6th form appeal

[lateSeptember1964]

I started a thread back in March when my son's application for a local 6th form was turned down. The reason he was not accepted was because his predicted grades were B/C and not A and A*. I had lots of really helpful advice and so hope you will help again. I have just received a letter from the said school to say that we can appeal. They have given me two choices. I can appeal prior to his GCSE result day or wait until his actual results have been published. I am really unsure of which way to play this. If I appeal prior would I stand a better chance of securing a conditional offer on the fact that their criteria talks about actual results.

No experience, but I should have thought that you should get the appeal in before the results come out, contingent upon his getting the grades they want. What does his current school recommend?

Can I throw a spanner in the works. Are you really sure that you want him to go to this sixth form?
If they are asking for A/A* at GCSE then they sound quite selective. If your DS is predicted B/C then he is a bit off the pace. I think the rule of thumb is that you drop a grade at A Level - so, for example, if you get a B at GCSE then you will probably get a C at A level (I know this is a huge oversimplification but bear with me).
Most schools and colleges require certain results at Y12 before they will allow you to progress to Y13. Is your DS likely to hit this threshold (which I am presuming will again be quite high)? I have known selective schools to be quite vicious in implementing this, after all we don't want weak students bringing down their A2 results, do we.
I would hate you to fight to get him accepted at Y12 only to get thrown out, mid course, at Y13. Sorry to sound so negative and defeatist but forewarned is forearmed.

His results will not be published till the middle of August and so any appeal will not be till well into September at the earliest, by which time they will already be missing work.
On that basis I would say appeal now but as I cannot remember what the original basis for appeal was that is probably a dangerous thing to say!

If I've got the right case, this school's admission criteria say they offer based on actual GCSE results but in practise they offer on predicted grades. They can argue that this is a more sensible way to administer admissions but, at the end of the day, that doesn't matter. They have to follow their own admission criteria. If that doesn't work they must change the criteria, not just do something different.

Thank you prh47bridge yes you do have the right case. If I go to appeal before results day do you think its reasonable to appeal on the basis that they made their decision on predicted grades and not on actual grades as stated in their admissions criteria. Do you think I could force their hand on this basis and get a conditional offer. I appreciate that he may not get the grades but at least if he did then he would know on results day that he could take up the conditional offer. As admission said they have offered the other appeal on September 1st when in effect most schools are back and courses will start. I think an early appeal will deal with the waiting around.

What will the appeal be based on? If their numbers are low why don't they just make him a conditional offer? I thought I understood 6th forms - obviously not!

That the problem Im not sure what I can base the appeal on. The fact that he just really liked the school and the subjects on offer is not going to cut it. However he has worked really hard and seems to have come in to his own and the school are now talking about A grade for English, History, Science. Based on the fact that he has not been offered a conditional place and their admissions policy talks only of actual grades then I was hoping that perhaps he could at least get a conditional. Then if it on the day he gets the results he can take a place. He is currently at an independent school and I know that if he stays there he will do well and will be happy but he had his heart set on this school. Some of his friends at his present school have a conditional offer but they also have offers elsewhere which they will probably take. I keep thinking if he has a conditional offer and then they fall short on numbers they make well take him with B grades. Interestingly their own students only need 5 A-C so I know that he would be able to keep up with the learning environment.

The basis for this appeal is that the school has failed to administer its admission arrangements correctly. Its admission arrangements say it bases admissions on actual grades but that isn't what they are doing. You don't need any other basis for your appeal. You can talk about why you want your son to go to this school but it is the failure to follow their admission arrangements correctly that is the strongest point.

My guess is that the school will argue that they have to use predicted grades otherwise they can't make offers. The response to that is that they must follow their admission arrangements. If they say that actual grades are used then that is what they must do, either by making only conditional offers or not making any offers until results are available. If they want to use predicted grades they need to change their admission arrangements.

The tricky bit with this appeal is that, in order to win, you really need to show that your son would have been admitted if they had implemented their admission arrangements correctly. That would clearly be easier if you've got his actual grades. Ideally you want him to outperform some of the candidates who have got places. I therefore think you should ask for the hearing to be after the results are out and hope your son gets the right grades. If you go before then the panel may agree that the admission arrangements have not been administered correctly but I don't see how they can decide whether or not your son should have been admitted.

Thank you so much your advice is very appreciated. Do you think I could force them into a conditional offer on the technicality of predicted vs actual? It really comes down to the logistics. If he has a conditional then we will know one way or the other on results day. If we wait for 1st September then decisions have to be made about where he starts back to school until the appeal is heard and decided.

Are you in the uk? If so then speak to the connexions adviser, they will be able to advise and they are independent of the school. TBH your son needs to apply elsewhere as a backup option as well. As most courses are getting filled up he needs to do this asap

6th forms are funded on a bums on seat basis so even if you leave the appeal until august based on actual results then he will be offered a place if he achieves the grades asked.

The panel can't make a conditional offer. They can only decide to admit or uphold the decision to refuse admission. Whether you can convince the school is another matter but I suspect not.