11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi, would anyone know whether, at the point where you got your letter from the Local Authority in March to say whether you have or have not got a place at a grammar, they give the reasons for not getting a place, ie, over subscription or non qualification.

Thanks for any feedback.

I'm about to send background to the appeals box too.

You just get an email saying this is the school you have been allocated. You would surely know if your child hadn't qualified so wouldn't be expecting a place? And if they had qualified and not been given a place at your first choice it would be because you had either filled the form in wrongly or there were enough children with higher scores to fill the places - i.e. oversubscription.

Hi Amber, I'm trying to understand the appeals code as it says the LA or admissions authority must tell you reasons for not getting a place. I understand what you mean, you obviously do know whether your child passed or not, but I'd been feeling really lucky to have found all the advice on this forum and that's what I based my appeal on.

It's the first time I've done an appeal and without the forum I wouldn't have known what I was formally appealing for. All I got was place refused and I'd like to understand whether that's correct.

I imagine if your DC qualified and if there are no catchment restrictions it kind of goes without saying that there simply weren't enough spaces for all who qualified. Presumably the admissions criteria state that the places will be allocated in order of score.

scary mum wrote:I imagine if your DC qualified and if there are no catchment restrictions it kind of goes without saying that there simply weren't enough spaces for all who qualified. Presumably the admissions criteria state that the places will be allocated in order of score.

Yes that is exactly what happens here in Gloucestershire. If your child achieved a qualifying score but didn't get a place, that is because s/he didn't qualify highly enough to reach the cut-off. I am not sure the LA need to give you any more detail than that - it happens to lots of children every year I think, or they get a GS lower in the 'pecking order' than the one they hoped for. Different system in Bucks for example where all passers get a place - here it is those with the highest scores who are given priority in allocations.

As Amber says, the reason for not offering a place (the non-qualifying score) was made clear to you in October. There was no need for a further statement of that from the LA.

Thank you for all your advice!

A few years ago, our email in March from the LEA stated that "You can view your application details and this offer information by clicking on the hyperlink below". This link explained that "the 96 boys who had achieved qualifying scores, had been offered places". As the school admitted more than this number, this enabled us to know that our appeal would only be based on non-qualification only.

Unfortunately, I think the chances of having to appeal for under-subscription now would be non existent.

The letter we recieved was due to over subscription we were not offered a place.