Feedback from all areas - see 1st post to copy feedback form

Consult our experts on 11 Plus appeals or any other type of school appeal

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MrsK40
Posts: 85
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 9:34 pm
Location: Coastal village

Bournemouth School appeal

Post by MrsK40 »

[[/list]• 1. Name of Local Authority:
Bournemouth

• 2. What you were appealing against:
• a. non-qualification only?
• b. oversubscription only?
• c. both non-qualification and over subscription
The school's waiting list is in rank order of test scores. We included evidence of both non-qualification and over subscription in our appeal. Even though our son passed the test, we put in academic evidence because the boys are ranked according to their test scores. Etienne had previously advised another forum member, if in doubt, include academic evidence, as well as over-subscription evidence (reasons why only this school will do)

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
(if a specific school was involved)
Bournemouth School

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school:
(e.g. foundation or voluntary aided)
It is a foundation school

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

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing did you receive the case papers? I can't remember - but it was before half term, as our date to return them was during half term

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices)
At the Bournemouth School for Girls

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

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

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?
• b. A panel appointed by the foundation or VA school?
• c. Or a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the foundation or VA school?
b. a panel appointed by the foundation school.

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)
An ex-head teacher and two lay people - they were very smart, in business suits


• 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, the day before the individual hearings

• 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 appeals)
Our son's entrance to the school had been considered in January by the school's own admission panel.This panel had a Head Teacher's report and a paragraph of information from us re. mitigating circumstances. The school's admission panel decided he passed their entrance requirements.

• 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?
No, the Independent Admissions Panel hearing the appeal heard all evidence - they did comment that some of it had already been taken into account by the school's own admission panel.

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Did you tutor your child?
How did he feel after the exam?
Did he finish the tests? (directed to the Headmaster)
How was he at getting his homework done and how much homework does he get at the moment?


• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)
Friendly and kind but very formal, all in suits.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?
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)?
We were asked if we had anything else to add?

• 18. Did you feel rushed?
No

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

• 20. Were you allowed to telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)
The panel clerk rang on Friday evening after the last appeals had been heard

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Yes

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision?
1 day

• 23. Success rates for appeals at this school (if known):
• a. on this occasion
Out of 22 appeals, 6 were upheld

• b. in previous years

On average 5-10 appeals are upheld every year


• 24. Any other comments:
Evidence, evidence, evidence is what an appeal needs! Someone on this forum wrote, it doesn't matter what you say or write, it's the evidence that counts and that was my mantra! The Head teacher said at the group meeting, all 18 boys who had passed the test deserved a place at grammar school. We looked carefully at all the advice on this forum and with weeks of writing and re-writing, whittled the case down until we couldn't have done any more! We had letters from class teacher and deputy head, and Head teacher's reference. We also had bus time tables, academic certificates and SATS results. The Bournemouth School Headteacher said he was looking for 3 high level 5's and possibly in some cases, a level 6. I hope this helps other parents appealing next year. :)


[/quote]
dutchy005
Posts: 117
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 2:11 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas

Post by dutchy005 »

• 1. Name of Local Authority:
Essex County Council


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

Oversubscription

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:

King Edward VI Grammar Schoool in Chelmsford (KEGS)


• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school:
(e.g. foundation or voluntary aided)

No

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: 11 May for first part part 20 May 2010 for personal hearing.

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing did you receive the case papers? 3 weeks before 11 May

• 7. Where was the appeal held?

Local hotel


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

Yes

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

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?
• b. A panel appointed by the foundation or VA school?
• c. Or a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the foundation or VA school?

Don't know

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

They didn't say

• 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?
• 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 appeals)

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?

Some very specific to mitigating circumstances
Headmaster of DS's school came to support us and he was asked questions about academic performance before and after the test.
Any siblings
What is our son Passionate about
Were we appealing to other Grammar School on our CAF form




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

Really friendly, polite, definitely made me feel they wanted to give us a fair hearing.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?

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)?

Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed?

No

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

About 45 minutes

• 20. Were you allowed to telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)

No

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?

No

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision?

Three long tortuous weeks

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

Don't know but 15 appeals were lodged there is anecdotal evidence that no appeals were succesful in 2010 and it appears that most of the others were lost unanimously, we lost on a majority decision.

• b. in previous years

Do not know but have established that there have been 4 successful appeals in last 5 years (i.e. 2004 to 2009) Do not know how many appeals are normally lodged but this year 15 were.

• 24. Any other comments:

The panel was great and the Presenting Officer fair and straight. We lost by a majority decision and although this was the school our DS wanted a lot we are equidistant between this school and Colchester Royal Grammar to which we were also appealing and in honesty felt was a much better match for him and which we definitely preferred. Having said that, had we been successful in our appeal to KEGS we would have withdrawn our appeal to CRGS partly because our DS's best friend is going to KEGS but also because we had been told that although the chances of a succesful appeal to KEGS is almost nil there had been no succesful appeals to CRGS that we could find.
Last edited by dutchy005 on Wed May 04, 2011 9:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
dutchy005
Posts: 117
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 2:11 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas - CRGS

Post by dutchy005 »

• 1. Name of Local Authority:

Essex County Council


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

Oversubscription

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for: Colchester Royal Grammar School (CRGS)

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school:
(e.g. foundation or voluntary aided)

Yes

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:

25th June 2010

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

About three weeks

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

Local hotel

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

Yes

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

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?
• b. A panel appointed by the foundation or VA school?
• c. Or a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the foundation or VA school? Don't know

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

They didn't say what their professions were other than that Chair and one other were JPs and third member was a retired Primary School Headteacher.

• 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?
• 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 appeals)

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?

Some very specific to mitigating circumstances
Headmaster of DS's school came to support us and he was asked questions about academic performance before and after the test.
Any siblings
What we liked about this school
Why it was second on our CAF form



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

Really friendly, polite, definitely made me feel they wanted to give us a fair hearing.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?

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)?

Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed?

No

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

First part group hearing for about 45 minutes. In for personal hearing for 45 minutes. Hearing was then adjourned for Presenting Officer to obtain more information and we didn't reconvene for over 3 hours as other hearings had to go ahead on time. Then in for another 20 minutes.

• 20. Were you allowed to 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!!!!!!!!! :D

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision?

Hearing on Friday letter arrived Tuesday dated Saturday.

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

We were the only ones.

• b. in previous years
We wrote before hearing to ask this question and were told that there had been no succesful appeal in the last 7 years. At the group hearing another parent asked when there had last been a successful appeal and was told by the Presenting Officer that he had never heard of one and he'd been at CRGS for 10 years.

• 24. Any other comments:

Having already gone through one appeal (to KEGS) we analysed and analysed what had happened. We felt that we must have been making a reasonable case because we lost that appeal on a majority decision only and our son was about 8 marks off an automatic place at this school as against 3 to CRGS. We knew that there were a couple of questions we hadn't answered well enough and made sure we were better prepared.

We then went totally off-piste and based the first part of our appeal on the Appeal Code which we went through with a fine-toothed comb. Essentially we started by appealing for natural justice. The point we made was that if no appeals ever succeed then there may be an appeals process but not a meaningful way to actally appeal.

We researched and researched and our son's headmaster came with us.

The whole thing felt hard but one of the panel had picked up on a disturbance in the exam room that had just slipped by in the appeal to KEGS. Eventually the hearing was adjourned and the PO was given a specific question to answer regarding how many more marks our son needed to have won automatic entry to the school. He and we both called the CSSE which administers the exam. We could see the PO come off the phone and we could see he didn't look as if he were very happy. He then proceded to make lots of other calls and when the meeting was
reconvened tried to introduce evidence he had gathered over the phone. The panel did not like this.

Our letter confirming that our DS was to be given a place at CRGS referenced our mitigating circumstances, our DS's Headmaster's evidence and the disruption to the exam caused by the boy in front of our son crying and the small number of marks needed as the reason for granting our appeal. While I definitely think we won I think the school also lost and this pincer effect meant our DS has his place.

I cannot believe that in the last 10 years there hasn't been another boy with just as good a case as ours. Everything just came together for us. I do think however that if appeals are not being won ever then that appeals process should be reviewed. THe exam in Essex is the same for all grammar schools and I contacted some others and they had all had appeals granted fairly consistently year on year.

The other disappointing thing is that having won we are already finding that things stated by the PO in the appeal do not tie in with reality. For example, he stated that there were not enough lockers for all pupils (true) and that Year 7s all get one (true) and that there is a lottery for lockers in later years. We have just been given chance to rent one for three years.

I asked whether the school monitored educational outcomes at 16 against where boys had come on the ranking for the 11 plus and if they do whether there is a correlation. THe PO said that they do monitor and there is a direct correlation between 11 plus ranking and outcome at 16. At the new parents' meeting which had already taken place the Headmaster of CRGS had stated the complete opposite of this. I did not know this at the time but I did know that extensive research in selective schools showed there was no correlation and when asked the same question the PO of KEGS had been happy to confirm this. I could see on the faces of one of the panel that she wasn't happy at this point either.

There are other examples all of the same sort of level but they added up to a picture that conjured up images of victorian england. My advice to anyone is to make sure you are really really familiar with the school's prospectus so you can counter the negative picture that will be drawn with the glossy image they portray when they are enticing you to apply.

This has been a roller-coaster ride and there have been many times when we questioned whether we should continue. This shows it can be done whatever the odds appear to be so no matter how unlikely success looks go for it.
Last edited by dutchy005 on Wed May 04, 2011 9:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
mommaof2
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jun 19, 2010 8:57 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas

Post by mommaof2 »

1. Name of Local Authority:
Worcestershire

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

oversubscription
• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
(if a specific school was involved)

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school:
(e.g. foundation or voluntary aided)

foundation
• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:

1st July
• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing did you receive the case papers?
12days
• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices)
county hall
• 8a. Did your hearing start more or less on time?

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

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?
• b. A panel appointed by the foundation or VA school?
• c. Or a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the foundation or VA school?
c
• 10. Who was on the panel?
(e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)
not sure if they said?!?

• 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?
• 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 appeals)

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?

Family circumstances,bullying issues,sort of child all personnal issues on medical grounds

• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)
polite but questioning

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?
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)?yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed?no, in fact I did think how much longer because it felt so dreadful

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)
40mins

• 20. Were you allowed to telephone for the decision?
yes
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Yes

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision?
hearing on thursday PM heard monday AM

• 23. Success rates for appeals at this school (if known):
• a. on this occasion more than one out about 17

• b. in previous years last year none other years 2-3


• 24. Any other comments:
As someone else wrote supportive independant evidence and passion are the key have not put school down as choose not to already running the gauntlet at school.
But have done nothing wrong,illegal or immorale.
We have had some nasty times during this and still can't believe the outcome.
This site and the ACE people helped and guided me.
So research and evidence and don't give in!
One last thing - show no fear to your child try to find praise in the allocated school - just in case it doesn't work out.
THANK YOU
cairo
Posts: 276
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 3:09 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas

Post by cairo »

• 1. Name of Local Authority:

Gloucestershire


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

Oversubscription

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
(if a specific school was involved)

Sir Thomas Rich's

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school:
(e.g. foundation or voluntary aided)

No

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:

June 2010

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

2-3 weeks

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

Council offices

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

No

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

20 mins

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?
• b. A panel appointed by the foundation or VA school?
• c. Or a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the foundation or VA school?

Panel appointed by LA

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

Two school governors (although I think they said they weren't governors for the school in question.) The Chair was a lay person. I think he said he used to work in education.

• 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 appeals)

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?

N/A

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?

(1) What impact the trauma suffered by DS1 prior to test had had on him. Whether resolved now?
(2) Details of disruption in second test.
(3) Whether logisitical difficulties I had raised re allocated school would prevent me sending him there (Answer: no).


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

They tried to put me at my ease, appeared sympathetic and were professional and thorough in their approach. At one point when I was in floods of tears, two of them were clearly fighting back the tears too!

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?

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)?

I can't remember.

• 18. Did you feel rushed?

No

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

35-40 mins

• 20. Were you allowed to 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 !!!

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision?

8 days.

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

I believe that 8 out of 23/27 appeals were successful this year.

• b. in previous years

Appeals are successful every year. Typically the school admits 6-9 over PAN.
• 24. Any other comments:

The Panel did not ask me lots of questions, as they said my case had been very well-presented. They asked more difficult and probing questions of the school's representative than me.

When I was talking, they all wrote lots of notes when I described my son's abilities/passions and how this tied in with the school's specialisms. They also made notes when I mentioned in passing that his primary school does not do VR preparation and he had little knowledge of exam technique at the time.

However, the letter allowing the appeal stated that the Panel had given consideration to the traumatic event my DS1 suffered, his high CATs and his predicted high SATs.

I think that the key to a successful appeal is preparation. I really don't think I could have presented such a well-argued case if I had not found this site. I felt really relieved when I came out of the appeal that I had done my best and that if there were more deserving cases than my son and he wasn't offered a place, then so be it.
Fatandfifty
Posts: 78
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:55 pm

Re: Feedback from all areas

Post by Fatandfifty »

• 1. Name of Local Authority:
Devon County Council

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

Appealing for oversubscription

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
(if a specific school was involved)

St Peter's Church of England

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school:
(e.g. foundation or voluntary aided)

Voluntary aided

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:

25 June 2010

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

Ten days

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

County Hall

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

On time

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

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?
• b. A panel appointed by the foundation or VA school?
• c. Or a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the foundation or VA school?

Independent of the Admitting Authorities

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

Ex-teacher, a surveyor, school governor


• 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?
• 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?

Don't know

(sometimes applies to non-qualification appeals)

• 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?

Language interest, where my son would be going to school if failing appeal ie. state or private, was he sporty, sociable and where was his siblings going and what were they studying for their A levels

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

All of the above

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?

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)?

Yes
• 18. Did you feel rushed?

No

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

30 mins

• 20. Were you allowed to telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)

Yes

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?

Successful

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision?

Next day

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

I don't believe the other child got a place as he was currently at a private school and trying to get into the state sector.

• b. in previous years

No idea

I was told that with the Yr 7 appeals out of 22 children only 2 won there appeal. My appeal was for a Yr 9 place.


• 24. Any other comments:

I had prepared well my case and arrived smartly dressed and ready to do business. I did not take issue with the school and did not give any negative feedback about the schools I had been offered but just stuck to my guns and told them in a clear, concise manner and with lots of eye contact to each panel member my appeal and spoke in a slow and diliberate manner, I then handed them my appeal paper and a copy to the Clerk. Was congratulated my the panel by my speech and on leaving the room with the headteacher, he also said well done??!!

I couldn't have done it without all the support on this Forum - a big, big thank you for your advice. Keep up the good work.
T12ACY
Posts: 800
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:12 pm
Location: Kent

Re: Feedback from all areas

Post by T12ACY »

• 1. Name of Local Authority:
KCC

• 2. What you were appealing against:
• a. non-qualification only?


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

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school:
No

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
Mid July 2010

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing did you receive the case papers?
Just over 2 weeks

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
Local Sports Facility.

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

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

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?

• 10. Who was on the panel?
1 Advisory and 2 Lay members, occupations unkown.

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
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?
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?
N/A

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Questions about the extenuating circumstances.
What my DC wanted, is this my choice or his.
Why did DS generally give poor performance in QR CAT's (below 110 across 2 tests)
Travel arrangements.
Preperation for the 11+


• 15. What were the panel like?
Very nice. I gave an answer which was challenged by the Chair and LA but another member stepped in and agreed with me.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?
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)?
Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed?
No.

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
25 - 30 minutes

• 20. Were you allowed to telephone for the decision?
No

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
YES!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision?
3 days

• 23. Success rates for appeals at this school (if known):
unknown


• 24. Any other comments:
This was my second appeal. The first was declined, but I had expected it to be successful because I couldn't see how they could not accept my reasons for non qualification. What I learned was that the panel don't actually know what's in my head and can't make a guess. :oops: This time around I arrived armed with much more evidence and said out loud the dreaded one line which I think made all the difference, and I didn't cry! If there is a genuine reason it must be clear to the panel because they have about 30 minutes to meet you and get answers to any questions. Never avoid answering a question no matter how hard it is!!!
The clerk was very nice and thanked me for my preperation and making her job much easier. The panel commented on my thorough paper submission, and I apologised for taking up a Sunday afternoon as it would have taken alot of reading!!!!
Money can't buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
panickingmum
Posts: 47
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 6:12 pm
Location: Bucks

Re: Feedback from all areas

Post by panickingmum »

• 1. Name of Local Authority:
BCC

• 2. What you were appealing against:
Oversubscription

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

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school:
No

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
7th July 2010

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing did you receive the case papers?
approx 10 days

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
County Hall Aylesbury.

• 8a. Did your hearing start more or less on time?
1 hour early!!

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

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?

• 10. Who was on the panel?
Occupations accountant, health service worker and School Bursar (might have been retired).

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
yes in the morning

• 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?
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?
N/A

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
DD interest in music what did that consist of.
Why didnt DD dance at current school.
There were others but I cant remember them!

• 15. What were the panel like?
Pleasant but didnt give much away, we felt we never had the chair on our side!

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?
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)?
Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed?
No.

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
20 mins approx

• 20. Were you allowed to telephone for the decision?
No

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Not successful

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision?
8 days

• 23. Success rates for appeals at this school (if known):
This year I believe there were 10 approx appealing and 5 got through, the school had already given 7 places to girls with active siblings at the school


• 24. Any other comments:
I really felt we didnt "perform" well, we had it all written down and my DH didnt want to just read it out and I feel we were a bit unstructured in our delivery, we got all the points over but darted around a bit


• 1. Name of Local Authority:
BCC

• 2. What you were appealing against:
Oversubscription

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

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school:
No

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
16th July 2010

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing did you receive the case papers?
About 10 days

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
County Hall

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

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
20 mins early. Our letter said 10:30 but the clerk seemed to think we were on at 10:00 which worried me as I thought oh no they think we are late! She was lovely about it though and said, oh no problem at all probably my mistake!

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?

• 10. Who was on the panel?
1 accountant (chair and same as last appeal), 1 ex-Ofsted inspector and 1 business man.

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
Yes

• 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?
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?
N/A

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Lots and lots!
About DD's unhappiness at current school.
How would we get her to BHS (we are out of catchment).
Friendships at current school and BHS.

• 15. What were the panel like?
Nice. I felt we never got the chair on our side!

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?
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)?
Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed?
No.

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
30 - 40 minutes

• 20. Were you allowed to telephone for the decision?
No

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
YES!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision?
5 days

• 23. Success rates for appeals at this school (if known):
5 got through this year and I think there were approx 8 appealing


• 24. Any other comments:
This was our second appeal. I felt I got into "Motor-mouth mode" and said too much! Afterwards I felt that sometimes "less is more" and that I went on a bit too much. I felt that the panel were very good at geting to the bottom of things and were all very clever people.


• 1. Name of Local Authority:
BCC

• 2. What you were appealing against:
Oversubscription

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
Sir William Borlase's Grammar School

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school:
No

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
19th July 2010

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing did you receive the case papers?
About 10 days

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
County Hall

• 8a. Did your hearing start more or less on time?
15 mins late

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

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?

• 10. Who was on the panel?
1 ex-Head teacher and I forget the others.

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
Yes

• 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?
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?
N/A

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Lots about DD unhappiness at current school, friendships etc.
Lots about how at GS the children might be unkind because DD had come from Upper school and how would she handle this.
How would she deal with not being top all the time.

• 15. What were the panel like?
Very nice. They said that DD was doing really well at current school and it was a "real dilemna". I almost felt that I should have rushed in and said "ah but she is not doing well at..." or that we would have done better if we could have proved that she was struggling academically at something because of the current school.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?
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)?
Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed?
No.

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
25 - 30 minutes

• 20. Were you allowed to telephone for the decision?
No

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Not successful!

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision?
2 days

• 23. Success rates for appeals at this school (if known):
unknown I think there were about 10 of us appealing

• 24. Any other comments:
This was our third appeal. The first was declined and we hadnt had the decision of the second at this stage. All in all I felt that this one had by far been our best and that we stood the most chance. Our DD was a very good fit for the school and we had proved that she was very unhappy at her current school. I felt we had a very good chance of success but was worried by the chair's "dilemna"!
whichwitch
Posts: 236
Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2008 1:07 pm
Location: Kingston

Re: Feedback from all areas

Post by whichwitch »

• 1. Name of Local Authority: Kingston Upon Thames

• 2. What you were appealing against:
• a. non-qualification only


• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
Tiffin School (boys)

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school: Yes, VA


• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: July 2010

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing did you receive the case papers? 10 days

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
Further education college

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

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

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority?
• b. A panel appointed by the foundation or VA school?
• c. Or a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the foundation or VA school?

• 10. Who was on the panel?
3 females one was a govenor at another school


• 11. Was there a group hearing?
N/A

• 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 appeals)

N/A

• 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?

As my son has ADHD and Tourette Syndrome I was asked how I thought he would fit in. I was also asked what his extra curricular interests were. I was also asked to provide proof of his Yr 6 SATs predictions on headed school paper.



• 15. What were the panel like?
On the whole polite and friendly, definitely 2 good cops and one bad cop though!

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? 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)? Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed? No

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
about 45 mins

• 20. Were you allowed to telephone for the decision?
no

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful? Yes

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision? 2 weeks

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

• b. in previous years

unknown


• 24. Any other comments: The school sent their current chair of govenors who is also a former HT as their representative. He totally conceded that the school had made a huge failure in fulfilling the planned arrangements for my son on the day of the test. He also produced the actual test papers and asked that the panel consider them as they showed that my son's TS symptoms had been triggered. I do feel that the school accepted what had happened and their representative also asked the panel to accept that my son had scored very highly on the second test and that such discrepancy between the tests was unusual - he also stated that any child who had scored so highly on the VR paper would thrive at the school
Fretting Mum
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed May 12, 2010 11:21 am
Location: East Sussex

Appeal for TGS

Post by Fretting Mum »

Name of Local Authority: Kent

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

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for: Tonbridge Girls Grammar
(if a specific school was involved)

• 4. Was this an own-admission authority school: (e.g. foundation or voluntary aided) No

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: 28 June 2010

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing did you receive the case papers? Several months - but appeal was postponed due to illness from end of May to early July, then suddenly brought forward a week

• 7. Where was the appeal held? At a country hotel
(e.g. council offices)

• 8a. Did your hearing start more or less on time? Yes
• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?

• 9. What sort of panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? Yes
• b. A panel appointed by the foundation or VA school?
• c. Or a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the foundation or VA school?

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)
Not sure - 3 people. I think one member was a deputy at another school

• 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? 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 appeals)

• 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? N/A

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
How would we and my daughter cope with the travel - we are out of area
Would she be able keep up with her school work as did she also has quite a few out of school commitments
TGS is a specialist Maths school and it is taught at a high level - would she struggle with the Maths as she only got 127 (which is roughly 90%! She got full marks for Verbal and Non Verbal)


• 15. What were the panel like? (e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?) Friendly, polite and considerate, however it was intimidating sitting in a small room facing 3 people who hold your daughter's future in their hands

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? 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)? Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed? No

• 19. How long did the hearing last? Approximately 15 minutes
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

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

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

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision? 1 week

• 23. Success rates for appeals at this school (if known):
• a. on this occasion. Don't know but they did have 9 places 'left'
• b. in previous years


• 24. Any other comments: It was hard to know whether our appeal was successful because of what we said or whether it was almost a given, since our daughter did get the required out of area mark of 407. She was only refused initially since there were too many applicants with 407 and the available places left out of 35, were given to those living nearest the school. As TGS is a highly academic school, it would be logical that if they were going to allocate the remaining 9 places they would first choose those with the highest marks, rather than accept those who scored less than in the area cut off mark, which had by then fallen to 401. Her friend who also scored 407 had a much longer appeal of around 30 minutes. However we did not assume we would be offered a place despite her score, and prepared fully for her appeal. We gleaned a wealth of advice and tips from this website for the appeal, for which MANY, MANY thanks to the people who run the site and to all those who have shared their own experiences and added their own advice.
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