11+ Appeal

Yes you most definitely should mention this. It's very relevant.

I'm by no means an expert on the wording, but something like. 'DD was due to be born on September 3rd xxxx, but arrived 3 days early. As you will appreciate this means that not only is she the youngest child in her year, but if she had been born on her due date she would actually have been in the academic year below.'

Yes I realise the selection review panel won't take extra curricular into account.

I was talking about the subsequent appeal process - once places have been allocated. An applicant who scored (or was otherwise deemed to be of suitable academic ability) who wasn't offered a place at their preferred school due to over-subscription still has the right appeal surely?

Just to clarify, what happens is that if a Selection Review succeeds the DC is then considered in the same light as every other DC who achieved the qualifying mark. In Bucks that guarantees you a place at a grammar school (though not necessarily at the one of your choice incidentally).

There's no such thing as a prejudice appeal in Bucks.

Nope. You're still wrong. That is not how it works in Bucks. The precise wording is: "Evidence of participation in extra-curricular activities, whilst commendable, is also not information the SRP will take into account."

That appears on the Bucks Council website and was last updated in April this year. A Bucks selection review is 100% about demonstrating academic suitability, absent specific family circumstances (young carer, or very recent death or serious illness in the household for example).

@titchy I normally like your posts, but I'm afraid you're just plain wrong on this occasion. Take it from someone who has lived in Bucks for 50 years and been involved in grammar school appeals from both a personal and professional perspective.

@JJTDH was your DD born before her due date? If her due date was in September, then yes, that is grounds for an appeal and will be taken into account by a panel. Otherwise I'm afraid you're right and it won't have a bearing because the panel will take the view that that has already been accounted for via the age standardisation process (it won't have been, of course, but unfortunately that is a view they are allowed to take).

For grammars there's two parts to an appeal - the first is to demonstrate academic suitability that wasn't seen in the test. Once that part has been agreed, then it's a normal prejudice appeal. And that can include extra curricular, and anything else that helps show the prejudice to the school in admitting is less than the prejudice to the appellant in not being admitted.

It's never JUST about demonstrating academic suitability, though that is of course essential.

No, I'm sorry but this still isn't quite right. There are both selection reviews AND appeals in Bucks. Getting the school to undertake a review doesn't preclude you going to appeal thereafter.

And extra-curricular is totally irrelevant. The appeal is all about providing academic evidence that could account for the DC not achieving the qualifying mark on the day. You do this via evidence from the primary school (HT's comments/predictions, CATs scores, SATs scores and so on, depending on what tests the primary school conduct). Or you can provide medical evidence for the missed mark, but this has to be something you can prove, and which would have affected your DC on the day of the test, not a long-term condition (unless you have evidence of a flare-up).

Bucks' position is that all schools, grammar and secondary moderns, are capable of providing a suitable education for all DCs, so basing an appeal on claiming that one school provides something another school does not, won't work.

I'm not saying I agree with any of this, just to be clear. I'm simply outlining how the appeals process works and what an appeals panel is looking for.

@JJTDH the good news is that at 120 you don't have very much to prove. A single piece of academic evidence might well suffice.

Have the school told you how they have graded her?

Another point to add (regardless of selection review) - check the admission policy of the grammar school you're aiming for and if they want a supplementary information form before the admissions deadline to qualify for the PP space. Our local one does.

The other thing I should have said - if you're not at an in county state primary, the HT won't have submitted their mark for the child in advance of the test so will need to do that now instead

Let me caveat this by saying my knowledge is 2 years out of date.
What was her score? Whilst it will have said 120 in big, bold letters, the 11+ marks are rounded down and, if you add up the four elements, you'll establish if she got 120, 120.25, 120.5 or 120.75.
If your DD is in a state primary in the county, before she sat the test, the headteacher will have already scored all of the children who sat the 11+ for both their perceived intelligence and their attitude to learning. The scores given are 1 (being the best) to 4. Ideally, your DD wants to have a 1,1 score as this is the highest endorsement the school. If she is getting a 3 or 4 in either category, you might want to reconsider.
You then write a letter. The most important factor here is that the panel spend something like 2 minutes per review so it needs to be short and snappy. Keep it factual and be able to evidence those facts. No more than one side of A4; no heartfelt pleas or referencing the fact that she was reading Harry Potter age 2 and has done her own transcription of the Rosetta Stone. Instead, say that's your DD is in receipt of pupil premium meaning she is eligible for one of the ten PP places and refer to the evidence of this that you have enclosed. Then refer to how she has done in any tests run by the school and, again, refer to the evidence you have enclosed.
You are basically trying to evidence that she is suitable for grammar school and will be able to keep up with the academic pace. They're not interested in her music, drama or sport abilities or achievements. That might be relevant if you are appealing for a particular school but you're not. You are demonstrating that she should be selected as suitable for grammar school. The panel won't know which school you are interested in. Instead, they are deciding to put her in the same pool as those who got 121 so that, when school places are allocated, she can be considered for the grammar schools you have listed on your form in accordance with their admissions criteria.
You have to apply for schools before you know the outcome of your review. Due to the sibling connection, it sounds like you know which grammar school she will go to if selection review works. That will clearly be your first choice. Your second choice may then be your reserve grammar school choice or you may choose not to do that and just put your top choice non-grammar. If she doesn't pass selection review, then the admissions team will simply disregard your first (grammar school) choice and allocate her then on-grammar

Ah right - yes of course. OP means a selection review, not an appeal. 🤦‍♀️ Good point - one mark below qualifying should certainly be reviewed.

While extra curricular isn't relevant for normal admissions - rightly so - when it comes to appeal, finding Something the target school offers that benefits the applicant that the offered school doesn't have, can be useful in tipping the balance of prejudice towards applicant and away from school.

I don’t think this is correct. There is something they can do now - they can (and should, in my opinion) apply for a selection review which must be done in the next couple of weeks I think. They should also call the desired school and ask about the PP place in case the selection is unsuccessful, though most 120s are successful I believe. Violins and orchestras are irrelevant, it specifically says in the bucks selection review not to mention extra curricular as they’re not relevant. They cannot wait until school allocations in March and see if they get a place, without a score of 121 they won’t get a place (unless this PP thing works for them but I don’t know anything about that). This is different to a comprehensive school application/appeal process.

Sorry if I'm confusing you. My daughter scored 120 and the pass mark for grammar school is 121. My daughter is currently in receipt of Pupil Premium at her current primary school. I have to prove this to the grammar school as the reserve places for those who didn't qualify but scored just under and receive pupil premium.

Right so you write in the form that she is in receipt of PP now which the LA/your primary will be able to confirm as they're getting the PP money. It isn't particularly clear the basis of the 10 PP places - whether the nearest 10 are awarded or random allocation.

In any case there's nothing you can do now other than make sure you add a note that she is a Pp applicant with a score of 120 - you'll have to wait.

If she isnt offered a place then you can appeal. I'm not an appeals expert, but she has met the academic criteria so you wouldn't need your head to support you in evidencing that, but you would need to show that this schools offers something she needs (an orchestra to support her violin lessons for example) that the allocated school cannot offer.

Sorry OP i should've started my own thread. I've just realised how rude i am. Not sure how to delete my post. My apologies

My daughter got 118. Needed 121. Im not sure what to do. I'm hoping to get a meeting with the Head on Monday. If she'll support a Selection Review, then i'll go for that (even though i don't actually know what it means). My older 4 children all qualified for grammar school, so I have no experience of this myself.
My husband and myself are both registered as disabled. Can a 10 year old be classified as a young carer?

Actually 83.45% went through last year on selection review last year when the mark was 120 https://www.thebucksgrammarschools.org/_files/ugd/ab3fe9_4454283beb6d446a82d818cf3da29a03.pdf

with selection review you get the outcome
by February and then they go into the admissions process the same as someone who passed and get their place offered with everyone else in March. You have to put the GS as your first choice in your admissions application though even without knowing if
the selection review is successful.