Welcome!
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I have already read the Q&As, really helpful
Well done.
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Does anyone have experience appealing one point under the threshold in essay score ... ?
I can't immediately think of an appeal on here where the the essay was a significant issue in the parental case, or where the marking of the test was successfully challenged.
I understand why you feel dissatisfied, but as you are querying the admission arrangements, look carefully at what the Appeals Code requires in sections 3.2 and 3.5(a):
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3.2 The panel must consider the following matters in relation to each child that is the subject of an appeal:
(a) whether the admission arrangements (including the area’s co-ordinated admission arrangements) complied with the mandatory requirements of the School Admissions Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998; and
(b) whether the admission arrangements were correctly and impartially applied in
the case in question.
3.5 The panel must uphold the appeal at the first stage where:
a) it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or had not been correctly and impartially applied, and the child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied [my bold print]
In practice parents appealing for a grammar school place (when the test requirements have not been met) usually look to section 3.13 of the Code:
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3.13 An appeal panel may be asked to consider an appeal where the appellant believes that the child did not perform at their best on the day of the entrance test. In such cases:
a) where a local review process has not been applied, the panel must only uphold the appeal if it is satisfied:
i) that there is evidence to demonstrate that the child is of the required academic standards, for example, school reports giving Year 5/Year 6 SAT results or a letter of support from their current or previous school clearly indicating why the child is considered to be of grammar school ability; and
ii) where applicable, that the appellant’s arguments outweigh the admission authority’s case that admission of additional children would cause prejudice.