Missed the pass threshold. Is it worth applying?

[mrcow]

My son, much to everyone's surprise missed the pass mark for Crypt scoring 104 (the pass was 107.5).

He had his heart set on Crypt and we can see that he would do fantastically well there. Although he is taking it quite well he really does want to go there.

He did qualify for Marling but all things considered it's just impractical considering the distance he would need to travel.

Is there any point at all putting Crypt down as first choice on the off-chance he would scrape a place? We are receiving confilicting information from various sources and it's driving me mad since I know he would blossom at Crypt. His primary teachers have indicated that they would provide a positive testimony as they too feel he would do well in a grammar school.

The only possible argument for extenuating circumstances for his performance on the day would be that he forgot his glasses although he can manage well enough without them I suppose.

[Amber]

I take it from this that the pass mark for Marling is lower than Crypt then?

My son did qualify for Crypt but we think it is too far to go. I hadn't realised, as we didn't tick the Marling box, that the pass mark is lower - I always thought it was higher. Makes no difference for me but might cheer my son up, as a 'friend' was boasting about passing for Marling and my son crawled off into a corner.

You can always appeal. My son took his glasses but didn't use them - not sure if that is mitigating circumstances or shooting yourself in the foot!

[mrcow]

We thought the pass was higher for Marling too.

He got 217 for Marling and the pass was 216 so he did only just scrape in. Just goes to show how the different methods of standardisation can have a bearing in borderline cases.

The one consolation is that I was very impressed with a couple of the comps, one of which we have been told he is almost certainly to get in to.

He did also have swine flu the week before the exam but he'd finished his Tamiflu and wasn't suffering any symptoms.

[Amber]

Yes, the scores are incomprehensible. I think it is deliberate - makes the Powers That Be feel even more powerful!

Well done to your son - he passed his 11+, which is a great achievement. Please don't let him forget that, whatever you decide! And yes, there are indeed some brilliant comprehensives, where clever children like your son will flourish. Good luck to you both.

[mrcow]

I know he did well, he knows he did well, but we both know he could have done better and I think he feels a little disappointed.

The thing is he really wanted Crypt and I was very impressed with the school - speaking as an IT professional their IT set up was fantastic.

I know that my lad would fit right in at Crypt whereas I understand Marling is more sport focused and he is not at all interested in sport. He swims and does Tae Kwon Do but quit playing rugby a couple of years ago (much to my shame as a Welshman ). I'm also not keen on the 10+ mile journey he would need to undertake.

Saying that, he is keen because of it's engineering specialist status. I'm just not so sure and we haven't even been to see the school so need to try and fit that in this week.

One word... "Arrrgh!"

[Burneth]

If it were me, I would put Crypt first on your preference list as you have nothing to lose, and then appeal after allocation day. I know in previous years Crypt have written to boys who had a near miss on the pass mark and they have been successful in gaining a place. There is a LOT of movement after allocation day.

I wish you and your DS all the best of luck for March.

[capers123]

If it were me, I would put Crypt first on your preference list as you have nothing to lose, and then appeal after allocation day. I know in previous years Crypt have written to boys who had a near miss on the pass mark and they have been successful in gaining a place. There is a LOT of movement after allocation day.

They really shouldn't do that. It's against their published admissions rules that will state that they will only take children who have proved suitable for a grammar education by reaching the pass mark.

Is it possible that these were children who had passed but were not in the initial 120 allocated places come March?

The only way that a child who has not passed (for that school) can be taken is by going to appeal. Unless the school are breaking the rules, and I've known governing bodies to be reprimanded for doing so (I think that that may have been one of the reasons for problems with the governance at Marling).

Now that said, if there were unfilled spaces at the school come the appeals, having had 'flu a few days before the exam would be quite a good mitigating circumstance - even if asymptomatic by that stage, and also forgetting glasses could account for one or two marks, maybe.

The scores for the different schools do fluctuate year on year - partly due to the profiles of the different cohorts ticking for each school. Yes, it would be great to have a common result system for the whole county, but each governing body comes up with its own system, which they think benefits pupils parents the most - of course, they can't all be right, but I'd hate to try & persuade them!

[Milla]

Maybe it's like DRd writing to lots of girls at our school 2 years ago to invite them to appeal? This was the year before the scoring changed, when you had to achieve 105 in each paper. Perhaps they selected those who had exceeded 210 but had "failed" by not achieving 105 in each paper. Certainly more passed last year because they changed this to a joint 210.
I, too, had thought Crypt required a lower pass mark than Marling, but it's all so confusing I'm not going to claim to know anything.

[gloucestermum]

The school definitely did send out letters to boys who had NOT reached the qualifying mark,because they had not filled the 112 places.What these letters actually said I cannot 100% comment on,I think they were asked if they wanted to appeal for a place,which would follow the rules.

They cannot have offered a place guaranteed because more letters were sent than places available!

GM

[capers123]

The school definitely did send out letters to boys who had NOT reached the qualifying mark,because they had not filled the 112 places.What these letters actually said I cannot 100% comment on,I think they were asked if they wanted to appeal for a place,which would follow the rules.

They cannot have offered a place guaranteed because more letters were sent than places available!

GM

It's OK to do it that way, but of course the appeals panel would not necessarily fill up all the empty places if they thought individual children would not fit the schools published policy - there's no point giving a place to a child predicted straight level 4c's for SATS for instance, as they'd just hold the rest of the class back.