11 Plus Exams Forum

I would really appreciate some advice. Our DD scored 213 with a pass mark of 216. We have accepted a place at the local comprehensive but are planning on appealing for the grammar school.

During the test there was a number of disruptions - two girls were whispering answers to each other and were subsequently seperated. Another child intermittently flicked her exam paper despite being asked to stop. Another child developed a bad cough and was eventually moved out to another room.

She is currently at level 4a for her written work and level 5s for maths and reading.

Her teacher is being very supportive and has offered to write a letter. I am making a list of evidence for her to include:-
ability in core subjects, including predicted SATS and current Teacher Assessment Level
qualities of perserverance, application and ability to work independently
reading age
CATS scores - not sure if school does these

Sorry for rambling on! I suppose what I am asking is do you think we have grounds for appeal and secondly is there any other information that the teacher could supply us with?

Thank-you!

Welcome! - Could you confirm that you've read the Q&As?
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(B11 in section B suggests a range of academic evidence.)

The focus should be on high academic ability rather than "qualities of perserverance, application and ability to work independently".

Unless you have reason to believe the school will be undersubscribed, you also need to give valid reasons for wanting a place - see section C of the Q&As.

In so far as there seem to be extenuating circumstances (let's hope the invigilator recorded what happened!), and the score achieved is quite close to what was required, I would have thought it's well worth a trying an appeal. Obviously the tougher the competition for the school in question, the harder it could be to win an appeal!

Thank you very much for your reply. I have read the appeals section of the forum - my head is still buzzing with all the info!

I have just written a letter to DD's teacher asking for all the relevant information.

I believe that the grammar school is over subscribed so we do have a battle on our hands. Having said that we are well prepared that we may not be successful. However I believe that if you take something on then you have to give it your all!

Someone has suggested that we ring and ask for a copy of the invigilator's report of the exam, which I may well do next week.