Dear All

My child completed the 2 part assessment but was not ranked highly enough to be offered a place. My reading suggests that selective schools have full discretion over their own admission and this would suggest that an appeal is a futile exercise in this case.

However the school was challenged on its approach to dealing with out of area candidates and had to change its approach to including them in the second part of the test. Due to this change and a number of verifiable personal factors (including highly premature birth, affecting the way the marks were standardised) my child did not rank highly enough to be considered for admission.

My child is (objectively) highly capable and his primary school will document this. I have written with details of my case to the appeals private inbox. I would appreciate any insights that the participants on this forum or moderators have on building a case for schools like this and the arguments that I should emphasise/data I should seek on the school/its capacity, to address the "prejudice" argument and also whether it is important to focus on "why only this school" for a selective grammar school where the Local Authority does not appear relevant in admissions

This isn't a state school so any appeals (if allowed) won't be handled in the same way as for grammar (or other state) schools.

Thanks I am aware of this - would really welcome insights from those who have prevailed with selective schools

Forgive if I'm wrong about which school you are referring to, but if it is Latymer, it most certainly is a state school the Admissions Code and the Admissions Appeals Code do apply. Whether the local authority or the school itself is the Admissions Authority is totally irrelevant.

_________________
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx

Thanks for that insight scary mum. I believed that the Admissions Code was applied to ensure that selective schools gave parents a far hearing. However ultimately the selective schools are masters of their own admission so I wanted to understand what appeals succeed/resonate with them.

The appeal process should be made clear on the website. In Bucks there is an LA system covering most of the Grammars so it is different.

Lots of information about the appeals process here:
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=35032


And you can find the Admissions Code and the Admissions Appeals Code here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2

Whether an own admissions authority school organises appeals itself, or buys into the LA or other appeals service, the law underpinning the process is exactly the same.

_________________
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx

Toadmum, North London Grammar School is a private school so the admissions code doesn't apply. I think the OP is hoping for someone with experience of appealing to independent schools, but I'm not sure that happens very often.
http://northlondongrammar.com/?gclid=Cj ... n5EALw_wcB

Thanks

Just realised I've been reading I as 'schools' and the OP previously posted re Latymer, I think(!).

_________________
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx

Welcome to the forum, and thank you for your email which I have seen.

I can confirm that this is a state school, and that there will be an independent panel set up to consider appeals against refusal to admit.

Although you can ask the panel to consider whether the admission arrangements were lawful and have been correctly applied, I suspect the chances of your getting a place as a result are approximately zero, not least because of the number of other children involved. (An appeal panel is not going to allow more appeals than it thinks the school could cope with.)

Have you read our guidance on appeals? - See ToadMum's link above.

Have you seen how to present a well-balanced case?
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general#a43

See also "C21. How not to win an oversubscription appeal!"

Quote:
j) tell the panel how much the school will benefit from having the child as a pupil (“This is a clever, responsible, hardworking pupil with numerous extra-curricular interests”!)
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... school#c21

and "B12. Any do’s and don’ts for an appeal against non-qualification?"

Quote:
b) Don’t spend time saying how wonderful your child is at extracurricular activities unless the panel ask you a specific question. Even if they do, don’t expect non-academic extracurricular activities to influence a panel’s decision.
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... cation#b12

_________________
Etienne