11+ appeal for Berkshire and Buckinghamshire

[mumofthree1972]

Hi,
This site is very informative so thank you to everyone who has put messages up. Its very helpful to read other parents comments.
I wanted to ask some advise.
My daughter sat the Bucks 11+ and got 120 and 111 respectively.
She also sat the Berks exams and got 108 for nvr 103 for vr and average 106. (her nvr is her weakest out of the two).
She sat a series of mock tests at school under exam condition and was getting good marks at least 129 and above.
We have put in an appeal for Bucks which is in Feb and we have very strong support from her Head teacher. Good academic results in all her mock papers as well as CATs scores of 5.
We dont know what happened in the exams.
We want to know what our chances are.
Even if we are successful in the bucks appeal we are 20 miles away from the school do we have any hope of getting in?? Can anyone help on this one???
Its all very confusing..we did have some problems at the time of the exam which I can email seperately.
Also with Berks, is it worth appealing? we agian have very strong support from the Head teacher but we also realise that it will be harder...If anyone can advise this will be appreciated.
many thanks

[Etienne]

Welcome!

Have you read all the Q&As?
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We have put in an appeal for Bucks which is in Feb and we have very strong support from her Head teacher. Good academic results in all her mock papers as well as CATs scores of 5.

Not sure what you mean by "mock papers" - if these were the official practice papers, they wouldn't count as evidence (nor would practice papers done privately).
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... aneous#e16" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also not sure about "CATs scores of 5" as that is not how CAT scores are usually reported. See B28 (c) and (d):
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b28" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We want to know what our chances are.

If you've read the Q&As, you'll have seen that last year 74% of those appealing in Bucks with 120 succeeded.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#e29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
- scroll down to the table at the end of (f)
The appeal panel could be influenced by the 111, however, so the more academic evidence you have of high ability, the better:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Even if we are successful in the bucks appeal we are 20 miles away from the school do we have any hope of getting in?? Can anyone help on this one???

It depends which school it is .......

[mumofthree1972]

HI Etienne,
Many thanks for your reply.
I have read the Q&A's and re read them...
I probably didnt make myself clear so I will type up the results from her school report:
Its the standardised tests VR(CAT) 131 in year 6 and 129 in year 5. NVR(CAT) 139 in year 6 and 130 in year 5.
Standardised test scores
CAT - VR/NVR/Quantitative Nov2011 - 131/139/123
NFER reading - Nov 2011 - 119 - (13.6)
For the KS2 SAT's she is working at level 5 and is predicted level 6 in May this year.
The school we are applying for is Burnham Grammer school.
Unfortunately we put an offer for a house which fell through which is why we are still here 20 miles away :0(.

At the time of the tests my son who is younger than **** was taken ill and has been in and out of hospital. The night prior to the second exam he was up most of the night with diarhoea and vomiting which upset all of us and probably **** was not rested before her exam.
Many thanks

[Etienne]

I have read the Q&A's and re read them...

Excellent!

The academic evidence you've mentioned looks good!

If you have any evidence of your son's illness (e.g. recent prescription, recent hospital stay), it would be a good idea to take it with you to the hearing.

I'll leave it to one of our Bucks members to advise you about Burnham GS.

[mumofthree1972]

HI Etienne,
Many thanks for your reply.. Valuable advise given is much appreciated.....
Do you have a moment to give some advise on appealing for the Berks (LGS). She scored 106 overall in the 11+. Do you think its worth it as I believe its much harder and the letter stated that alot less appeals get through...
I will do anything to give it a go but am not putting my hopes up..
Many thanks and have a good day.

[chad]

HI,

You are right in thinking that it will be much harder to achieve a result for Langley than Bucks. You only have to explain 1 mark in Bucks and you have good academic results & some mitigating circumstances. The historical allocation mark for Langley has hovered around the 115/116 and therefore you are trying to show the panel that not only should your child achieved the 111 pass mark, they would easily be able to cope with the academics at grammar.
The successful appeals for Langley each year are minimal but if you are putting together an appeal for Bucks then you have nothing to lose.

[mumofthree1972]

Hi Chad and Etienne,
I appreciate all your help in replying to my queires.
I guess we will give it a go. Our daughter has worked very hard this year and we are proud of her to achieve this level without any tutoring. Its up to us now to perform.....
I am now worried about the appeal for BGS...Since we are quite far from the school does anyone know if this will be a problem if the appeal does go in our favour?
It woudl be so disappointing if we won an appeal and then we were too far to be offered a place....


Also does anyone have any advice or can offer any places that i can get some advise on how to word my Langley appeal...this will be a tough one..
Many thanks

[Etienne]

Also does anyone have any advice or can offer any places that i can get some advise on how to word my Langley appeal...this will be a tough one..

The same as for Bucks: academic evidence + extenuating circumstances!

As it's a specific school, however, it's worth adding a few sentences to explain why you want a place there (and if it's after 1st March at the time of the appeal, and the school is oversubscribed, you'll have to give full reasons for wanting a place!).

[Guest55]

In Bucks you are not appealing for a specific school at this point - just qualification to be in the mix for a GS place.

I'm afraid no-one knows what parental preferences look like this year yet ... hang in there. Remember you can appeal again for a place at the Bucks GS you want.

[chad]

Langley Appeals (historically) are for nonqualification & for a place at the school at the same time. They took place from Mid Jan but now the results are later (they used to be beginning of Dec) I couldn't say when they will be held.
You will def need to include why Langley is the place you want your child to go.