Welcome!

I chanced upon your original thread, but posts on appeals in a regional forum can easily get overlooked.
Quote:
I contacted the school and was told we can not appeal on grounds of over subscription as we sat a late exam and therefore those are not sufficient grounds
That makes no sense at all.
If they had said "In our opinion you haven't got a case for
maladministration because we've done nothing wrong," I could perhaps understand.
Even so, it's not their place to tell you on what basis you can appeal, as I think ToadMum pointed out.
Perhaps they didn't understand what you were saying. Oversubscription/prejudice would be
their case, not yours.
Your case is that you have
reasons for wanting a place that are sufficient to outweigh any prejudice to the school.
Quote:
should we still appeal on this?
If you have reasons for wanting a place at this particular school, yes! This is the only possible ground I can see for appealing.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... -school#c2Quote:
Our HT is supporting our appeals and drafting a letter on academic ability which is also another point of our appeal as our DS passed the exam and we are aware that the pass rate was a lot lower this year compared to others and the both GS's excel in subjects our DS has shown an aptitude for.
Good - so long as the head focuses on why this particular school would be the right school, rather than on
general academic ability, or suitability for a grammar school education, which has already been established through the 11+.
I hope the school realises how important their choice of words can be.
"
We very strongly support" or "
We support wholeheartedly and without the slightest reservation" is much better than a lukewarm "
We support"!
Quote:
We are thinking to base the appeal on the following grounds, over-subscription,
You mean "
reasons for wanting a place at this particular school".
Quote:
academic ability with the schools being the best fit for our DS,
"General academic ability" - no, as it's not an issue.
"Best fit for your DS" - yes, but this comes under "
reasons for wanting a place at this particular school".
Quote:
we are unsure of allocation process however given our DS pass mark and proximity to the GS's we think it is likely he would have otherwise been given a place had he been allocated in the first round. Should we appeal on any other grounds?
No.
Tactically it's good to acknowledge that the mistake was yours, and that the school has done absolutely nothing wrong, and all you can now do is throw yourself on the mercy of the appeal panel. This isn't in any way grounds for an appeal, but if you shoulder all the blame, as you clearly do, it might elicit some sympathy!