11 + Covid impact - is it worth appealing?

[LumpySpaceCow]

Hello,

Hopefully I've posted in the right area!

My daughter 'failed' her 11+ by a mark of 2.4. She is a bright girl and I know she would thrive at the school. The school state that you can appeal but basically not to bother as they are oversubscribed.

I do feel like Covid has particularly disadvantaged her given that I'm a front line NHS worker who worked full time throughout the first lockdown last year - home schooling was impossible for my husband who had her and 3 younger children (2 pre-school) to take care of whilst living in a building site (massive house renovations started just as lockdown began so what should have taken 2 months, took around 7 and we literally lived in my bedroom); so whilst some of her peers had both parents at home who were able to support their child/ren with home schooling (and some I know basically sacked the curriculum and made sure their child was 11+ ready), my daughter basically had no formal education from March until September.
Is any of this grounds for appeal? Is it even worth it given how oversubscribed the school is? I don't want to create a sob story but do think she would have passed if she hadn't had the above mitigating circumstances.

I do feel guilty and wish I would have helped her prepare more but I was just very niave over the whole process.

Any advice would be much appreciated. We can appeal from the 1st of March but they won't give any details until then.

Thanks

I think it is worth stating your case yes. You may not get anywhere but although they are oversubscribed, not everyone who gets an offer will accept it. Some will have got offers from private schools too and may choose to accept that one. So come 1st March, they may have 2 or 3 spare places and will be able to choose the 2 or 3 most deserving cases from the appeals pile. You may not be the most appropriate recipient but it can't hurt to try.

You can appeal, but my guess is that your circumstances are not unique, as lockdown affected every single school aged child in the country. The building work I think is irrelevant. As a key worker, why didnt she go into school?

Do you have academic evidence? That will be the most important thing.

They don't "choose from the appeals pile"

The other thing to consider is, if accepted she is at the lower end of the year.
What sort of child is she? One who will thrive in this environment based on possibly just scraping in, one who may be intimidated by this, a child who will work even harder to prove herself etc.

Academic evidence of ability from your daughters current school will be more persuasive at appeal than the argument you have listed above. Unfortunately huge numbers of children have been impacted by COVID19 in the same way and the circumstances are not unique to your family.

Also, being unable to tutor is not seen as a valid reason for appeal. Whilst we all know the reality of 11+ tutoring, it is supposed to be a test of natural intelligence and you are not supposed to tutor. It’s not, therefore, an admissible argument.

So, look at any academic evidence you may already have (school reports, test results, exam results etc) and speak to her current school about whether they will support your appeal. If the evidence supports the case that she is an exceptionally high flyer and just had a bad day on exam day then you have absolutely nothing to lose in appealing. If it paints a picture of being average then you need to be realistic about your chances.

Thank you for your advice. I'm going to speak to her school and get their take on it.

Grammar school appeals are not easy. To win you need to show that your daughter did not perform at her best on the day of the 11+, that she is of grammar school standard and that the disadvantage to her from not being admitted outweighs any problems the school will face from having to cope with an additional pupil.

You will need evidence from her current school to show that she is of grammar school standard. Things like school reports, SAT results and letters of support can help. Avoid giving the panel examples of your daughter's work. That won't help and could be counterproductive.

Many parents concentrate on showing that their child is of the required standard and miss the need to show that they will be disadvantaged. The fact that your daughter won't go to grammar school if you lose your appeal is not enough. You need to show specific things the grammar school offers that are missing from the allocated school.

If you don't have the support of your daughter's school, an appeal for a grammar school is unlikely to succeed. Even if you do have that support it is still a long shot. But you certainly won't succeed if you don't try.

By the way, KihoBebiluPute is wrong to suggest that the school might choose the 2 or 3 most deserving cases from the appeals pile if they have vacancies. They are not allowed to do that. Any places that become available must be offered via the waiting list.

Thank you prh47bridge, more food for thought. I've contacted her school and they will fully support the appeal. The school we are likely to be allocated is a failing comprehensive that recently became an academy so we may have to go through 2 appeals as I am not prepared to send her there. If she gets our first choice (another comprehensive a bit further away) then I may be less inclined to appeal but still do feel that she would be an ideal candidate for the grammar school.
Thanks again