11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi All

I would like to ask a question on behalf of some friends. Their son has been brought up bi-lingual, although they speak very little English (and only their native tongue in the home). He failed to qualify for Gloucester grammar by about 4-5 points, but they would like to appeal. They had limited knowledge of the system as they cannot speak nor read English terribly well (did not know grammar schools even existed until the summer before the test). This has obviously disadvantaged their son and although his spoken/written English is a good standard he does not have the knowledge of the nuances of English needed for many questions in the test.

Would this be decent grounds for appeal?

Yes, as far as extenuating circumstances are concerned, I would say so, if it is the case that he does not have the knowledge of the nuances of English needed for many questions in the test.

Of course, there would need to be alternative evidence of very high ability (e.g. in maths, quantitative reasoning / NVR).

If the school will be oversubscribed, there will also need to be good reasons for wanting a place.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... -school#c2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The final point to bear in mind is that appeals for some schools can be much harder than for others.