Non Qualification

[SasMum]

Hi,

Thanks for the tips in this forum which really helped me to prepare my case for the appeal.

We had one appeal last week which was unsuccessful as they said he is preferred candidate for GS but not sufficient reason or evidence given for my DS to give admission in the school. We were not asked to present the case but directly started on questions and answers.

Now we have another one this week.
We have submitted
1) School letter which shows he is above expected in Maths (111) and English (112).
2) Year 5 - School Letter
3) Certificates from school
4) Evidence that he has passed another Grammar school exam (Kent one)
5) Evidence of extenuating circumstances
1) Health care plan
2) Neurocognitive assessment where it shows his Maths is in Very superior range and English an average ( He is bit lower on English side) and how the treatment has affected his concentration span and focus.
3) Medical evidence letter from hospital and how it has affected his processing time and thats the reason he was given special arrangement for the exam
4) He was rushed at the gate where he was left to run to the registration desk and find his own way which really made him panic and nervous and that causes loss of concentration which is one of the side effect of his medical treatment.
5) Invigilator report also shows he was constantly disturbed with surrounding noise and was tired at the end.

The questioned asked as
1) How was he after exam - We said he was bit in shock , not himself due to all these things happened. Took a while to open up and then told us that he was anxious.
2) Did he practice past papers- Yes
3) Why not Kent - We said we wanted to give him the feel of the exam and its far from us
4) How will he cope in GS- Said as per his all academic evidence he is a bright child who will success in GS with proper support from the school.
5) How was he after Kent exam? replied he was happy, chatty explained about the exam
6) If he has ECHP- We said no , we applied but got rejected as he is doing so well above average so not in that bracket.
lots of questions about extenuating circumstances...

Really dont know where its gone wrong?
Do we keep saying /emphasise for each answer he is the right canditate for the GS?


Can someone really give some guidance on how should we present the case or answer the questions in terms of convincing them that he is just fell short by few marks due to his extenuating circumstances.

Will be very much appreciated !!!

Thanks.

[PettswoodFiona]

Hi SasMum, sorry to hear about the disruption your DS experienced in the exam, I know my DD would have found that tough to concentrate. Good luck to you in the appeal. If he only missed out on a few marks then it does sound hopeful.

Re the Kent exam comments, a much larger proportion pass Kent than either Bexley or Bromley so they are not seen as comparable by neighbouring grammar schools. I don't know which grammar you are looking at but wanted to mention it as if you press it it might not be too helpful. If he got a very high score in Kent then this may be more helpful to comment on than just referring to a pass. Some other grammar areas I have heard might be a bit snooty about being compared to Kent, it is due to Kent being a fully grammar county and many other regions are not. Others might not be snooty of course but I didn't want to not mention it and it prejudice your case.

[Etienne]

Welcome to Appeals!

they said he is preferred candidate for GS but not sufficient reason or evidence given for my DS to give admission in the school.

Sorry, I'm not entirely sure what this means. Did they really write "preferred candidate" and "sufficient reason ... to give admission in the school"?
What were the actual words they used?

It could mean that he was considered to be academically suitable, but they did not think you had put forward strong enough reasons for wanting or needing a place.
Reasons for wanting a place should have made up the second half of your case (the first half being academic evidence/extenuating circumstances).

See:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... -school#c2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[SasMum]

Hi Etienne,

The exact words are he is a preferred area candidate but did not find that the evidence was compelling enough to suggest that in not being admitted outwighed the prejudice to the school in taking an additional pupil over its published admission number.
Does that mean we need to more focus on etenuating circumstances , how it has affected his performance and why do we need this school?

I ll go through the link you provided as well.
Thanks.

[Etienne]

Hi Etienne,

The exact words are he is a preferred area candidate but did not find that the evidence was compelling enough to suggest that in not being admitted outwighed the prejudice to the school in taking an additional pupil over its published admission number.

Thanks. The language is clearer now, although they haven't explained what view they took of academic suitability.

Does that mean we need to more focus on etenuating circumstances , how it has affected his performance and why do we need this school?

• Not extenuating circumstances, no. What you have is more than sufficient.

• Possibly academic evidence (we can't tell). The average English score for the neurocognitive assessment doesn't help - but there's not much you can do about it.
Our general suggestions for academic evidence are here:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

• Reasons for wanting a place (which should be half of your case):
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... -school#c2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[SasMum]

Thanks Etienne for ur pointers. We have already submitted all evidence for academic. Not sure what else we can provide, but yes I ll work out more on why do we need the place. Can I mention about Senco support provided as per school reports and policy is excellent ? Or will it have adverse impact on appeal?

Thanks

[Etienne]

We have already submitted all evidence for academic. Not sure what else we can provide.

No, I understand.

Can I mention about Senco support provided as per school reports and policy is excellent ?

Definitely, although I'm not sure it's wise to mention how you know.
It would sound better if you had met the Senco to discuss your son's needs, as in the example in C2:

• • Example B: Special Needs
    
    There have been several cases on the forum where parents wanted a particular grammar school because of its well-regarded SEN department. I have no doubt that their case was helped by the fact that – rather than settle for a few snatched words at a busy open evening – parents had taken the trouble to have a specially arranged meeting with the SenCo at a number of grammar schools to find out what they could do to meet their child’s particular needs.
    Which of the following cases comes across as strongest?
    1. “I’ve heard it has a good SEN department.”
    2. “The Ofsted report some years ago said it has a good SEN department.”
    3. “It was very busy at the Open Evening, but I did manage to have a few words with someone from special needs.”
    4. “I made an appointment to see the SenCo at both schools, showed them what my son’s needs are (see attached evidence), and found out exactly what they could offer him.”
    

[SasMum]

Yes we have discussed this in open evening and I ll mention it in our hearing. I did that in our previous appeal too.


Thanks
Sheetal