appeal & new admissions code

[Alex44]

Many thanks for your response.

Yes, I totally agree my priority should be on evidence to support why this school is specifically right for my child. I suppose I am looking at ways of adding conviction to our case by indicating that the school would support the admission (in theory) of our child based on what the school's ethos and specialisms are.

I have gathered evidence on my child's ability / suitability/ passion to go there and also there is the fact we live just around the corner. There is no catchment but can proximity be used as an additional reason in the appeal? I would ideally like my child to walk to school for health, social, community, financial, reasons and it would also mean he would be in an ideal position to take advantage of before / after school activities which are very important to him and effectively juggle school work and club commitments.

Any comments would be gratefully received ... thanks.

[Etienne]

Is this fact relevant in support for the case that the school would seek to allocate a place (in theory) to my child, if its hands weren't tied by current legislation?

No!

can proximity be used as an additional reason in the appeal? I would ideally like my child to walk to school for health, social, community, financial, reasons and it would also mean he would be in an ideal position to take advantage of before / after school activities which are very important to him and effectively juggle school work and club commitments.

Yes, that sounds fine.

[Alex44]

Thanks for the clarification

Do you think an appeal panel will look more favorably on our case because it is our closest school, although it has no catchment?

I am not sure how much academic evidence to gather as the places are allocated randomly so it's not as though my child has missed out by under performing on a test, he could have scored zero and received a place! The school is very focused on high academic achievement and allocates a small number of places (25 in total) to children showing aptitude for their non academic specialisms but we weren't one of those and I don't know how close the scores were. The school also has exceptional results in other subjects which are viewed traditionally as their core areas but these were not tested for - and these areas are where my child excels.

Any help, gratefully received. I need to keep focused on what evidence will convince an appeal panel to give my child a place but I just keep thinking, as it was a lottery, they will just feel it was bad luck and he had the same chance as everyone else!

[WillowTheWisp]

It is true that in a 'lottery' you stand as much chance as the next person, but in the appeal you can express why this school is most suited. Not possible in the regular admissions round! I would expect a panel to consider which case is most deserving based on how closely they match the specialism (if there is one) so this is where you can stand head and shoulders above the competition

Do you know roughly how many places are granted on appeal each year at this school?

[Etienne]

Do you think an appeal panel will look more favorably on our case because it is our closest school, although it has no catchment?

They will take it into account, but it's entirely up to the individual panel just how much weight to give it. Proximity on its own may not be a major factor, although it becomes a bit stronger if you can link it convincingly with extracurricular activities.

In so far as one can generalise, I suspect that a clear medical/social need could get the most weight, followed by sound educational reasons, and then catchment/proximity.

The school also has exceptional results in other subjects which are viewed traditionally as their core areas ......... and these areas are where my child excels.

If you think this makes the school a good match for your child, then that seems to me a perfectly reasonable argument. In terms of evidence, it would be 'overload' to provide the range of evidence that might be appropriate for an appeal against an 11+ result. If you have an obliging headteacher, then I would suggest just a letter of support saying how well-suited your child is to the school in question, and commenting on high ability in the key academic subjects. Failing that you could provide a copy of the last school report, stating that "although I fully recognise that entry is not on the basis of academic ability, the school has exceptional results in areas where my child excels, and I do hope the panel will consider our belief that this is the school that will best meet his needs and enable him to fulfil his academic potential."

I just keep thinking, as it was a lottery, they will just feel it was bad luck and he had the same chance as everyone else!

No, they really shouldn't - there'd be no point having an appeal system!

[Alex44]

Thanks again Etienne and WillowTheWisp!

There was about a 10% success rate at appeal last year, so I really do need to put the best possible case forward!

There is certainly no medical need, what constitutes a social need specifically?

Thank you

[Etienne]

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... -school#c2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Alex44]

Many thanks.

I am going to start writing the appeal statement tomorrow so I will probably have a few more questions then.

Do I have to provide all the supporting evidence when I submit the notification?

[Etienne]

Please read the Q&As!
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general#a7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Alex44]

Whoops! Sorry! Can see it now, thanks