Tolstoy's review

[Tolstoy]

Thanks for the heads up mamabear.
...and thanks SB3 for the advice. We only have one other Grammar option as DC won't even consider the other and his argument against wanting to go there is sound. Seeing it would have made no difference I suspect.

I have found a review similar to ours that was successful last year so must remain focused on that. We are also have a strong letter of support from DCs head teacher so starting to look more favourable despite the odds stacked against us.

If it goes wrong I will probably appeal without him knowing unless by then he has had a spectacular falling out with DF. If that happens I can burn everything, crack open the champagne and decide what to buy with all those saved bus fares. new bathroom here we come Well okay not really as it would be truly sad if they did fall out.

Crossed posts there thefirs will pm you.

[BlueBerry22]

re: TheFirs

On our appeal form we ticked the box "disabled" as we had just had the dyslexic diagnosis - the panel ticked that they recognized DS was disabled.

We didn't know at review time so could not include it.

Panel did take issue that we labelled him as "severely" dyslexic - they actually stated in their letter to us that this was not a valid term - yet report said he would be entitled to ask for up to 20 % extra time in exams & we stated that this was why we felt he was "severely" dyslexic. Somewhere in the QAs this term is discussed.

Best of luck

[thefirs]

And were u successful blueberry22 ?

I am doing selection review, because v unlikely to get preferred gs at appeal stage, 1st choice is all dc wants and brother attends there , I can't cope with 4 diff schools in my house !!!

How do I determine "severely" dyslexic. That's not wording that's used in Ed phsy report . The question is do I ignore the low score and focus on academic evidence and undiagnosed sen or excuse the low score because of sen , this is the part I'm stuck on

Yes inbox me Tolstoy

[BlueBerry22]

My appeal failed - you can find my thread & read all about it but ds took 12+ & is happily back with friends at Gs.

Strong Evidence of Gs ability is needed & dyslexia is extenuating circumstances.

We should not hi-jack Tolstoy's thread though!!!

Good luck

[Tolstoy]

No worries about hijacking it is all relevant to my case

We tend to use 'mild' and ' severely' not sure what the correct terms are. Moderate is used for some learning difficulties but what does that tell us? It is all very complex and why I was hoping I could get the ed-psych in the room but I begrudge having to get an EPE to do that and I know the school won't have time now even if they agree with me.

[Etienne]

1. Am I right in saying that each GS will organise its own appeal panel and select lay persons for that panel and they tend to use the same people each year if they are available?

No - most local grammar schools buy in to the service provided by the Bucks Appeals Team who have something like 90 lay and non-lay panel members to choose from.
It's probable that there will be a different panel each year.

There must, incidentally, be a mixture of lay and non-lay members on a panel.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general#a30" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


ETA: as far as we know, DCGS and DCHS were the only grammar schools to make their own arrangements for appeals last year.

[Tolstoy]

Thank you Etienne. Interesting and I think possibly different than Gloucs.

[Etienne]

The Appeals Code used to say:

• • The admission authority must review panel membership every three years, considering whether it has sufficient numbers of trained members to meet its future needs. It is not good practice for individual panel members to consider appeals for the same school for an extended period of time (usually no more than three years) as their impartiality may be doubted, though this could be extended if appeals are infrequent.

As an absolute requirement, this was dropped from the current slimmed-down Code, but would still be good practice.

Schools that arrange their own appeals have a problem in that their pool of available panel members is likely to be small. When the same panel members hear most of the cases over an extended period of time, there is a risk, I think, that the panel can become “case hardened” and set in its ways.

[Tolstoy]

Interesting point. Do you think that is why some schools have a reputation of not allowing appeals?

Two questions pertaining to review form.

I can't see anywhere on the form that says black ink only so is it acceptable to highlight certain figures etc in red?

Also this one is really stupid sorry but it says you can email your form in so I guess it is okay to type your signature?

[Etienne]

Interesting point. Do you think that is why some schools have a reputation of not allowing appeals?

I suspect these could be schools that are more likely to be arranging their own appeals.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general#a6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I can't see anywhere on the form that says black ink only so is it acceptable to highlight certain figures etc in red?

I don't recommend it. They will almost certainly photocopy in black and white, and your highlighting will finish up as an ugly smudge!

Also this one is really stupid sorry but it says you can email your form in so I guess it is okay to type your signature?

Pass!