Appeal - a little help please

[zeinab]

Hi all. ds passed grammar. wasn't lucky with other grammar. we now have been offered our fourth choice, local comp. I think I'm gonna appeal guys cos my Dad had 2 by-pass ops & pacemaker fitted a few weeks prior to ds sitting wilsons exam. we, including ds needed to commute every other day, journey of 3 hours there & back cos the docs said that his days were numbered & because of complications he might not make it. It affected all of us as well as ds. I have medical proof of this.

DS is top sets in year & been predicted 5a in english & 6c in maths. His brothers attend wilsons/wallington. Just feel that he could have done much better if we didn't have those difficult family circumstances.

What the grammar schools have done for my eldest 2, I can't begin to explain.

A little help in the right direction would be sincerely appreciated guys.

[zeinab]

pretty, pretty please?

[hermanmunster]

Hi Zeinab

Key point of an appeal is demonstrating academic ability.

Have you read the Q&A for appeals? - can be very helpful, if you have any specific questions then please come back with them.

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals

[zeinab]

thank you hermanmunster. 367 passed exam & 150 places offered. wasn't told where he was ranked when I phoned up & asked. should receive a letter from them tomorrow confirming this. when I asked how many roughly decline places, was told it differs from yr to yr. they offer 80 to boys living in catch, the rest where the crow flies. we live about 5-7 mins drive from the school but boderline, so not far away.

Have I got good grounds for appeal - on strong academic ability t& Dad's ops? thanks mods.

[hermanmunster]

Re appeals - they need to have good academic evidence ie cats scores, school reports etc

Then there is the issue of the extenuating circumstances - these obviously cary froim child to child and ultimately it comes down to how the child (not their parents or siblings) were affacted at the time. If they were doing fine in school then something happened and the teachers then noticed that the child was not doing so well then that is obviously strong evidence but if there was no significant change then it holds less weight for the appeal.

[zeinab]

A zillion thanks hermanmunster. do I go back to the school to find out how he was progressing during said period?

[hermanmunster]

I think you need to chat to the teachers / head at primary about appeals in general and see if they have anything to say about the time when your relative was ill

[zeinab]

shall do that. so much appreciated. are there any other avenues I can take for an appeal?

[Amber]

Did I read somewhere that the new appeals code does not allow for extenuating circumstances and just wants evidence of academic ability, period? I am not sure, but I am confident that the green people here will know. Point being that the family medical issues would not be taken into account?

[hermanmunster]

A very well informed green person mentions it hear in another post ...

Welcome!

The new Code of Practice which came into force on 1st February makes no mention at all of extenuating circumstances. This is not necessarily to say that extenuating circumstances might not be discussed at a hearing, but they shouldn't be the basis of an appeal.

The focus should always be on academic evidence - the more, the better!
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;