:
• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place: Slough

• 2. What you were appealing against?
• a. non-qualification only?
• b. oversubscription only?
• c. both non-qualification and oversubscription?
BOTH

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for: St Bernards

• 3b. Year group being appealed for:
(e.g. Y7 entry) YR 7

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
(e.g. academy, foundation or voluntary aided)

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: 20th May

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers? 2 weeks- wrong case sent first then new case later

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices) AT SCHOOL

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time? We took an earlier time slot

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
N/A
• 9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
• b. A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
• c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
• d. Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)
2 Old governors and one local businessman


• 11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)
YES
• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? YES
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel? NO
(sometimes applies to non-qualification)

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
QS about our extenuating circumstances
No qs about her academic levels
What schools were on our CAF and where
Did we tutor?



• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)
They were very friendly. Came back feeling very positive

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.) NO

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)? NO

• 18. Did you feel rushed? NO

• 19. How long did the hearing last? 20 minutes
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision? NO
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
NO

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends? 5 working days for the decision and then a further 3 weeks for the reasons!

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion 2/57

• b. in previous years


• 24. Any other comments:

The appeal panel were very lovely and really seemed to understand our case. My daughter passed another test with a massively High result and they said wow that's a great score. They didn't ask anything else about her academic ability. Strangely in our appeal decision letter it stated that they couldn't compare another test but that her other scores showed above average.
The whole process was so stressful. We knew hope was slim but felt that our extenuating circumstances were very strong ( they seemed to understand this when discussed).
I feel that it was a forgone conclusion really as the only reason in our decision letter stated that we have been allocated a suitable school ( not a Grammar) to continue her catholic education and that she would make new friends and be ok at the allocated school ( extenuating circumstances)

• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place: Barnet

• 2. What you were appealing against?
Oversubscription only as my son was well above the minimum score to enter the school.

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for: QE Boys

• 3b. Year group being appealed for: Y7
(e.g. Y7 entry)

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
YES

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: 5 June 2019

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers? 45 days

• 7. Where was the appeal held? Hotel
(e.g. council offices)

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time? on time ( was the first hearing on the afternoon the first day)

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?

• 9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
I think it was a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)
2 women, 1 man. 2 of them had had some experience in school and the third not at all

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
No

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
YES
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
No

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
What was my son's score in the other schools and why QE.


• 15. What were the panel like?
Friendly, polite and considerate. Very nice

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)
No I found him outside with the clerk

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)? Yes they did ask me.

• 18. Did you feel rushed? No at all

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one) around 20 min

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do) NO

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
YES it was and we were ecstatic.

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
I had my hearing on Thursday with an answer on the next Tuesday. There was 2 days of hearing

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion

• b. in previous years: 2 each years (some year, 0 )


• 24. Any other comments:
If you have good ground for an appeal just go for it.
I think my case was decided before even the hearing, I put a lot of proof showing that my son would benefit from going to that school compare to the other school. The headmaster's letter from his primary school showed in detail my son's strength and I linked it to the school I wanted. There was also a big gap in learning between QE and the other school so I think it works for us.

• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place:
Gloucestershire

• 2. What you were appealing against?
• a. non-qualification only?
• b. oversubscription only?
• c. both non-qualification and oversubscription

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
Marling School

• 3b. Year group being appealed for:
(e.g. Y7 entry)
Y7

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
(e.g. academy, foundation or voluntary aided)
Academy

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
Second week of June 2020

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?
18 days

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices)
Via Zoom due to Covid-19

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?
Yes

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
N/A

• 9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
• b. A panel appointed by the school - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
• c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
• d. Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)
A retired School Admissions Officer, a local MD, a layperson - all parents of children who are currently or were in the local Grammar Schools.

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)
No

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.
Yes

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(sometimes applies to non-qualification)
No

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Were we appealing for any other school? We were not.

• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)
Friendly and professional.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)
They were on the Zoom call already when we joined and we were the first to leave the call, so probably yes.

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?
Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed?
Not really - I think we spoke for far too long. At the end of one section they did ask if we could try to keep to the main points but they didn't interrupt.

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)
One hour

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)
No

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Yes it was. We are delighted!

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
They said we would receive a letter no later than 7 days after the last appeal hearing. In fact, we heard by email 2 days after the last appeal hearing which was late afternoon on a Saturday.[/color]

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion
Unknown, but we know at the time of the appeal they were 2 under PAN at 148. And they have accepted 10 over PAN for the last 4 years. They had no real objections to taking 10 over PAN as an absolute limit.

• b. in previous years
Rumoured to be about 1 in 4 ie. 10 out of 40 appeals.

• 24. Any other comments:
It was a stressful experience but so worth it if you have the necessary evidence. We got our evidence together early (a lot of it medical) which was just as well as lockdown happened in March. It was difficult trying to get the correct data information from our Primary - lockdown made it so much harder as we could not discuss face to face with the teachers and Head as they were so very busy with Covid-19 chaos. Prepare early is my top tip!

• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place.[/color]
Answer: KENT


2. What you were appealing against? (a) non-qualification only? (b) oversubscription only? (c) both non-qualification and oversubscription? (d) or something else?[/color]
Answer: NON QUALIFICATION



3a. Name of school you were appealing for:[/color]
Answer: (1) INVICTA (2) MGGS


3b. Year group being appealed for (e.g. Y7 entry):[/color]
Answer: YEAR 7


4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority? (This means it's an academy, foundation or voluntary aided school)[/color]
Answer: NO


5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:[/color]
Answer: 11th – 16th JUNE


6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?[/color]
Answer: approx 3 weeks


7a. Either: Where was the appeal held (e.g. council offices)? [/color]
Answer: COVID-19 – by written submission only



7b. Or: How was the appeal held during covid-19? Were there any particular problems using this way of conducting the hearing?[/color]
Answer: WRITTEN SUBMISSION ONLY


8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?[/color]
Answer: N/A



8b. If not, how late was it in starting?[/color]
Answer: N/A


9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
(a) A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
(b) A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
(c) A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
(d) Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.[/color]

Answer: APPOINTED BY LOCAL AUTHORITY



10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)[/color]
Answer: NAMES WERE GIVEN BUT NO OTHER DETAILS



11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)[/color]
Answer: N/A


12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? This is as follows:
(a) the case for the admission authority;
(b) questioning by the appellants and panel
(c) the case for the appellants;
(d) questioning by the admission authority and panel;
(e) summing up by the admission authority; and
(f) summing up by the appellants.[/color]

Answer: N/A – COVID-19



13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(Sometimes applies to non-qualification cases)[/color]
Answer: NO


13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?[/color]
Answer: N/A



• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Answer: N/A – COVID-19





15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)[/color]
Answer: N/A – COVID-19


16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)[/color]
Answer: N/A



17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?[/color]
Answer: N/A



18. Did you feel rushed?[/color]
Answer:N/A



19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)[/color]
Answer: N/A


20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision (most authorities do not allow this, although some do)?[/color]
Answer:NOT ALLOWED



21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?[/color]
Answer: YES FOR BOTH INVICTA & MGGS



22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?[/color]
Answer: INVICTA -1 Day MGGS 2 DAYS



23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if known):
(a) on this occasion[/color]
Answer: INVICTA 2019 80 appeals 20 upheld. MGGS 2019 114 appeals 75 upheld.


(b)in previous years[/b]
Answer:



24. Any other comments or information which might be helpful to other parents?[/color]
Answer:

BOTH SCHOOLS HAD SPACES – INVICTA 26 MGGS 56. PLEASE USE KENT COUNTY COUNCIL APPEALS EMAIL FOR ANY QUESTIONS AS THEY WERE VERY HELPFUL – ALWAYS RESPONDED TO ANY QUERY I HAD AND REALLY HELPED. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO PUSH SCHOOLS, LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR INFORMATION. ACADEMIC SUPPORTING EVIDENCE IS THE KEY TOGETHER WITH A SUPPORTING LETTER FROM CURRENT SCHOOL. ENSURE THE LETTER SAYS THEY BELIEVE YOUR CHILD SHOULD BE AT GRAMMAR AND WOULD THRIVE THERE AND ALSO CONTAIN ALL TEST SCORES FROM YEAR 4 UP TO ANY MOCK YEAR 6 SATS TAKEN - NOT JUST A CHARACTER REFERENCE.

I AM GLAD I HAD DONE A VERY COMPREHENSIVE APPEAL POWER POINT PACK WHICH I HAD PREPARED IN PLENTY OF TIME GIVEN THE ISSUES WITH COVID-19 THIS MEANT I SUBMITTED THIS IN PLENTY OF TIME BEFORE THE SCHOOLS SHUT AND I DIDN’T HAVE THIS EXTRA WORRY. PREPARE EVERYTHING WELL IN ADVANCE OF ANY DEADLINES.