Review or Appeal

[nazishadnan]

Our dd scored 118 in bucks which is short of 3 marks. She scored 115 in Berkshire which is above the cut off of 111. We do not live in the Buckinghamshire county but would like to send our daughter to one of the schools there. She has good previous school report where she is above age expectation. However the head teacher has refused to give a recommendation letter as we moved to another school in Maidenhead.
What should we do in this case? Apply for a review or appeal? What are our chances? Can anyone who had a successful review application help out a desperate mum here ...

[BlueBerry]

How long ago did you change schools? Can't the headteacher of the new school write a recommendation?

[Etienne]

Welcome to Appeals!

To be honest, I suspect the chances of a successful review without the support of a headteacher review form are limited - unless you have some compelling alternative academic evidence.

What academic evidence can you assemble?

• • Above average attainment in reading, writing and maths at the end of each year from Y2 to Y5?
    Excellent school reports that mention high ability and high achievement?
    CAT scores or other standardised tests with results above the 90th percentile? Or an educational psychologist's report showing reasoning ability above the 90th percentile?

[nazishadnan]

She had a 118 in English and 125 in maths at the end of year 5. 100 equals age expectation it says. The new schools head teacher and teacher have agreed to write a recommendation letter. Since schools are closing for half term we are pressed for time to recieve the letters. I believe we can apply before 3rd nov?

We started the new school from this sept. And my daughter had a really hard time settling in and on top there was 11+ exam pressure. My son started off with another school as daughter couldn’t get admission in that one. Would passing Berkshire be of any advantage for us in the review?

[Guest55]

The '125' makes no sense as the top score in KS2 is 120 ... check her report carefully.

Which Bucks GS are you looking at? Are you close enough to and, if so, is it an easy journey?

[Etienne]

She had a 118 in English and 125 in maths at the end of year 5. 100 equals age expectation it says.

We're not sure what these are! Could they be NFER tests?

The review panel will normally expect to see a record of progress from Y2 to Y5 for each of reading, writing and maths.
At the beginning, year 2, this might be, for example, "3b" "2a" and "3a" for reading, writing and maths.
With the abolition of levels, the later years are usually shown as "not met (HNM)", "has met (EXS)" or "is working at greater depth (GDS)" of age related expectations.

Normally we think they would also like to see predictions of "111-20" or "GDS" for the end of Y6.

The new schools head teacher and teacher have agreed to write a recommendation letter.

Good - but it depends what it says, and how it is worded!
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... cation#b41" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... cation#b48" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Since schools are closing for half term we are pressed for time to recieve the letters. I believe we can apply before 3rd nov?

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum ... ry#p633590" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We started the new school from this sept. And my daughter had a really hard time settling in and on top there was 11+ exam pressure.

With a score of 118 that should be fine for extenuating circumstances - but it really needs to come from the headteacher.
It won't carry as much weight if it's uncorroborated.

Would passing Berkshire be of any advantage for us in the review?

Doubtful. The standardisation for Slough grammar schools is not the same, so it's difficult to compare scores.

[nazishadnan]

Split and merged with your thread - Moderator

We are pretty much in the same boat .. got 118 but don’t live within Buckinghamshire. We are in Maidenhead.

Verbal 108 numerical 129.7 and non verbal 123.3
Ht of new school which she joined from year 6 only has given a 1:1
She’s had good scores in previous classes as well. What are our chances? Our dd was quite disturbed on changing schools because of which she feel she messed up her exam. She passed the Berkshire test though.

What other recommendations would be helpful?

[scary mum]

We are pretty much in the same boat .. got 118 but don’t live within Buckinghamshire. We are in Maidenhead.

Verbal 108 numerical 129.7 and non verbal 123.3
Ht of new school which she joined from year 6 only has given a 1:1
She’s had good scores in previous classes as well. What are our chances? Our dd was quite disturbed on changing schools because of which she feel she messed up her exam. She passed the Berkshire test though.

What other recommendations would be helpful?

You need to start your own thread or this will get confusing.

[Aethel]

Are you naming Slough schools on your CAF form also?

Bear in mind it’s important you name any schools you plan to appeal to (or want if your review is successful) and these will need to be at the top of your list in your genuine preference (the schools do not know if they are ranked 1 or 6).
If your review or appeal is unsuccessful you MUST have a backup non selective to avoid being given an undersubscribed school, so make sure you have one or two spaces for decent comps you are in or very close to cachement for.

Did you dislike the Slough schools or would you find transport difficult?
If you have 115 it’s possible your DCs score may not be enough for a place but look on the stats for previous years. If you are Catholic/practicing Christian St Bernard’s is an option, if not then Herschel Grammar is worth checking (or LGS if you are in area 2, this depends on your postcode)

Lastly, work on the head teacher if you can!.... but bear in mind if you do go ahead with a review and it’s unsuccessful, you can only then appeal if the review was found to be not “fair and objective” (see the Appeal FAQs for this)

Good luck!