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Appeal help needed for oversubscription - kent

Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 1:34 pm
by Fretting Mum
Hi there I have sent background information to appeals box.

We are having our appeal next week and am beginning to have last minute panic! My DD achieved the cut off score for out area applicants but wasn't offered a place as we assume too many achieved this score and she lost out on distance.

My questions are:

Do I need to provide any extra evidence on academic ability? My DD achieved the out of area cut off score for the school which is 6 points higher than the lowest in area cut off score. She is also predicted all level 5's in her SATS and we have provided a letter from the school to say that is the case.

I haven't mentioned social reasons in appeal - should I at the hearing? Her best friend has a place and her other best friend with same score is also appealing?

We also didn't mention that we want specifically want her to go to a different school to her sister? The reasons being her sister very bright (refused to sit 11+) and high achieving and domineering - always teasing sister for being swotty etc. DD has flourished at Primary since older sibling left. If so what evidence would I need - letter from school? Is it too late to mention this

Finally can any of the moderators help me with the point mentioned in second paragraph in my post to appeals box?

All thoughts appreciated!

Re: Appeal help needed for oversubscription - kent

Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 1:45 pm
by tiredmum
Fretting Mum wrote: Do I need to provide any extra evidence on academic ability? My DD achieved the out of area cut off score for the school which is 6 points higher than the lowest in area cut off score. She is also predicted all level 5's in her SATS and we have provided a letter from the school to say that is the case.

I haven't mentioned social reasons in appeal - should I at the hearing? Her best friend has a place and her other best friend with same score is also appealing?

We also didn't mention that we want specifically want her to go to a different school to her sister? The reasons being her sister very bright (refused to sit 11+) and high achieving and domineering - always teasing sister for being swotty etc. DD has flourished at Primary since older sibling left. If so what evidence would I need - letter from school? Is it too late to mention this

!
I think a letter from the school quoting the predicted level 5's would be helpful if you havn't yet got one. You can take several copies to the appeal. My appeal was over-sub, my dd passed but did not reach particular schools cut off score. At last minute her teacher gave me a letter indicating level 5's and the panel did comment on the levels.

The social/friends point can be mentioned as an extra in your presentation. Just say it will ease with the primary/secondary transition.

I too have dd1 at one school and was appealing for dd2 to go to another, i mentioned it in my appeal letter and elaborated on it in my presentation as i used the point to say it was this school my dd particularly wanted even though different from her sisters.

Look at sticky-feedback in this section and Q&A's very helpful
Good luck

Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 3:58 pm
by Fretting Mum
Ah thanks for your advice. Useful. How do I access the stickys???

Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 5:01 pm
by T12ACY
At the very top of the forum is this text -

Read the Announcement and Q&As before posting!
Do not post confidential or sensitive information, or details that identify you.
There is a facility here for keeping sensitive information private while seeking advice.


Click on the Q&As, which is highlighted in blue for lots of answers to questions...

The top of the threads are 'stickys' which are things like feedback from areas. Just click on them to read others experiences.

Can also recommend reading other threads, although obviously not all of them! If you put some keywords in search at the top right it will find some posts for you, like any search engine.

Good luck :)

Re: Appeal help needed for oversubscription - kent

Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 6:04 am
by Etienne
Fretting Mum wrote: Do I need to provide any extra evidence on academic ability? My DD achieved the out of area cut off score for the school which is 6 points higher than the lowest in area cut off score. She is also predicted all level 5's in her SATS and we have provided a letter from the school to say that is the case.
Academic evidence will do no harm, but if places are being allocated by score, I would have thought it's only relevant if you're trying to argue that she was expected to perform even more highly in the 11+ than she did (for which you would probably need extenuating circumstances as well). If in doubt, cover every angle, and the panel can select the information they need.
I haven't mentioned social reasons in appeal - should I at the hearing? Her best friend has a place and her other best friend with same score is also appealing?
Lots of appellants talk about friends, but secondary schools know that most children soon make new ones after starting. Compare these two cases:
Case A
"My child wants to go to this school because all his/her friends are going there."

(On its own this is probably not going to carry much weight.
Ideally you would need to show why this is so important, and provide evidence.)

Case B
A child is very sensitive, withdrawn, vulnerable, not good at coping with new situations. She is allocated a school where she knows absolutely no one. The primary school write a letter for the appeal panel saying "We strongly support this child's appeal for a place at school X. As you will know from the details parents have submitted, she has been coping with numerous problems over the past two years. She would benefit enormously from having the support of her close circle of friends, all of whom will be going to this school."
We also didn't mention that we want specifically want her to go to a different school to her sister? The reasons being her sister very bright (refused to sit 11+) and high achieving and domineering - always teasing sister for being swotty etc. DD has flourished at Primary since older sibling left. If so what evidence would I need - letter from school? Is it too late to mention this
No, it's not too late, and a letter of support from the school could be very useful.
Finally can any of the moderators help me with the point mentioned in second paragraph in my post to appeals box?
As with everything else, you need to explain why this is important in the context of the school being appealed for, and back it up with as much evidence as possible.

Good luck!