High School Change Due to GCSE RESULT

Sorry but it sounds like a list of excuses. Are A levels really right for her if she has this much anxiety around exams? If she's thinking about university that is also going to involve exams. She might be better off bro realistic and thinking of an alternative plan

Disappointing for her and for you. But this is an opportunity for her to learn to tolerate feeling disappointed and having to change plans due to issues outside her control. It is a horrible feeling but it will pass. Encourage her to believe that she is a bright and capable person who can thrive in a different school or college, and who can learn to manage change. Use your energy to support her in choosing and applying to a different school.

Why does she still want to go somewhere where they didn't support her anxiety, didn't notice her dyslexia, and can't recognise her potential due to one less grade? No. She should move her talents to a new environment and you shouldn't waste your time arguing with them.

OK so I ask again, how many marks off a 5 was she?

I note that the possibility of a retrospective special consideration application is mentioned up thread. If that is still possible, I would pursue that.

The big question for appeal is whether this is a school or a college. If it is a college, it is not bound by the Admissions Code and your chances of success are slim. You may be able to persuade an appeal panel that your daughter should be admitted since there is reason to believe that she missed out due to the school's refusal to apply for special consideration and the other factors you mention, but there is no guarantee.

If it is a school, the Admissions Code applies. Contrary to what has been said up thread, an appeal panel can force the school to admit a child who has not met the criteria. You can still run the argument about your daughter's grades, but you should also identify the things this school offers her that are not available elsewhere and that are particularly relevant to her. You could mention the smoke-free environment under this heading but try to identify other things too.

"I then asked them to test her for inherent ability (evidence available) but they did not. "

Did they just 'not'. Or did they 'refuse'? In writing?

It doesn't sound like there is much grounds for appeal, and in fact a fresh start may be a good thing

Flies? Really?

A school is not a diagnostic service for dyslexia, if she is 16 I’m surprised you haven’t noticed she has difficulties in reading and writing.

Access arrangements also have to be normal way of working, so along with a diagnosis of dyslexia extra time would need to be her normal way of working, on top of that centres have to shown they have first tried rest breaks to a reasonable level.

Diagnosed anxiety can lead to things like a small venue, but anxiety around exams is excluded from this.

If the requirement was a 4 and she got a 4 then how did she miss the requirements? Do you mean that the requirement was 5 or 6?

Just go to the college.

In addition, due to the grade she had in English the state schools she can apply for are certain colleges where smoking is permitted in school compounds as adults also study there. This environment is causing her more anxiety.

Get her into a school that will accept her, tell her not to walk past the smoking designated areas, and get her working with a therapist. Many of her future opportunities for education, employment and life - just fun stuff - will involve being around people with cigarettes and vapes. She would be better off addressing that now, not trying to avoid it.

None of the school based sixth forms in my area has smoking areas though. Look at those options, for a school based sixth with lower entry grades.

You can’t force a sixth form to take a child of they don’t meet the criteria.
A friends DD got a place at a local secondary for A levels despite just missing out on grades. Your friend will need to call around as many schools as possible to see if one will take her DD if she really doesn’t want to go to college.

I am no longer contributing to appeals threads. I’ve said everything I have to say on appeals on hundreds of threads over the years.

Tiggytape hasn’t been here for years.

I suggest you start by looking at all the appeals information on gov.uk

OP you seem to have had advice from exams' officers but you haven't tagged the Mumsnet appeals experts properly so here:
@prh47bridge
@admissions
@panelchair
@tiggytape

Does your daughters friend have other choices because very soon it will be too late for this academic year. Also she needs to resit the English - Does the grammar support resits? I would approach other sixth forms, Further Education Colleges.

Yes I agree, it's a real shame that she has to leave the school althoguh it doesn't sound like she was that happy there. Hopefully a fresh start will be a good thing if the appeal fails.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn sorry I hadn't spotted the 4. No it wouldn't have made a difference. But I find it interesting that the pupil wasn't seated in a smaller room or given rest breaks. We do both of those things for pupils with anxiety or Illness.
Unfortunately with this stuff it comes down to knowing what to ask for in the first place sometimes.

@Imalongtimepostingmum it was a grammar school so I suspect a 6 in language was the minimum grade. Special consideration from an exam board would not raise the marks enough to get from a 4 to a 6, the allowances are very tiny.

Did she score higher in English Literature?

Grammar schools can set whatever criteria that they want.

Is the girl going to retake language this school year ? If she’s likely to do better, has she considered starting A-level study in September 2025 instead ? The grammar might not take her if all of her grades were affected but she may have more state options.

@NOSANENE you havent said how far she was from the grade boundary, whether she was given spec con.

The fact is that she missed the grade. A grammar is under no obligation to take her - at DD’s grammar her options would either be to leave and go to college or stay and repeat her GCSEs in hope of meeting the english language requirements for sixth form next year.

How close was she to the grade boundary? Have you looked at a review of marking?