at English - not so good at maths. . but always tries hard etc. Doing well in other subjects too it seems from his books/reports. Received a school prize last yr for progress etc. A-team Rugby/football. Passed guitar grade 1 with merit etc etc so a happy middle of the road little boy who just didn't cope well on the day I think. I think the school will be supportive - making an appt with the head for today/tomorrow.
My concerns are that there is a disparity between the 2 marks - they are not that close together so less of a chance to say he nearly missed it. Also, he is a Sept baby so marked down because of that. Will the panel accept the situation with the death of a Great Grandparent causing so much unrest in the family in the month beforehand? how do I/should I prove to them what an important person she was in my kids lives? Should I focus on the academic details 1st or the bereavement?
Sorry to write such a long post, but I'm totally lost and have no-one else to turn to who can advise me.
Many thanks for any help you can offer me.