St Ambrose - Review or Appeal??

[Olliesmum]

Hi all - can anyone give me some information/first hand experience of the appeals process at St Ambrose? It is very confusing! I was expecting to see info on the school website regarding reviews (as with Urmston Grammar) - but worryingly it seems to go straight to an independent panel!! Is this right? When during the year are the panel hearings?

We do have good reasons and a doctor's letter as grounds for our appeal - and we are in category 3!

[miltonkeynes]

Hi Olliesmum, DS passed St Ambrose last year but as we are not RC we were not offered a place on 1 March despite it being DS's first choice. We were advised that as we were not RC we probably wouldn't get it.
On the other hand I know of 2 boys that did not pass but were RC and got in on appeal. Are you RC? If so it is probably worth appealing, especially if you have a Drs note. I don't think you can appeal until after 1 March though. Have you submitted the Drs note, the sooner you get that in the better.
Best of luck.

[fatsals]

Definitely appeal, you would regret it if you didn't.

[Olliesmum]

Thanks! Yes - we are RC and Ds goes to a Catholic feeder school in Trafford, so it is our first and only choice - as we would like ds to remain in a catholic school.
The doctor's note shows concerns and a referral to the Consultant, but as Ds said he felt fine on the morning of the exam - he sat the exam. But comments he made on leaving the exam made me a little concerned!

[Mandy21]

I agree that you need to send the Dr's note in as soon as possible. There was a 'special circumstances' form to complete but according to the website it says it had to be submitted the week after the exam.

It doesn't say on the website but I think 'review' is an internal procedure that is done before the results are sent out - certainly that's the way it works for the other schools. If your child scores just below the pass mark, they review his performance to see if they should bump it up to the pass mark. After the results are sent out, you fall into the "appeals" process. It says on the website that the timetable for making appeals will be published in Feb.

I know of non - Catholic boys who passed but didn't get places and got in on appeal. Good luck.

[Olliesmum]

Thanks Mandy21. It's as I feared then, we have to wait until Feb/March to appeal.
Your comment says "Non Catholic boys who passed..." - but we have the opposite problem. We are Catholic and my Ds missed the pass mark by 8 marks. Do you think we have a chance at the appeal?

[Mandy21]

Hi, I honestly don't know. I guess you'd have to explain why you didn't supply the Dr's note with the special circumstances form on time if your DS mentioned something after the exam, and then how strong your medical reasons are. In your favour though is that it's not too far away from the pass mark and that it's a good fit (faith etc) for your son. Would your school support your appeal?

[Olliesmum]

Yes - the school would support our appeal. I will email the Doctor's letter to the school today. I need to explain that my ds has only now after the results came out, revealed that he was hiding from us his problem on the morning. He did not want to worry us at the time.

[miltonkeynes]

The 2 that I know of that got in on appeal were both RC and had not passed, I'm not sure of the mark they got though.
The appeal was around April / May and they submitted the appeal after 1 March. If I was you I would submit the Drs note to St Ambrose asap then make an appointment with DS current headteacher to ensure they will back you in an appeal.
Good luck

[diane_n]

Hi
I was wondering if you got in on appeal at all? My son was 2 marks off the pass mark and i am not sure if st Ambrose is forgiving at all when it comes to appeals and the fact we are not RC.
My son really hopes to go this this school but I don’t want to get his hopes up as I feel like the chases are slim for him.