Bucks and Slough appeal

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Hopeful16
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 10:58 pm

Bucks and Slough appeal

Post by Hopeful16 »

Hi

This is the first time i am posting on this site, although I have been gaining valuable tips and advice for months now!

I'm amazed how helpful people on this section of this site, in particular, are. I would be most humbled if anyone could take the time to help me decide whether I should ask for a Bucks Selection Review).

(For Slough my son scored 109. We have an extenuating circumstance which was logged by the invigilator during the exam and confirmed to me in writing. So I will combine this with academic records, and hopefully the circumstance below).

My son scored 115 in Bucks.

For Bucks I don't have any specific extenuating circumstance so I wasn't going to ask for a Selection Review or appeal. However, having trawled through most of the posts in this forum last night (nope, I didn't get much sleep!!) I wondered if I could refer to a very messy and prolonged divorce ending in 2015 as a reason my son didn't perform to the best of his ability.

Reluctant to post too many details in public, however, the divorce meant us relocating to Berks. My son hasn't see his father for 12 months now, despite a Court ordering monthly supervised visits. I know this had impacted my son emotionally. Without school records being made available to me yet, I would say he's an average performer generally but I know he's scored very highly in maths and reading tests. So maybe I could say this emotional strain has caused erratic performance.

Question: is this a viable extenuating circumstance to warrant a Selection Review at Bucks? Or should I just focus on the Slough one with the more clear cut extenuating circumstance.

Appreciate any support/further questions.

Thanks a million.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Bucks and Slough appeal

Post by Etienne »

Welcome to Appeals - and thank you for your kind words. :D

Have you followed the links to reviews/appeals in Sally-Anne's post?
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 12&t=48535" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Read carefully all the links to extenuating circumstances in the Q&As. For example:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Hopeful16 wrote:...... I wondered if I could refer to a very messy and prolonged divorce ending in 2015 as a reason my son didn't perform to the best of his ability.
For a review, they do say "the SRP will normally expect there to be strong evidence of both high academic ability and exceptional reasons for underperformance in the tests”. Might you finish up in the awkward situation of trying to argue that the divorce affected him on one day in September - but that his academic performance the rest of the time has been good? I don't think that would stand up to scrutiny!

If he hasn't been performing well-above average in school, the chances of a successful review or appeal are slim.
If he has been performing well-above average, there is no reason why you shouldn't try an appeal in Bucks as well as in Slough.

Hope this helps.
Etienne
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