Any advice on Bucks appeal hearing please

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sharone
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:39 pm
Location: Bucks

Any advice on Bucks appeal hearing please

Post by sharone »

Hi everyone

Our Bucks appeal date is set for the 23rd (Jan), and as you may all appreciate, we are getting a little anxious, and would greatly value hearing about other parents' experiences (both positive and negative). As we do not have any special extenuating circumstances to explain our son's lower than anticipated scores, it would be especially helpful to hear what sorts of questions were asked, and if parents felt that panels were pushing for both academic evidence and mitigating circumstances.

Thanks
caz34red
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 1:20 pm
Location: Bucks

Post by caz34red »

Hi Sharone,

My appeal is on Tuesday so will let you know how I get on. I have fairly similar circumstances as far as scores go 116/115, although I do have extenuating circumstances BUT that does not mean anything it still could go either way!! Getting really nervous now, collecting work books after school today, and still awaiting a letter from my GP!!

Caz
Caz34red
Suesole
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:38 am
Location: Bucks border / Berks

Post by Suesole »

Hi caz34red

How did your appeal go ?
caz34red
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 1:20 pm
Location: Bucks

Post by caz34red »

Hi Sue,

Its next Tuesday (15th) so just have to get through this weekend!!
Caz34red
sharone
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:39 pm
Location: Bucks

Post by sharone »

Thanks, I'd appreciate hearing how you go on Tuesday, and wish you all the best! It almost feels like sitting exams again. Given our scores we realise that we've not got more than around a 20% chance of success, and have resigned ourselves to the fact that we may have to send our son to our local upper (Highcrest). We are, however, more positive about this possibility now given the very good Ofsted report recently received by Highcrest, and sometimes, these things work out for the best (e.g son being happy that he will go to a school with all his mates- only 3 kids passed at my son's school).

Good luck for Tuesday!
Suesole
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:38 am
Location: Bucks border / Berks

Post by Suesole »

Good luck. Sorry I didn't spot you had only posted today. I've just come off night shift at work so am a bit confused. Sue.
sharone
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:39 pm
Location: Bucks

on another matter

Post by sharone »

Hi again

In regards to our iminent appeal hearing, I would also value people's comments on issues relating to poor 11+ pass rates at different schools, and whether panels take these into account. We live in the centre of High Wycombe, and none of the local schools had anywhere near the 30% pass rate mentioned by BCC. Is this meant to imply that these schools do not contain the average amount of brighter children, or can one interpret that for whatever reason, children at these schools are somehow dissadvantaged? I guess we're just concerned that we did the wrong thing in sending our son to the school in our catchment area, and if we'd known otherwise, maybe his chances of success would have been greater at a different school. Any thoughts or opinions would be most welccomed.
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Post by Sally-Anne »

Hi Sharone

The low pass rate at your son's school is not evidence for the hearing, any more than a high pass rate would be at another school.

However, purely for debating purposes, I am certain that the quality of the school has an impact on pass rates.

For example, if a school's pupils have a high reading age because the English teaching is of high quality, then the children's vocabulary will be wider and they are more likely to find vocab-related questions easy.

The same would apply to Maths - if the children have good mental maths skills, the number questions will be easier for them.

Sally-Anne
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: on another matter

Post by Etienne »

I don't think panels routinely take account of different pass rates.

They might make some allowance where a child clearly comes from an underprivileged background (and this could include coming from a school known to be facing many problems and where standards of achievement are not high). In other words, this might be considered an "extenuating circumstance".

Unfortunately there are some good schools that perform very well at SATs but whose 11+ results are relatively disappointing. Different qualities are of course being measured ......
Etienne
sharone
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:39 pm
Location: Bucks

Post by sharone »

Thanks for your comments. I have no problems with the quality of teaching at my son's school, but the school does "under perform" in terms of KS2 results in comparison to other bucks' schools. However, I do know that, for instance, at my daughter's infant school which is a feeder school for that of my son, 50% of the children have english as a second language, and many children have joined both schools recently who don't speak english at all. For example, in my daughter's class at infant school, 6 new children have recently joined who don't speak english (2 of which had never even been to school before). In this sort of teaching environment, I should imagine that the vocab used by teachers (and taught to their pupils) may not be as extensive as that of other schools. Is this an issue which could be put forward to the LEA rep during the hearing, or is it better to keep one's head down?

Thanks again for aany comments.
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