Can a grammer school place be withdrawn after a 6 weeks

I agree: the point to pursue is that the place was offered and they have taken too long to withdraw it.

The point that the family will have been disadvantaged by not going on waiting lists for places at other schools is surely a big factor. ad is the purchase of school uniform.

There are two types of grammar schools. One type uses the test score to prioritise so those with the highest scores get places. They will always fill all places. Others only award places to those who achieve a pass mark so may refuse to admit a child who did not pass even though they have places available.

However, as far as the OP is concerned, this is academic. A place was offered. It took 6 weeks to withdraw the offer. That is far too long.

I have seen on the elevenplusforum some grammars in the past (not in busy areas like NW Kent) that admit those who have not passed, their admission criteria usually says they will do it in order of score order and it isn’t necessary to appeal. It is rare but does happen. Many grammars have aIssoms that prefer to give places to those out of priority areas who have passed, it not all. Bexley have done this too, Chis n Sid a few years ago and Townley about four plus years ago but this was usually a mark or two below cut off and not what the OP is taking about but does lend to the slim hope that it might happen.

What you are talking about Pettswood is how individual appeal outcomes are prioritised.

The OP hasn't had an individual appeal yet. No Kent grammar school is allowed to offer a grammar school place to a child not deemed selective, apart from through the individual appeal process, which hasn't started yet. Usually May.

Kent grammars only admit children that haven't passed through either head teacher appeal or individual appeal.

If a child has been informed in October they didn't pass/selected for high school, they cannot be offered a place unless they are successful at an individual appeal.

Even if the grammar school is undersubscribed.

Pupils have secondary places removed after council 'human error'
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/pupils-sutton-coldfield-secondary-places-16153578#ICID=iosBMNewsApppAppShareClickkOther

Apparently this has happened in Birmingham too!

Some grammars can admit those who do not pass but their admissions criteria will explain how they give priority- many give priority to those out of area who passed over those in area who didn’t - Weald is such an example that admit children from a distance who passed over closer children who didn’t. Whilst it is rare to prioritise a child who did not pass it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

...the only other exception to this in Kent is the head teacher appeal but that happens before offers are made - in September - so you would be told he had been assessed as suitable for grammar in October.

If he got 99 in English he didn't pass. Therefore he cannot be offered a Grammar place in Kent.

It's very clear on all the KCC etc websites to pass and be offered a place at a grammar you need to:

• achieve a minimum overall score - usually around 320
• achieve a minimum score in each of the papers - Maths, Reasoning and English. So all three papers minimum score achieved usually around 106-107. So he was way out on English.

Appeals aren't heard until May so you haven't been through that yet. You absolutely can't be offered a place at this stage at a grammar if you haven't passed, which he didn't.

The only way you can legitimately be offered a place is through an individual appeal where you present a detailed case in front of a panel.

There was an error.

Although as they can only appeal once per year group it is probably prudent to also have evidence that he will be fine in a grammar school environment in case the appeal panel for some reason do not accept that six weeks is unreasonable. Hopefully it won't need to go to appeal though and they will reinstate his place without an appeal.

For appeal it doesn't matter whether or not this was the OP's first choice. And it doesn't really matter why the place was withdrawn. What matters is that it was withdrawn 6 weeks after being offered. That means the OP has a good case. An appeal should not be withdrawn after this long a delay unless the parents have failed to accept the offer or the original application was fraudulent or deliberately misleading.

It is quite normal to apply and appeal to more than one grammar school so I don't think that the fact it is a second choice should impact on the appeal.

99 is fairly low - slightly below national average, but there are usually only 25/26 questions generally only half correct represents a pass and one wrong question can have a substantial impact on marks. If you have good evidence from school that his English score was an anomaly then that might be enough. Most children who get to a grammar school on appeal do very well. I would though with that mark be pushing the unreasonableness of withdrawing the place rather than hoping to overcome the oversubscription criteria.

So your son got a place at a grammar school that he hadn't passed for, and which I assume was second on your list. However you still appeal for your first place grammar school.
So you didn't really want the second place grammar? I'd imagine it will be harder to prove this is the school you have set your sights on if you have already tried to move school.
Our local grammar will look at the May SAT results, is that a possibility?

Ok so you get the scores back in october and it says he hasn't got the correct grade?
You put grammars down first expecting not to get them but that you will appeal for them?
KCC offer a place at one grammar?
You appeal for the other one?
KCC withdraw the original place?

Do you think the officer at the appeal realises then that a mistake had been made? And went back and corrected it? Did you say at the appeal about not having the grades but having a different place offered?

If his current school supported you in appeal to the first school hopefully they will help again.

But what actually is the error? If they offered the place in overall score but didn’t notice that he hadn’t passed VR / English? In that case the school’s support could help if they deem him to be if grammar standard under normal circumstances.

It won’t be a good experience for his self esteem if he goes from being bullied to struggling to keep pace academically though.

Good luck OP, this is a horrible thing to happen.

Oh, OP. How awful. I don’t even know where you begin to deal with this.

Prior to my appeal for the comp I threw EVERYTHING at this, MP involvement, contacting governors, CEO of the LA, legal precedents (if withdrawing a place after 3 days was deemed unacceptable then surely 3 months was obscene?)
Nothing could halt the appeal though (which had to be put together as an 'emergency' appeal within a week).

The hardest part was watching my son practice his route to school, prepare for an induction that was withdrawn the evening before and wear his 'new' uniform, while watching his twin go off to his induction.
We never told my son (I had to say his induction was cancelled - luckily? this was a school where he didn't know anyone). We never told him that at one point he didn't have a school place.

At the appeal the panel could clearly see the impact this had had. Likewise though they couldn't explain why or how the 'error' had occurred.

I'm still affected by what we went through (at the time I had to take time off work to put my emergency appeal together and because it's exhausting) but my advice would be to battle on.

Good luck.

Some of the more regular posters may recall in 2017 that my son's comprehensive place was withdrawn in the June before starting secondary school, on the eve of his induction, after more than three months since offers day.

Although this was a comp place, I had previously been to a grammar school appeal for him (and he now goes to a different grammar) so I understand the angst and uncertainty you must be feeling.

We won our appeal for the comp, with the support of many good people on here and the 11+ Forum. Our circumstances were different though as there was never a good reason given why the place was withdrawn!

He started at the comp but was then offered a grammar school place, which he took.

I understand what you must be going through.
For months my son believed he was attending a certain school. He has a twin who had already secured a place at grammar, which made it worse.

If I can help, please message me. Just wanted to come on to offer my understanding

I can be of no help whatsoever as I don't understand the 11+ at all. I just went to secondary. No test or nothing (granted it was 1997) in Ireland.

However I would hope that given their 'error' was not noticed sooner, you have started planning, preparing and purchasing and your son is so excited, that he can still go to this school.

I'm in two minds about this.

Assuming your child was assessed as suitable for high school as a result of the Kent Test there is no way that you didn't know an error had been made in allocation of places in March. All the literature given by KCC and the online application system makes it very clear that if you are not assessed as suitable for grammar then you will not be offered a grammar on allocation day (but you may put a grammar as a choice to then appeal). There is appears you probably just kept quiet despite there being an obvious error in the hope that no one would notice.

That said I feel really sorry for your child who would understandably be distraught. Knowing KCC you are very likely to have to play hardball with them to get them to reverse that descision. Like PP have said you have now been disadvantaged by not being able to appeal in the normal round of appeals, which in many parts of the county, may well have been successful (depending on the grammar) if your son missed by only a few marks. And for that reason, I wish you luck.

If it said grammar school then you could argue that the expectation of a grammar school place dates back to October

I'm afraid that wouldn't help. Having an expectation of a grammar school place is not the same as having an expectation of a place at a specific grammar school. And, in any case, it is not necessarily the case that everyone considered suitable for grammar school will get a grammar school place.