Alarm!

[bucksmum33]

I wonder if anyone can help. Our DD scored 116 and we have a 1:2 from the HT and excellent HT support. However the night before the exam our alarm went off in the middle of the night (our cat can very occasionally set it off). This woke everyone up (including my daughter). She was very tired in the morning but we just shrugged it off and didn't mention it.

As the school wont have mentioned it on their form, is it pointless putting it down because anyone can make that up really. If I was a panel member I wouldnt believe it without proof. We did get the alarm guy round a few days later and we do have an invoice to say he had to fix it.

This definitely caused an issue but we don't know whether we can submit it if the school didnt mention it.

[bucksmum33]

Hello. Our alarm went off in the middle of the night before the 11+ and woke my daughter up. She was very tired in the morning but we didnt mention anything to the school. We do have proof an engineer came round a fews days later to look at it but it's difficult to prove it actually went off and she was tired because of it. Can we submit that as extenuating circumstances? It really did affect her but is an engineer's receipt enough? She got 116 and has a 1:2 and an excellent report.

[Sally-Anne]

The short answer is yes, and I've come across this before.

Write no more than you have done to us, attach a copy of the receipt as some form of proof and then continue with the academic story.

Keep it simple and true.

[Kingfisher]

Message removed as it has been answered elsewhere.

[anotherdad]

I wouldn't mention it. As you said, it sounds made up and I can see a panel just disregarding it, or worse, taking a cynical view of it. Plenty of other kids would have had a restless night's sleep beforehand. As with suspected illness, the view is taken that if your child is sent to school to sit the test, then s/he is deemed fit.

You have a strong HT recommendation and if his/her recommendations are historically accurate, that's your best supporting evidence.

[bucksmum33]

Thanks Sally-Anne. I just felt that it could be an excuse that everyone uses and they would see through it. In our case it's actually true and I do have the invoice as well so hopefully they will believe us.

[bucksmum33]

Can this post be deleted please? I posted twice as I thought I hadn't properly submitted that first one. Thank you.

The two topics have now been merged
Moderator

[bucksmum33]

I accidentally posted twice (and have asked that second post be deleted) but interestingly 'anotherdad' says to not mention it!

[kenyancowgirl]

Follow SAs advice...build your appeal on your strong academic evidence and then, almost matter of factly, mention the alarm as in "the only reason we can think of for her not performing on the day was the alarm giving her a disturbed night".

Appeals are won and lost on the strength of the academic evidence; extenuating circumstances only account for none performance on the day.

[bucksmum33]

Ok will do that - matter of factly but hey, here's an invoice to prove it!