Appeal with unsuccessful SR

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KS13
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2019 8:35 pm

Re: Appeal with unsuccessful SR

Post by KS13 »

Thank you Etienne.

I am really sorry for asking this again Etienne,I didnot understand this bit very well and wanted to make it clear before I mention something from here-

If referring to a school's previous specialisms, it's essential to make clear that you realise these no longer exist, or the panel might reject the argument. For BGS I suggested further up using a form of words such as "..... the school used to specialise in this subject, and it is still one of the school's particular strengths!."

and other thing about answer of first question which was suggested by you earlier.Am I OK to write it word by word same as yours included link address. Sorry I just did not want to do any stupid mistake and wanted to be clear with everything.

***It is for the admission authority to prove their case (para. 3.13b of the Appeals Code), but I would like to draw attention to two main flaws in the review process as it was applied in my case:
(a) There appear to be no academic criteria for the SRP to use as a guideline in determining grammar school suitability. How, therefore, could my academic case be judged consistently with other cases?
(b) The clerk's notes state that the SRP did not feel my extenuating circumstances explained the gap between 114 and the qualifying mark.
Contrast this with special needs where the LA has stated: "We cannot offer extra marks to compensate for any special needs your child may have. This is because each child's case is different. It is impossible to say exactly how many marks would be appropriate."
https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/edu ... onditions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Surely the same basic principle applies to extenuating circumstances? In the absence of any criteria, how was it possible for the SRP to determine objectively whether my exceptional circumstances were sufficient to account for the shortfall in marks?
And in what way was this part of the review process consistent? In order to try and make consistent judgements, SRPs needed at the very least a policy setting out how they would deal with extenuating circumstances. (Presumably universities and exam boards do this.)**



Many Many Thanks!
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Appeal with unsuccessful SR

Post by Etienne »

No problem! :)

If referring to a school's previous specialisms .......
What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't write "Maths is one of the school's specialisms," because someone on the panel might point out to the others that specialisms no longer exist, and you won't be there to explain that, even though the government no longer makes extra money available for the maths department, all the resources and expertise that the school has built up in that department over the years are not going to disappear overnight! It still has a strong maths department, even though the school - strictly speaking - cannot say that maths is a specialism.
See: https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... school#c34" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All you need do is use this wording -
For BGS: "My son has a particular aptitude for maths. The school used to specialise in this subject, and it is still one of the school's particular strengths."
For JH: "The school used to specialise in Technology (including Maths, ICT and Science), and this is still one of its strengths. My son is very good at maths, and would like to develop this ability in the context of Technology."
Am I OK to write it word by word same as yours included link address.
Yes, everything in italics exactly as I wrote it.
Important to include the link so that the panel can check (if they want to) that the quote from the LA is correct.

Good luck!
Etienne
KS13
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2019 8:35 pm

Re: Appeal with unsuccessful SR

Post by KS13 »

Dear Etienne,Many thanks for your prompt replies.
I managed to answer roughly all questions according to my understanding and of course with your massive support.I would really appreciate if you could look at these answers to see if it make sense and I have not done any mistake .Thanks a lot !!

IAP questions on the case for child
1. X's results over time are consistently at the ‘expected level’ in Reading and Writing and ‘at greater depth’ in Mathematics. Broadly the same profile has emerged in his Secondary School Selection Test score. Based on this evidence why do you feel that the Selection Review Panel’s view of son’s test score was not fair, consistent and objective?
This is same answer as per your suggestion before
2. Given the above results why do you think that X will be able to cope with a grammar school education?
same as per suggestion before
3. What did X say about he felt he had performed in the test especially given that he did not answer the questions in numerical order?
He did mention that He was not able to complete all the questions as he ran out of the time (I cannot remember how many questions he mentioned He left)
He stated He started going through with questions which were straight forward for him and he was sure about the methods and He mentioned about question 10 where he was getting confused as available options distressed him and wondered what was happening and then later teacher mentioned about the error.

My concern is that He spent extra time there and also continued with his same theory of picking out ones that he feels confident in answering first, then he goes back to other questions and because extra time was spent in working out question 10, He ran out of the time before completing the test and did not get chance to go through the questions he skipped to come back later. Now Panel did adjustment by not counting the marks for last 2 questions which is not fair in his case as He might have done last 2 questions already before completing other ones.
Son used to apply same strategy while practising test papers at home and He always use to say I like doing like this and I manage to complete my paper in this way.
Because of this there was not anything different he did in the exam however due to error He spent more time on the question where he was confident with method but got confused due to error and did not move to next selected question quickly. I would like to mention here that I did not stress him asking things like how much extra time you spent or what difference it made etc.
4. Given that there had been family issues on the evening of 8th September which son was aware of did you consider that he was fit to take the test? Did you complete the ‘Fitness to Test’ form?
At that time, I did not inform the school as this was a very personal family matter and I always have been scared to face the world with this truth. Me and my husband hidden this from everyone and we only wanted to bring this to son after son's exam as this was something son was really working hard on .

I did not send him school next day of the argument as I thought I would be able to ventilate his feelings by spending extra time with him which I thought worked and I did not discuss anything more about this before exam and thought he forgot about that .I did not realise until he shared his feelings with me after exam that he was keep thinking about us .He stated He was thinking that soon He will need to choose one of us to live with and He wants both of us. He clearly stated to me that I was really sad about this. X is very sensitive child and He stated about family separation about other child in his class and was scared for this happened to his parents.
It was very late for us to realise the impact and due to family issues that time we as parents also were not talking to each other and it did not come in our mind about fitness to test form,we were so stressed with other issues which was the reason big argument happened while X was present in the house .

This is the reason I am fighting for him at my best now as I do not want him to suffer due to parents mistakes. He is very bright child who really worked hard during summer holidays as He really wanted to pass the exam and succeed .
5. Following X's Grandfather’s diagnosis, did you notice any impact on X and did his school report any changes in his academic performance from October 2018 when the diagnosis was made?
X was doing well at school and we did not notice any particular change in his studies due to his Grandad’s diagnosis.

However Granddad’d diagnosis impacted on his social life.His Grandad used to do school runs and he used to chat with him about his school day .
However that social support was gone since his granddad was not able to do sensible chats due to his illness. Since then X started walking home on his own in year 5 .

Our reason for mentioning Granddad diagnose is mainly that we all got affected that time due to this and my husband started spending more time for looking after his dad and our attention towards X was reduced. X started doing things on his own like He started walking from school on his own and we were not able to do much with his studies ,he was doing his studies himself .Being both parents working in full time job and then looking after his granddad took our attention and support away from X .

And also X is only child so he was not having much company from any family member.I strongly believe if Grandad would be in good health then we could have given more attention to X in his studies and He would have thrived better .Even though he was doing his best in studies in school. Another reason it has impacted X which I personally think is if Granddad would be in same state then there were chances that X would have shared his feelings with his Granddad about the family issues which would have ventilated his feelings and would have helped him to be more relaxed.

It was stressful time for the family to face the deterioration in Grandad’s health and this was the time for us as parents to give extra support to X to start preparing for 11 plus which we could not do that due to these family issues.

X never had problem with school syllabus and studies as he always concentrate on what is taught in school but 11 plus preparation was something extra He needed to work on and which he was doing on his own from practice books.
6. Why is Burnham Grammar School the right school for X on academic grounds?
X is strong in Maths and I understand Burnham Grammar school used to specialise in this subject, and it is still one of the school’s particular strengths.
7. What does Burnham Grammar School offer X that Desborough School does not?
In terms of location,Burnham Grammar school is only 5-10minutes walk from our home and it comes in our catchment. There is no other secondary school in the walking distance .
Due to current family situation it is very important for me to make balance between work and child school routines and it would be such a big relief for me if He can walk there by himself .Again being vulnerable and due to parental issues,I am not in state to send X on his own by public transport which would be the case with Desborough and I will need to either reduce my working hours which will impact me financially and also it will affect my career as it is not going to be possible with my current role and I might will need to be downgraded to fit well within reduced hours and role’s responsibilities.

I also got friends whose children goes to BGS and that would be additional support.

X got friends from his school’s older class and also other friends (my friend’s children ) in BGS and it would help X in social networking which is important for his mental health. Friends play big part in X life as He is only child and He always like to spend time with his friends.

Thank you !!
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Appeal with unsuccessful SR

Post by Etienne »

Hi KS13

We can't do anything about the basic facts, as the facts are what they are. I can make a couple of suggestions about what to say (as opposed to how to present), but these assume that I've understood your case correctly. I haven't seen the case papers. If I've got any facts wrong, please say so because responses must be truthful.

We can polish the presentation a bit. I think the main problem is that the answers seem much too long. In a normal (face to face) hearing the panel would probably be expecting you to respond to a straightforward question in a few sentences at most.
I don't usually attach great importance to presentation, but if you give an answer approaching 400 words in length, there's a risk that the more important points will get completely lost in all the verbiage!

I would suggest shortening your answers as follows:
3. What did X say about he felt he had performed in the test especially given that he did not answer the questions in numerical order?
He did mention about question 10 where he was getting confused by the available options. He thought he would have performed better if he had not become so upset.
4. Given that there had been family issues on the evening of 8th September which son was aware of did you consider that he was fit to take the test? Did you complete the ‘Fitness to Test’ form?
Yes, we completed the ‘Fitness to Test’ form, but we were being presented with an impossible choice. The family issues were ongoing, so would we have achieved anything by postponing the test, other than adding to son's distress?
5. Following X's Grandfather’s diagnosis, did you notice any impact on X and did his school report any changes in his academic performance from October 2018 when the diagnosis was made?
No, X was in fact doing increasingly well with routine school work.

However, he's a very sensitive child for whom the transfer test was a momentous event, not something routine. Grandfather used to do the school runs, and chat with him about his school day. X could have done with that sort of support at the time of the transfer test, especially as his parents (both with full time jobs) were distracted by their own issues.

I know the chances of a successful appeal are not great, but I am fighting for him now, as best I can, as I do not want him to suffer due to his parents mistakes. He is very bright child who deserves better. He really wanted to pass the transfer test and succeed at BGS.
6. Why is Burnham Grammar School the right school for X on academic grounds?
X is very strong in Maths and I understand Burnham Grammar used to specialise in this subject, and it is still one of the school’s particular strengths.
7. What does Burnham Grammar School offer X that Desborough School does not?
Burnham Grammar is only 5-10 minutes' walk from our home. We are in catchment. It is our local school. There is no other secondary school nearby.

Due to the family situation and the disappointment of the transfer test, X is feeling quite fragile. It would be such a big relief for me if he could start secondary school by walking there by himself.
I have friends whose children go to BGS, and X himself knows pupils there. This would be welcome support for a sensitive, only child.
Etienne
KS13
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2019 8:35 pm

Re: Appeal with unsuccessful SR

Post by KS13 »

I understand your points and really cannot thank you enough Etienne for all your support provided.Finally,sending the answer today :)
KS13
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2019 8:35 pm

Re: Appeal with unsuccessful SR

Post by KS13 »

Dear Etienne, I hope you really don't mind me checking these questions about JHGS appeal with you .

I would like to mention the situations and X school choice mentioned here is everything we came across during this 11 plus journey ,I am not able to put things properly to give them clear picture and I understand you know my case through this in detail as I could explain things in detail to you but with panel it needs to be precised and I really appreciate your support for helping in this.


1. What specific areas lead you to conclude the SRP (Selective Review process) is not FCO?

2. Questions from AA Since the SRP correctly noted all the evidence available to it, including X's STTS score of 114, the fact that he failed to qualify in two elements of the test, which is entirely in line with his academic track record, the Headteacher’s recommendation (2:2) and that the Headteacher stated that there no extenuating circumstances to explain his performance in the test, where is the evidence to suggest that the SRP process was not Fair, Consistent and Objective?

***My understanding is both above questions are kind of same and I have answered them as per previous BGS first question -pls suggest if anything different*****

3- Of all the Bucks grammar schools what makes John Hampden the most suitable for him?

**JHGS is an outstanding boy’s grammar school

The JHGS used to specialise in technology (including Maths, ICT and Science), and this is still one of its strengths. X is very good at maths, and would like to develop this ability in the context of Technology.

JHGS has extensive sportive programme to cater for the wide –ranging interests of the boys and I believe X being sporty child, would definitely benefit from this.

Parents of his friends happy to share school runs which would not compensate parent’s work/school balance .Getting trusted lifts would beneficial for X as being vulnerable as child in contrast to use public transport for Desborough.

4. What has enthused him about the school?

**X’s personal choice of school always been JHGS because-
-Outstanding school overall
- The JHGS used to specialise in technology (including Maths, ICT and Science), and this is still one of its strengths. X is very good at maths, and would like to develop this ability in the context of Technology.
-His best senior friend from his school joined JHBS in 2019 and He always heard good things about school from him .They both shared same interests and Because his friend is academically very intelligent and enjoy sports , X trust his feedback very much and was looking forward to get similar support and opportunities which were reported excellent by his friend.
- X developed faith and interest in JHGS through his friend’s feedback.

5. Do you have any additional academic evidence, CATs, SATs etc., to show X’s capabilities?

**I did not have any additional report in hand and I was not allowed to send any classwork or certificates so I requested X’s current academic report to school and Headteacher provided letter explaining about for his progress which was sent as additional evidence on x 2 (attached again with this ).Please refer to the letter which clearly explains X’s academic progress.

6. Has he visited the school, or looked at it on the website?

We were aware about open evening dates and wanted to attend however due to work issue we could not attend .X was very keen to visit the school and I called school to book school tour that time however staff reported JHBS does not do private tours and there was no other option for us to visit the school.
We together with X looked at school website and was excited with school's outstanding report,their ethos and academic performance ,sports facilities and X likes the fact its only boy's school .

7. Does he have friends who will be going to John Hampden and Desborough?

**As above, His best senior friend already studies at JH and also his couple of friends (one of his best nursery friend from different school) joining the school this September.
He also got friends in Beavers who studies at JHBS.
We are only aware about one of his class boy joining Desborough this year.

8. Can you expand on the effect your domestic situation has had on his performance in the STTS?
9. You have commented on the general process and his sensitivity and the impact of your family circumstances. Is there anything else you would like to highlight?


Above both questions appears kind of same ,I managed to put points from previous BGS answers.

Many Thanks !!
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Appeal with unsuccessful SR

Post by Etienne »

Can you justify "sporty child"?
What has he participated in? What has he shown an aptitude for?
X likes the fact its only boy's school
Where was JH on the list of preferences?
If not first pref., why not?
Were you and son in complete agreement about the preferences?


What is your deadline for returning answers?
Etienne
KS13
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2019 8:35 pm

Re: Appeal with unsuccessful SR

Post by KS13 »

I need to send the replies before midnight and I was just checking to see if your input was there .I understand I sent this last minute ,work been so busy .
X do attend football classes And also netball club in school .He has particular interest in netball.
X always wanted JH but our first choice in the list was BH due to the nearby location .JH was the second choice .
Thank you so much !!
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Appeal with unsuccessful SR

Post by Etienne »

I'm afraid it's been a busy day (and evening!).

I'll make a start, and might add further points to this post up to 23.55 ....... :?

Suggestions in bold type.

4. What has enthused him about the school?

**We parents had another school as higher preference for logistical reasons, but X’s personal choice of school has always been JHGS because .......


5. Do you have any additional academic evidence, CATs, SATs etc., to show X’s capabilities?

**The school does not do CATs. I have already provided a SATs update. Please refer to the headteacher's letter which clearly sets out X’s latest academic progress.
Etienne
KS13
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2019 8:35 pm

Re: Appeal with unsuccessful SR

Post by KS13 »

It looks like ,I missed your message and just sent the reply to them but I would re send with changes and I hope they will consider it .Many many thanks ,can’t believe at this time as well you managed to send me reply.Hats off to you .Thanks a lot !!
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