Oversubscription appeals and siblings

[misstiggywinkle21]

Anyone got any advice or experience on how to/if to use siblings at preferred school in an appeal? I know that the academic evidence is the key thing (this is a super selective school and DC has qualified) but how helpful is it to have 2 DC already at school to which we would be appealing. Especially keen to hear from MNetters who have been on appeal panels or have used same argument in their submission. Thank you.

Largely irrelevant, assuming you don't think something went awry in the allocation or have documented medical/social reasons why a child needs sibling support. It's assumed at secondary that children can get themselves there and back on their own, so logistics for you just aren't relevant.

Are you appealing on non-qualification or non-allocation due to lottery/distance.

Sorry saw that your child qualified - so did you miss out on distance?

Thanks - not on distance, on score. Scored lower than expected. It's not about logistics or traveling at all. More about self-esteem/comparison to siblings etc. Other comparable test scores (NFER's etc) show comparable if not better than siblings that did get in in previous years. Thank you.

As other people have said, a sibling at the school is largely irrelevant in a superselective school which doesn't have siblings as one of its oversubscription criteria.

By all means appeal on the basis that their test performance isn't a true representation of their ability, but that will be what most other appellants will be arguing too, and you'll need good evidence to back it up. I don't want to sound harsh, but arguing that the child needs to be at the superselective in order to bolster their self esteem is highly unlikely to win anyone over; the panel may well take the view that, if the child doesn't have the same aptitude as their siblings, it would be in nobody's interest - including theirs - to put them in an inappropriate environment.

Thanks and you're not being harsh! I agree totally if they don't have the aptitude, it's not in their best interests at all.