Is there anyone on here able to review my appeals letter to see what ways I can improve it?

I have read all the details on https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... bed-school

My appeals is for a grammar school admissions in Birmingham for my 11 year old daughter, who has passed her 11 plus exams, lives 1 mile away from the school and I believe we have academic and extenuating/emotional reasons to want the school. Plus the school offered has had violence and is in an isolated area with only one bus service that runs once every half and hour, and stops running at 5.

Please advice and I can send a copy of what I have put in my appeals letter so far.

Thanks so much.

AJ

Can you explain further why she wasn't offered a place?
Did you place the grammar school as No 1 on your CAF
Please provide further details?
What school does she want to go to?
What was her score in the B/Ham 11+exam?

Also, is the school offered one you listed on your CAF? If, as KenR says, you can provide more detail, advice can be forthcoming!

its an oversubscribed school so I think thats why she wasnt offered a place.

Her score was 206, her friend scored 210 and lives further away and was offered a place.

we put it as our number one choice on our list, and she wants to go the king edwards girls school in handsworth.

the school offered was fourth on our list but I didnt have information to hand when i placed the school on the list.

What other details do you need?

thanks for such a fast response.

You need to read the master post on the B/Ham forum pages regarding the lowest pass scores for KE Handsworth Girls grammar.

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=53672

The lowest non PP qualifying score was 224 - the lowest Pupil Premium(PP) qualifying score was 209.

If your daughters friend's was PP then with a score of 210 she would get in - distance from the school is immaterial (except for those children who only just make the lowest qualifying score).

Not sure if you are PP or not but either way it is unlikely that she would get in via an Appeal unless there were very significant factors in play.

The Birmingham schools offer in score/rank order, so that is why your friend got offered ahead of you.

Have you got good academic evidence? 206 is a relatively "low" score so your academic evidence needs to be very persuasive plus, possibly extenuating circumstances as to why she didn't perform to her high academic ability on the day. You then need to appeal FOR KEHGS not against the school you have been offered which (to be fair to the council) you did list on your CAF (although I acknowledge you feel you didn't have all the information at that time).

Did you list any other GS or were the other school's comprehensives and will you be appealing to them too? Appeals to Birmingham GS's are very hard to win and from memory, the lowest score in on March 1st was quite away above your daughters score?

Crossed with KenR

Please remember that you are appealing for the grammar school place, not against the school you have been allocated. Given that you did actually decide to put it on your CAF, you can't really complain about the LEA allocating a place there - as far as the system has any feelings at all about the process, it probably thinks it has done well in that your offer wasn't even lower down your list (if you have more than four slots?). Why did you not have the relevant information to hand about your allocated school? The details of all schools have to be available in the LEA's composite prospectus in time for parents to submit their preferences. Was the school in temporary accommodation in a different area when you applied and has only since then announced its permanent location?

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