Grammar School Appeal - Trafford Council

[SisterAnna]

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping for some direction prior to sending the appeal documentation and tackling the whole process.
We have applied to 4 schools with grammar school where my daughter passed being our 1st choice. Unfortunately were declined all 4 offers due to oversubscription criteria. We got a place in school in Manchester Council which was re-branded under new name following its closure in 2021 (school was inadequate in majority of categories). The situation is beyond desperate!!! 😩

I am preparing evidence to appeal to the grammar school based on the following and would appreciate MumsNet Panel members for any advice. It needs fine tuning and good presentation strategy but main points are below:

1. Daughter has passed the entrance exam with 370 marks, pass rate was 360 but due to such high amount of applications the cut off was actually 379 marks. However she demonstrated to be of grammar school standard as she passed above the required pass mark.

2. Mention the importance of religion to our family and moral and ethical alignment with the grammar school's ethos (school is of catholic faith).

3. From the young age DD had suspicion of development issues with possible mild form of autism and was under the Community Peadiatrician care between 2016-2017 when she was discharged. I am in possession of all medial letters stating this fact as well as supporting report from the childminder who looked after her for 2 years.
   The evidence is rather old and due to mild spectrum we found ways to manage her oversensitivity. She has not been tested since 2017. Is this still relevant as I don't have hard evidence she still suffers - which she does and will all her life.

4. Report from the school will be provided describing daughter's ability to learn and above the standard, her kind nature and attitude to work but also the issues she had to go through – even in year 5 she was still not coping with the noise and had to stay in Headteacher’s office to tackle the stress

5. Mention replacement school as inadequate in standard, same management board, all below the standard incl. SEND and not adequate for the child that is talented but also fragile – this will only be briefly described without trying to slam the school but more as a contra to what awaits DD if she goes to preferred school.

6. I wanted to submit a couple of pictures of art projects DD did at home – pastels and paints – she is making amazing progress and is very creative. The grammar school provides curriculum in arts and design and sports. Daughter excels in all those disciplines as well as learning.

7. Not sure if I should mention myself at all with FCCA and MBA degrees. The school ethos is to nurture young women to become strong and independent leaders. I would like to think that I can be a role model, that anything is possible if she works hard for it.

We are on waiting lists everywhere possible and rejected place in the replacement school (they still hold her place regardless).

Thank you all so much for taking time to read.

@Africa2go that totally makes sense. The two are prob linked. I think Alty girls radius was quite big too this year.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/race-place-how-oversubscribed-schools-21529393?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#

Stretford Grammar actually most oversubscribed...

Hi @Africa2go , ouch! this is really sad to read and see how ruthless the panel can be.
There is an interesting link which shows statics on appeals, in theory small numbers win and Trafford is not the worst of them all to my surprise.
Admission Appeals 2021-2022

I think those stats might be skewed though, it won't be the grammar schools allowing 15% of appeals - AGGS are quite upfront for example, on their website, it says 12 appeals were heard last year, none were successful. I should have said Trafford Grammar School appeals are notoriously difficult to win, not Trafford Schools in general (although 15% isn't high).

@AvaCallanach I think Stretford is slightly odd in that geographically it is closer to non-Trafford residents and the Consortium exam means Stretford has by far the highest number of children who pass - just had a very quick google and there are well over 1000 children who pass for Stretford each year but only about 350ish for Altrincham.

How you getting on @SisterAnna ?
I was wondering if there has been much movement now everyone has accepted places or rejected them.

Hi @Marchsnowstorms !
Many thanks for asking, very kind of you :) This forum has helped me lots but at the same time depressed me a fair bit too so I avoided writing for a while and concentrated energy on much needed action 😉 I have been super busy seeing various people and finding out as much information and gathering as much evidence as possible. I believe the "closing date" for confirming schools is tomorrow so TC does not have the final dates as yet.
However I feel positive and strong and not planning on giving up any time soon 😊
Have an amazing day

Did you manage to get a place in the end?