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Selective ability for one school, but not for another

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:46 am
by 2outof3
I've checked all the stickies, but can't find see any comment concerning whether being found to be of selective ability in one school would count in your favour when appealing for another school.

There must be hundreds (if not thousands over the years!) of people who have found themselves in this position, but DS sat for two of the SW London selectives and "passed" one but not the other. I appreciate that the tests are slightly different with different weightings given for different areas, but presumably if you're found to be of selective ability for one, this must count somewhat in your favour?

If anyone can point me in the right direction of any postings where this point has already been considered, I would be extremely grateful.

Thanks :D

Re: Selective ability for one school, but not for another

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:00 am
by hermanmunster
am sure that this has come up before with people also quoting Indie scores / scholarships etc.

I think the general advice is that it can be mentioned in the appeal statement etc but the schools will all say that the tests are different and can't be directly compared.

Re: Selective ability for one school, but not for another

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:25 am
by 2outof3
That's what I expected Hermanmunster, and thanks. However, the tests are "advertised" as being used to show whether a child is "of selective ability" and not whether the child is best suited for that particular school - i.e. not to pick the best mathematicians or English writers etc.

I can understand a highly competitive grammar disregarding a successful application to an independent school, as it is well known that grammars are frequently harder to gain entry to than many of the most competitive independents. However, when the schools in question have very similar numbers of applicants and indeed the cohorts sitting both exams are almost identical (which is the case for the Sutton grammar schools) then I would have thought that "passing" one exam should carry some weight.

If anyone has successfully appealed any of the Sutton grammars based on non-qualification, I would be extremely grateful to hear from you - PM would be great. In fact, does anyone know if there has ever been a successful appeal to any of these schools based solely on academic evidence (i.e. not because of circumstances surrounding the test.)

Any help gratefully received :D

Re: Selective ability for one school, but not for another

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:50 am
by Etienne
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b50" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Selective ability for one school, but not for another

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:17 pm
by 2outof3
Thanks Etienne,

I'll carrying on searching to see if there have been any successful appeals :D