Bucks review - how much extenuating evidence required?

[WhatsOn]

Hi
My child scored 118 in the transfer test (114.91 VR, 120.07 Num, 123.78 NVR) and we are going for a Selection Review in Bucks with following academic evidence:

* HT recommendation of 1:1 (no reason to think this is unreliable as in previous few years all this HT appeals have been successful)
* HT statement includes "I strongly support...", "would thrive in grammar school environment", "excels in all areas", and "I cannot recommend X highly enough for a grammar school place"
* All level 3 at KS1 SATs
* Judged to be working at greater depth for reading, writing and maths throughout KS2
* single word reading age 16 years and spelling age 12+ at July 2017
* NFER VR Nov 2016 = 129 standardised score, NFER VR Nov 2015 = 132 standardised score
* predicted 111-120 in reading and maths, and greater depth for writing for end of KS2 SATs

I also plan to include my child's Year 5 end of year report which fully supports the HT comments and predictions e.g. 'articulate speaker', 'avid reader', 'very able mathematician', 'quick to learn', 'works independently'.

My older child is already thriving (excelling!) at a Bucks grammar school (should I state which one in the Review info?)

My question is - with this academic evidence and HT support, how much do I need to make of extenuating circumstances? There are some but I would need to send this information privately as it would instantly identify my child to anyone who knows us. EDIT to say: I have sent info on extenuating circumstances to the Appeals Box. Thanks.

All advice very welcome. Thanks.

[anotherdad]

Without knowing the details of the extenuating circumstances it's difficult to say (I trust that someone will PM you with a private response) but I would say that you've got some good academic evidence there. Just a word of warning though: Some people will cite long-standing extenuating circumstances as a reason for underperformance in the test but then the academic evidence suggests the child has continued to perform strongly at school. The "best" circumstances are those that either affected the child shortly before or on the day of the test, or those where a longer-standing issue has demonstrably affected the child's schoolwork for a period.

Needless to say (and this is for the benefit of others rather than you), anxiety or pressure about the test is not a strong reason for an unexpected result. It's unlikely to convince a review panel.

[Etienne]

Welcome to Appeals!

Having seen the extenuating circumstances, I think they ought to be fine for a score of 118.
I'd make your own explanation a bit more concise if possible.
The main thing is that the headteacher is backing you up.

My older child is already thriving (excelling!) at a Bucks grammar school (should I state which one in the Review info?)

No - siblings are irrelevant at a review - unless the parent wants to argue extenuating circumstances ("she felt under enormous pressure to emulate her very able older sibling who is thriving at grammar school").

Hope this is of some help.

[WhatsOn]

Thank you for taking the time to look. I will reduce the length of my bit. Mostly wanted to check it made sense to a review panel. Child has coped so well that we didn't consider it might be an issue - I don't want it to be an 'excuse' but definitely mitigating circumstances.

Thanks again.

[WhatsOn]

Hi again
I've just been finalising my statement for the Review and wondered if it was safe to assume that the Review Panel would have a basic understanding of my child's condition. I have reduced the length of my statement but unsure if it's too short!

I have sent the new version to the Appeals email address and would be very grateful if you could take a second look, Etienne. I'm sorry to do this privately and promise that I will write this all up and make public in time for next year's cohort but don't want my child to be recognised at this point in time - they have enough to contend with right now! Thank you.

Also, is sending by email or snail mail a better option? Any thoughts on this?

[Etienne]

Sorry, but on reflection I think the first version was better and would revert to it.

It's often a good idea to try more than one draft, and see which one looks better!

[WhatsOn]

Thank you

[WhatsOn]

Hi
I wanted to say thank you to Etienne and Sally-Anne and others (especially those who have posted about their previous experiences and offered advice to others in the past as I trawled through this forum to read all the information available) who gave advice regarding Selection Review. We are pleased that we had a successful outcome.

We did have some extenuating circumstances but, after speaking with others locally, I believe that very strong academic evidence and headteacher's recommendation were the most important factors. Our headteacher has an extremely good reputation for giving accurate ratings and very few Reviews from the school have been unsuccessful over the years.

Thank you again.

[anotherdad]

Congratulations. Maybe there was something in your interpretation of the review and preference statistics and you weren't clutching at straws after all....

[WhatsOn]

Congratulations. Maybe there was something in your interpretation of the review and preference statistics and you weren't clutching at straws after all....

Thanks anotherdad. Nope, definitely just clutching at straws (hated the suspense!). To be honest, I still can't make sense of that table!