change in format for bucks iap appeals 2013/2014

[Etienne]

he was devastated that his little brother would not be joining him, ds2 has been counting down the days to when he can be at school with his big bruv

Put that in your summing up .....

My feeling is that, if you can win the sympathy of the panel by conveying how really keen your child is for a place at the school ....... they might just start looking a bit harder for reasons to allow the appeal
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b49" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Earlier on you could touch on the more practical advantages, e.g. logistics, the relationship you've developed with some of the teaching staff, familiarity with the school, etc.

Not sure if you're in catchment, or if it's the closest GS, but if either of those applies, it needs mentioning.
(If neither applies, you probably have good reasons for preferring somewhere else! )

[southbucks3]

Not sure if you're in catchment, or if it's the closest GS, but if either of those applies, it needs mentioning.

Both of these apply...rare I know, and we qualify for free transport as it is our closest secondary school...even rarer.

This is why I am getting my knickers in a twist about appeals not seeming to allow children to enter waiting lists if the non qualification part is successful!

The process seems to ignore the fact that some parents genuinely need to talk face to face with someone about the non qualification, but would have no issues with over subscription if the appeal was just held in time. For administration purposes the increase in paperwork to just inform parents that the panel did/did not, deem their child suitable is minimal; one extra letter to the few parents who are contesting a review or being heard the first time, would not exactly over burden the system. There is no reason why the fco,non qualification,oversubscription components cannot be voiced at the same meeting, but broken down into elements as well. I honestly thought this is what would happen. Old joke, but to assume makes an ass out of u and me...very much applies here.

Thank you so much for all your help and references Etienne, I will stop moaning like an old nag and get on with writing my presentation now.

[Etienne]

Ah yes, sorry - dealing with too many cases at the moment.

Unfortunately, as far as the system is concerned, it just brings us back to last year's breaches of the Code .....

It's all very frustrating. The solution, of course, would be to return to the golden era of selection appeals in January/February - but that would mean the grammar schools swallowing their pride!
They really couldn't have come up with a worse system than the one we now have.

Anyway, "in catchment", "nearest GS", and especially "sibling" has the makings of a good case.

In your "reasons" section, you could start by throwing in for good measure:
"If the panel were to find that the review was not FCO, and if you were to decide X should be qualified - two very big if's we know - we would respectfully ask you to consider whether the admission arrangements have been correctly applied.
We would suggest that, if any children would have been offered a place on 1st March but for a flawed review, then the admission arrangements have not been correctly applied, and those children should be offered the place they have been denied."

No guarantee what the answer will be - but it is at least something the panel should consider.

[Guest55]

GS changed to reviews as it is cheaper ...