11+ appeals... Anyone won?

[Sparklymommy]

Just that really! Dd1 sat the 11+. Have just spoken to the grammar school and it appears se passed the English and failed the Maths(!) by a couple of marks. We assumed this would have been the opposite way around as literacy is her weaker subject!!!! Maths is her stronger subject.

Have spoken to her and it appears she may have rushed and not checked her work in the exam as she was anxious to finish all the questions. We were considering taking the 12+ next year, when she would have grown up a bit but she has clearly only just missed out this time around and as the results are so close (and the opposite to what we were expecting!!) is it worth appealing with the evidence of levels she is currently working at and assistance from her current head teacher?

Yes, I would say definitely give it a go. You have nothing to lose, and sounds like you might stand a fair chance.

Several years ago dc missed the 11+ pass mark by 1 mark! Dc had also performed worst on the maths paper, despite being strong at maths - top group etc. at school.

We have been told subsequently, that in order to feel confident in the maths element of the 11+ exam, children need to have a good grasp of the whole of the KS2 syllabus. As they take the exam in our area right at the start of year 6, this is not going to be the case for most state school children. I don't know whether this might have been the problem with your ds - that she simply hadn't yet covered some of the components of the exam?

Anyway, we did appeal successfully, putting forward the yr5 report (luckily a good one!), predicted SATs scores, scores from the last CAT test done by the school, and relevant additional info such as any positions held in school, (the school had omitted to mention that dc was a house captain) membership of sports and after school clubs etc. A lot of the info we had to prise out of the school, so I do hope you get support for the appeal from your HT.

Good luck, if you go ahead.

Sorry - should have said dd, not ds!

It is worth a try. Some such appeals are won. Your case would be stronger if there was a reason for your daughter's failure to perform in the maths test other than simply her rushing and failing to check her work. So you need to be realistic that this is a long shot but you may be successful. You won't lose anything by trying.

Thank you all for your responses. She has been offered a place in the selective stream of a local bilateral school. Having spoken at length with her tutor (a good family friend) we have decided to take the place she has been offered and then sit the 12+ next year and try to transfer across.

Both her tutor, her school and we feel that she is more than capable of coping with grammar but things happen for a reason and we want to get it right for dd.