We are considering an appeal for grammar school in Kent.

Kent test scores were Eng 100, Reasoning 112 Maths 113.

School is of the view that these scores are well off what they would have predicted although they agree English is the weaker subject and are willing to offer strong support for any appeal. They submitted a HT appeal and this was unsuccessful. They are of the view that she would benefit from a grammar school and demonstrates her best work when academically challenged.

Child is expected to significantly exceed expected standard in maths and science in SATs and is, using old terminology, considered gifted and talented in these areas in a school rated as outstanding. English is currently at the expected standard but she has made accelerated progress since the beginning of 2017 and potentially will be exceeding expected standard at SATs.

There is a back story to all of this that I would not want to discuss on a public forum but in essence she is a child who scored level 3 across the board at KS1, transferred to junior school and disengaged completely in years 3 and 4 and only re-engaged after SEN provision was implemented in term 3 of year 5. SEN provision is orientated to emotional rather than academic support. She has a parent who suffers from a severe long term medical condition who was admitted to hospital just prior to the Kent test and this is likely to had an impact on performance on the day.

Any advice about how to take this forward would be welcome particularly about how to address disadvantage in an appeal whose main focus is academic ability. If you think I am flogging a dead horse you are welcome to say so.

Welcome to Appeals!

The extenuating circumstances will be fully taken into account, but there's no getting away from the fact that academic evidence will matter most.
The more academic evidence you have, the better:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b11

Suggest you submit the appeal in March, and hope that English will be up to the required standard by the time of the appeal hearing (May?). Many panels quite like to hear of "recent rapid progress"!

You will also need specific reasons for wanting a place at the school being appealed for.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... -school#c2

Appeals for some of the Kent grammar schools will be much more difficult to win than for some others.
You should investigate the success rate for appeals at the schools you're interested in, so that you know what you might be up against!
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general#a39

Have you read all the guidance?
Start here.

Once you've finished reading, if you still have unanswered questions, do please let us know.

_________________
Etienne