We are working on an appeal for a grammar school place and wondered if anyone has appealed on similar grounds or can give us any advice on how the appeal panel may view the case or any other relevant issues.

Our DS is bright and in a twice exceptional category, which was not formally acknowledged by his current school at the time of his 11+ grammar school entrance exam. We requested extra time for the exam but were unable to get the required evidence together in time. Despite no extra time being given for the exam, our DS scored about 1 point below the required mark which would have guaranteed a place.

A few months after the test our DS was assessed by an EP who recommended 25% extra time in timed exams. His current school has now approved 25% extra time for the Y6 SATs. This means that the grammar schools evidential requirements for extra time have now been satisfied.

We are strongly of the opinion that had the recommended extra time been in place for the 11+ exam then our DS exam result would have exceeded the required mark. He missed or had to guess many questions because he didn't have enough time but we can't prove it objectively because this data won't be released.

Our DS gained a pass mark in another grammar school but it is realistically too far to commute there. Is it likely that the panel will conclude that our DS is of grammar school standard and that he would have most likely passed the exam at the closer grammar school had he had the extra time or are there other factors at work here?

Welcome to the forum!

There should be 3 parts to your case:
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general#a43

• You seem to have extenuating circumstances covered.

• The more evidence of high academic ability, the better:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b11

• You mustn't overlook the need to offset the school's case for prejudice by having good reasons for wanting a place.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... -school#c2


https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... cation#b50

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Etienne

11+ exams rarely give additional time; the most I've heard of is 10%. It is 'easier' to get additional time for GCSE, A level and degree exams!

You need good KS2 predictions and strong assessments throughout Primary school. It is difficult to use other 11+ results as evidence; they aren't really comparable.

Thank you so much for your speedy comments. We had scoured the excellent appeals sections but we couldn’t find much on extra time.

I have a few concerns regarding academic evidence, which I will expand upon in the comments below.

The grammar school in their wisdom have decided that getting certain marks in their 11+ exam is the primary criterion for entry. The purpose I assume is to select those children with a certain level of knowledge and reasoning ability. Those children who have the required knowledge and reasoning ability but who may be slower in exams will be disadvantaged when they try to demonstrate it in timed exams; hence the need for extra time to be fair to everyone.

We happen to know that some other children had 25% extra time in the same exam. There has to be some objective basis for how much extra time is given, isn’t that best decided by the educational psychologist who subjects the child to a battery of tests?

I take your point about GCSE, A level etc but that maybe because of the much smaller number of children doing 11+ exams and kids at 10 are generally not doing formal exams in state schools except SATs after the 11+. Parents may not be aware that their child has a problem in exams at that young age.

Yes but ... other students have the recommendation for 25% additional time but no-one in Bucks has been granted it. You could argue that with even 5% additional time the score would have been enough. I don't think you should rely on this line of argument.

However, you need to look at the other evidence as that is the crucial focus...

Aren’t those KS2 predictions and teachers assessments more subjective than an exam and they may be testing slightly different qualities than that which the grammar school is looking for and they may be misleading if they don’t factor in allowed extra time.

There is no NVR in SAT’s and there appears to be no age standardisation unlike in the 11+ exam.

I accept that the cohort of children taking the exam and the standard deviation may be different but everything else was the same in our case. Surely that is a better test of “grammar school ability” than say subjective KS2 predictions?

Isn't an 11+ exam pass conclusive proof of grammar school ability?

No, the cohorts will be different and the standardisation. That's why qualified children from one LA still have to take a test to join a GS in a different county/school.

I certainly agree that it is better to have lots of evidence of academic ability, but it's not easy:

Our DS best subject is NVR but his 11+ didn't demonstrate this due to lack of time. Where can we get evidence of NVR ability? - certainly not from his school.

His school won't be publishing scaled score predictions for SATs and with half the class working at greater depth; that is not that helpful.