grammar school appeal

[flattie123]

Hi. I'm thinking of appealing for a grammar school place for my child, missed it by 3 points. Anybody got any helpful hints or advice? Reading everything on the Internet makes it seem really scary! Thanks

I appealed for a place successfully. I found out how many students who had a place that had received less marks in the exam, than my little darling.( they got theirs through proximity, siblings being at the school, and association with the school, such as father's having been there) There were 31.
I got a superb Head teachers report about my DS. Imperative.

My DS did pass the 11 plus though. We didn't have much to go on, but on the day of our appeal, we were dressed up to the Nth degree ( suits, heels, crisp white shirts etc) and we were in professions and we are acknowledged as having above average looks. Who knows if that helped, but in he went.
Was your DS ill on the day or got special needs? Dyslexia ?

I am not sure you have any chance if your child actually failed the entrance exam. Also I wouldn't want to put them through the agony of not being able to keep up. The school that my DCs went to, would ruthlessly throw them out. As anything other than straight A's at GCSE would spoil their results. The grammar schools in Kent will be the same.

Other than that, could you send him to an equivalent Private school for three years and he could have another go at getting in, in year nine.

However, if they have support from a rock solid family, they should be fine wherever.

One of my SILs went to a comp ( failed to get into Grammar School) and has just been headhunted again and has nondescript GCSEs and bog standard A levels. He did get a first class honours degree from a bog standard uni and a PhD. But Jobs in I.T. Are different. He is on his way to being a millionaire. Luckily as my DD, his wife, who went to a very competitive GGS isn't at all competitive..
It is so stressful .... I feel for you, sorry I can't be more helpful.

I know a few who got in on appeal who didn't pass. Have you tried the appeal section on 11plus forum? They are brilliant, good luck.

Although, have you got above average looks?

Is it normal grammar or superselective? You can pm me if you want, two of mine are in SS and normal.

A very close friend of mine was simply estatic when her son passed his 11+ with flying colours and was duly accepted into the highly sought-after local grammar school.

However, it soon turned horribly sour as the boy was DESPERATELY unhappy there, to the point of daily tears, tantrums, pleadings to not make him go etc etc. He turned from a fun-loving, confident child into an emotional wreck with no confidence at all due to the sheer pressure of the work - it was too intense for him. He was getting 2-3 hours of homework per night, 5 days a week. And between 5-6 hours of homework at weekends. He was given detention for getting 6 out of 10 for some Spanish homework. He was an utter mess poor lad. And he's by no means a weakling in any walk of his life. The school run a 'buddy' system but his 'buddy' just told him to "man up and work harder".

Of course, not all grammars are like this and this one is no doubt vastly different for different children and I'm sure there are some happy and content children there.

But just be careful what you wish for. The elusive Grammer place isn't necessarily the right place for every intelligent child.

A friend of mine was in a similar position to you last year. Her son narrowly missed the pass mark in one of the papers. They appealed successfully and he is now very happy (at TWGSB). I am no expert, and as peaceandlove says, the 11plus forum is very helpful, but as I understand it, the 11plus test has judged your child not to have achieved the standard required for grammar school (however grossly unfair that may be!) and it is now up to you to show that they have reached the standard needed. So, you will need to show evidence of progress made since the test, particularly if there was one paper in particular that let them down. In my friend's case it was the english paper that her son underperformed in, so they focused on his ability in this area, with evidence to back it up, as well as showing how well he was doing in other subjects. They submitted school reports, a letter from the Head (I imagine this is key). But do look at the 11plus forum - much more useful advice there. Good luck to you and your child! (and don't forget the heels and crisp white shirt...)

I have one there too Tulipfield . I think there is a reasonable chance of getting in there on appeal historically, not sure if that's changed over past year or two though.

Yes I would say it is worth appealing. My child missed out by 3 marks on English paper but got good marks on the other two papers last year. It is stressful but if you believe your child is grammar school standard then worth a shot. You really need to evidence that your child had a bad day on the 11+ test day and that they are working at grammar school standard, so a letter from your current head with reading age, spelling age and current national curriculum level will help if these all prove that your child is capable of working at grammar standard. If your child did any of the test papers in test conditions in school to practice and passed it is worth providing this evidence that on another day your child would have reached the required standard and that the 11+ was just a blip. My child is now at grammar, very happy, regularly comes near the top of the class in tests and not struggling so I know we did the right thing by persevering with an appeal. Good luck!