Extenuating circumstances - illness & Welsh education system
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Extenuating circumstances - illness & Welsh education system
Hi
We are in the process of moving to Gloucestershire from Wales in April and my DD has just sat the late 11+ exam in March. She didn't get in and we would like to appeal on grounds of extenuating circumstances. Academically we believe she is capable of the standards required for GS - she is predicted level 5's for KS2 and in top group for English and Maths in her class.
However, 2 years ago my DD was hospitalised for a month with a life threatening illness, has had 2 operations and it has taken 2 years to recover. She is better now though the whole experience has been left with significant anxiety issues regarding the threat of future illness and struggles with any kind of change in circumstance medical or otherwise. We found out we need to relocate in January this year and so the process of identifying and applying for schools has been quick to say the least. We did managed to get her into late exam for the GS we thought looked the most appropriate for our DD. We currently live in Wales where we do not operated the GS system, nor do we have SAT's, CAT or other forms of testing mentioned here. There is a National Welsh test which came in a couple of years ago. Is it best to focus on her academic achievement but also highlight the underlying emotional and psychological issues that will have effected her on the day? Any advice greatly received. Many thanks
We are in the process of moving to Gloucestershire from Wales in April and my DD has just sat the late 11+ exam in March. She didn't get in and we would like to appeal on grounds of extenuating circumstances. Academically we believe she is capable of the standards required for GS - she is predicted level 5's for KS2 and in top group for English and Maths in her class.
However, 2 years ago my DD was hospitalised for a month with a life threatening illness, has had 2 operations and it has taken 2 years to recover. She is better now though the whole experience has been left with significant anxiety issues regarding the threat of future illness and struggles with any kind of change in circumstance medical or otherwise. We found out we need to relocate in January this year and so the process of identifying and applying for schools has been quick to say the least. We did managed to get her into late exam for the GS we thought looked the most appropriate for our DD. We currently live in Wales where we do not operated the GS system, nor do we have SAT's, CAT or other forms of testing mentioned here. There is a National Welsh test which came in a couple of years ago. Is it best to focus on her academic achievement but also highlight the underlying emotional and psychological issues that will have effected her on the day? Any advice greatly received. Many thanks
Re: Extenuating circumstances - illness & Welsh education sy
Hi gosh it sounds like you and DD have been through a difficult time and the stress of a house move and finding a new school is a tough time too!
Having been through an appeal 2 years ago.......It is a really challenging thing to put yourself through. - for example for my DS's year there were over 52 appeals for the particular school and I think 10 were upheld. I would say that you do need to look at what you have in the way of evidence of your dd's academic ability If you don't have access to CAT scores then an educational psychologists assessment might give you some useful evidence or may inform you to look at other options but that does mean getting a private assessment so there would be costs to consider too. Also consider that there are likely to be a lot of other parents going through the appeal process for their children especially as not all who have achieved a pass score have gained a grammar place this year and some of these may be doing Level 6 SATs so the higher the levels of achievement the greater chance of gaining a place.
As well as the extenuating circumstances you need to look at what it is about the school that will particularly suit your DD.
Good luck ...hope it works out for you
Having been through an appeal 2 years ago.......It is a really challenging thing to put yourself through. - for example for my DS's year there were over 52 appeals for the particular school and I think 10 were upheld. I would say that you do need to look at what you have in the way of evidence of your dd's academic ability If you don't have access to CAT scores then an educational psychologists assessment might give you some useful evidence or may inform you to look at other options but that does mean getting a private assessment so there would be costs to consider too. Also consider that there are likely to be a lot of other parents going through the appeal process for their children especially as not all who have achieved a pass score have gained a grammar place this year and some of these may be doing Level 6 SATs so the higher the levels of achievement the greater chance of gaining a place.
As well as the extenuating circumstances you need to look at what it is about the school that will particularly suit your DD.
Good luck ...hope it works out for you
Last edited by DC17C on Wed Mar 18, 2015 12:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Extenuating circumstances - illness & Welsh education sy
Welcome to the forum! 
I agree with what DC17C has written.
Suggest you read the Q&As for further advice:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 35&t=35032" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I agree with what DC17C has written.
Suggest you read the Q&As for further advice:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 35&t=35032" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Etienne
