Help with Written Appeal - West Midlands

[flyingcod]

No we are not PP, but when you say there is no point, our son still passed the 11+, it is our right to challenge the School we have been allocated and to at least try to appeal to the one we chose as No 1.

fc

[scary mum]

If he hasn't qualified for that particular school you will need to submit a non qualification appeal.

[hermanmunster]

No we are not PP, but when you say there is no point, our son still passed the 11+, it is our right to challenge the School we have been allocated and to at least try to appeal to the one we chose as No 1.

fc

FC - unfortunately it looks like your son didn't reach the score for a place, he would have needed to get 224 to get a place.

Yes you can appeal but it will be quite a struggle

[flyingcod]

Well yes it will be a struggle but that's life at the moment.

We were told not to bother with trying for reception school place as no one ever wins. We appealed and we won. Not saying the same will happen we have to try.

Son is on the waiting list for KEFWS albeit high number. If he did not qualify, he would not be on waiting list.

Thanks anyway.

fc

[hermanmunster]

Well yes it will be a struggle but that's life at the moment.

We were told not to bother with trying for reception school place as no one ever wins. We appealed and we won. Not saying the same will happen we have to try.

Son is on the waiting list for KEFWS albeit high number. If he did not qualify, he would not be on waiting list.

Thanks anyway.

fc

He would be on the waiting list as per criteria 5, however if you were appealing you would really need to appeal on the basis of non qualification and oversubscription

5. Applicants achieving the qualifying score. Applicants in this category
will be ranked by test score. Where scores are equal, priority will be
given to those with a sibling** at the school; then ranked by distance
from the school.

[KenR]

Well yes it will be a struggle but that's life at the moment.

We were told not to bother with trying for reception school place as no one ever wins. We appealed and we won. Not saying the same will happen we have to try.

Son is on the waiting list for KEFWS albeit high number. If he did not qualify, he would not be on waiting list.

Thanks anyway.

fc

The difference between your successful reception Appeal and in this situation is the fact that KEFW is a Grammar School and part of the King Edward Foundation and they set admission criteria based primarily on performance in the 11+ exam whereas primary and secondary school admissions criteria are based primarily on distance from the school.(hence Appeals for the latter can be successful). The KE Foundation have 2 different admission target levels:-
1. A minimum "Qualifying" score of 205 and
2. A higher "Priority" score (which this year is 224)

The lower "Qualifying" score is set at this level principally to encourage and attract Category 2 Pupil Premium candidates who are in the school catchment area.
The higher "Priority" score is the normal minimum score for the vast majority of Non PP applicants who are in catchment. (Category 4)

Although there is a final Category 5 (Non PP and Non catchment) which nominally is for any other candidate who has achieved a score high than the Qualifying, the position in this Category is based on Test Score (and then distance for those candidates who have equal score). In practice, very few (if any) candidates gain entrance from this Category. I really can't therefore see any point in going through a KEFW Appeal in your situation.

[flyingcod]

Might as well give up then Ken.

Good job Zelensky didn't give up when facing down Putin and the entire Russian Army, hey?

Cheers

fc

[hermanmunster]

Might as well give up then Ken.

Good job Zelensky didn't give up when facing down Putin and the entire Russian Army, hey?

Cheers

fc

I suppose those on here are just being realistic as we have been seen people appealing for a range of schools across the country for several years, unfortunately the success rate at some (for both non-qual and oversub) is very low - the Birmingham Grammars are probably amongst those with the lowest success rate, hence the comments.

There is nothing to stop you appealing and there is plenty of advice about both elements of the appeal (if you get through the non qual, you would probably need to appeal against oversubscription) including the evidence etc on the FAQ here https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[PettswoodFiona]

This sounds a bit like DD's school in another part of the country. They advertise a 'qualifying score' which is enough for PP, but for most others the "ranked score" required for entrance on offer day is far higher - this year it was 25 points above the qualifying score. So even if you got the qualifying score unless you were PP you wouldn't end up at the school. They put everyone on the waiting list who had the school further up the list even non-qualifiers and those who rank below the standard for offer day so being on the waiting list really isn't an indicator of anything. No amount of appeals would make any difference. No one has ever won an appeal for a low ranked score for DD's school as the admission process is very very clear cut. There are hundreds of people in that situation of not getting a high enough rank. Sadly flyingcod it sounds like you are in a similar position. Schools are using this description of "qualifying score" to not put off PP families who might not understand the opportunities open to them but it can confuse those who get higher than the qualifying score but not enough to gain a place based on the ranking.

[Etienne]

The difference between your successful reception Appeal and in this situation is the fact that KEFW is a Grammar School and part of the King Edward Foundation and they set admission criteria based primarily on performance in the 11+ exam whereas primary and secondary school admissions criteria are based primarily on distance from the school.(hence Appeals for the latter can be successful).

The legislation governing appeals doesn't really say this.

Most appeals have nothing to do with the admission criteria as such (although the appeal panel is required to consider whether the criteria are lawful and have been correctly applied). The issue at most appeals nationally is one of prejudice, and the test to be applied is whether or not the parental reasons for wanting a place outweigh any prejudice to the school.

Infant class size appeals are the obvious exception - they tend to be the most difficult to win because, instead of the balance of prejudice, a different and much stricter test is used (loading the process in favour of the admission authority).

Grammar school appeals are not an exception to balancing the prejudice, but there is an additional requirement. The child must first be deemed 'academically suitable'.
Academic suitability could be determined by the 11+ result, or by the appeal panel.

In the case in question, where the child appears to have achieved a qualifying score and to be on the waiting list, from a legal point of view it would seem rather difficult to argue that he is not academically suitable - in which case the only remaining issue would be whether the parental reasons for wanting a place outweigh any prejudice to the school.

Parents could still introduce academic evidence if they wanted to - for example, there might be evidence of very high ability, suggesting that the child was expected to score even more highly than he did in the 11+.
Or parents might wish to argue that their child excels at a subject which is widely regarded as one of the grammar school's particular strengths.

None of this alters the fact that the success rate for appeals at some schools is very low, and members who have posted above are right not to offer false hope.

The DfE does not publish separate statistics for grammar school appeals, but one might expect a significantly lower success rate than the national average for all secondary school appeals because:
(a) there is the additional issue of academic suitability
(b) these schools are likely to have large numbers of appellants, and an appeal panel must not uphold so many appeals that serious prejudice would be caused to the school. Hence point 1 below, because although the starting point is that each case is considered on its own merits, it may become necessary for an appeal panel to compare and prioritise parental cases.

Factors affecting appeal outcomes could possibly be:
1. How strong a case other appellants may have.
2. How strong a case the admission authority puts forward to resist further admissions.
3. How strict the appeal panel is in exercising its judgement.
4. Whether correct procedure has been followed. One would have to examine the decision letters and the clerk's notes to form a view about whether or not a particular appeal panel's processes comply with the legislation, but more generally the chair of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council has written:
"In the case of schools/academies that are their own admission authorities, it is unsatisfactory that Foundation and Voluntary Aided schools and academies run their own appeal panels. Full independence needs to be ensured, following the principle of natural justice that no-one should judge her/his own case."
Nevertheless, under the current rules, own-admission authority schools are permitted to organise their own appeals.