Has anyone won a school appeal (Sixth Form)?

[bendmeoverbackwards]

We are submitting an appeal for a Year 12 place at dd's secondary school. They refused to accept her because she didn't quite achieve the entry requirements (46 points, she got 44).

Dh has been in touch with a specialist barrister who seems to think we have a good case. Dd is autistic and is extremely distressed at having to move schools. However I have also heard that school appeals generally don't go in the parents favour.

Any words of advice please?

Iirc, DC’s old sixth firm would give a ‘1 year’ conditional place for some students who eg had a reason why they did not make the precise entry requirements but there were some mitigating factors, or when there was doubt that A levels were the right option.

If they did well at the end of Y12, this was upgraded to a full 2 year place, if not well enough then they still had 2 full years of funding to go elsewhere, usually college.

Would it be worth exploring if the school would allow something similar?

It’s difficult for sixth form. They have every right to stick with their minimum requirements. I have known them relax those requirements for pupils they want to keep, but it it doesn’t sound like that’s the case here. It might be for the best. Perhaps they don’t feel she’ll excel at A-Levels.

If a school relaxes the requirements for some pupils, this must be done in a consistent and objective way. They must not play favourites.

@cantkeepawayforever this is a very good idea. I’d love the school to make a contract with dd eg she can have a place as long as her attendance remains at x%.

The reason she missed the grades was due to her disability/illness. Her predicted grades before she was unwell were 7s and 8s.

Surely even if the appeal is successful then she will be at least a month behind her peers already in her learning. Catching up with a months work in three subject areas is very intense, along with keeping up with the content currently being studied is going to be a very difficult task, even for able and high achieving students.

King High is really not a replacement for face to face learning in a school/college environment, so your DH is right.

If the appeal is unsuccessful then what is she going to do instead? Start at another sixth form which will take her (but she'll still be a month behind and have the same issue)? Start some vocational courses elsewhere but then be in the same situation with behind a month behind?

Surely a post-16 back up plan should have been created back in Yr 11, particularly if there had been a lot of absence or issues which could have affected the outcome of GCSEs? In my area students in Yr11 get extensive support and advice for their post-16 options and are clearly advised to have a preferred and a back up plan in place for after GCSEs so that they know exactly what they will be doing depending on the outcome of their results.

I'd be concerned that your daughter was seriously missing out on her educational opportunities as a result of this to-ing and fro-ing about a sixth form place which is unlikely to materialise.

For context, I'm a sixth form lecturer and parent of DC who did GCSEs this summer. My college wouldn't allow someone to start at least a month in and who didn't get the grades for entry or the specific grades required by the courses, even if it was only slightly off.

My college would also be very mindful of the fact that given absence and MH incidents in the past, it may well not be in that student's best interests to start a course at least a month late, with no evidence of that student having studied anything since exams in the summer (what has she been doing in the meantime since her one day at sixth form at the start of term?) and with grades which would place them at the lower end of the subject cohort.

Thank you @RSintes I agree and this is concerns me greatly too.

I actually think at this stage it’s probably best to have a year off and apply for next year. She can attend all the sixth form open evenings and have the pick with grades in hand. It will give her a chance go get her head together and properly get over the disappointment of not going back to her school.

Do you have any suggestions for short or part time courses she could do this year?

I’m now kicking myself for not submitting the appeal weeks ago. I blame myself for that ☹️

So a solid year of home education (possibly to bridge the gaps that have arisen due to her absences as well as boost her MH and physical health? That might work but would have to be vv focused. A ‘year off’ in its traditional sense could be disastrous in terms of lost knowledge, lost study skills, etc.

Yes she needs to be engaged for the whole week in some sort of education. She cannot spend a year in her room which she is currently doing.

Do you think she would do better if retaking either mathd or eng? That would give more points. Not sure if thatd in november.

Ideally there would be colleges which support with homelearning for students that struggle with attendance ie the learning written and srored online

@RSintes I’ve given dd some Sociology books and English Lit texts but she hasn’t touched them. She’s got into this ridiculous mindset that she won’t do anything that I’ve suggested. Think she’s depressed.

Futurelearn or openlearn do short free courses which might interest her.

Just one more question - I have since found out via dd that at least one student that she knows of now has a place at her school with lower grades than the entry requirement. Is this worth questioning with the school?

Also, someone told me that the school should have really applied for an EHCP for dd. They didn't because they said that they could meet her needs.

Yes. At the very least, it may give you ammunition to show that their process for dealing with students who miss the entry requirements is not consistent and objective.

Re an EHCP, whether the school (or you - parents can apply even if they don't have support from the school) should have applied for one is not relevant for the appeal. The appeal panel can't judge whether she would have qualified for an EHCP, nor can they take into consideration how an EHCP might have changed the situation. You should mention your daughter's SEN and, if asked, explain that she doesn't have an EHCP because the school said it wasn't necessary, but I wouldn't go any further than that.

Thank you @prh47bridge is the school obliged to tell me how many students they admitted who had grades below the entry requirements?

If you ask them, yes. It's a reasonable question. The presenting officer may not know the answer off the top of their head, so it may be worth asking beforehand and/or making it clear in your case that you know of at least one so they come armed with the information.

You should ask in advance. They are required to answer any reasonable question you ask to help you prepare for the appeal. If they don't, raise this in the hearing and make it clear to the panel that you have been hampered in your preparations by the school failing to comply with its obligations under the Appeals Code.

@bendmeoverbackwards I'm sorry this has happened to your DD, it does sound distressing for her.

In terms of other students- things you hear via the student grapevine may not be true. I think it's a good idea to ask in advance how many students were admitted below the entry requirements, if you bring it up at appeal without warning, there's always the chance your DD has heard an incorrect rumour, or a student has misunderstood the entry requirements.

It's also worth bearing in mind there are possible reasons for admitting a student below entry requirements and not your DD:

1. The sixth form is full and they're following their oversubscription criteria. This might be distance or date when the student applied? You should be able to find this out in the admissions criteria.

2. The student had short term mitigating circumstances around exams, but there was recent evidence (e.g. Y11 mocks) that meant the school felt they were more capable than your DD of sixth form study. It's likely all near misses were considered individually, and there may be valid reasons to admit one student and not another. Obviously the school can't give you details about why other students were admitted in this scenario.

3. That student wanted to study less popular courses and there were spaces on those courses for an additional student, but not on your DD's choices. I'm not sure if this is legal as such, but it's often a factor for schools. (This is an issue though because you could win the appeal and then they may not offer her the subjects she applied for. I've no idea what happens in this scenario).

In terms of the ECHP, so many get turned down now, I can see why the school didn't apply, but that doesn't stop you applying now. It would also benefit her in terms of additional funding for post 16 study, if she needs longer to get qualifications at this stage.

I do think your plan of looking around other local colleges this year is a good one, and you could do this alongside an appeal?

Thank you @Postapocalypticcowgirl Dh and I have decided to let the appeal run but not to spend money on expensive legal advice. Apart from anything else, I think it's me who needs the closure. In a way I am hoping it won't be successful, at least then we know we have done everything we can.

In the meantime I am getting very frustrated with dd. She won't even consider my ideas of either an alternative to A Levels this year, OR re-apply for A levels at a school of her choice for next year. In her eyes, it HAS to be A levels and it HAS to be this year, yet she hasn't done any studying or background reading for months. She's acting in quite a childish manner really. I've pointed out to her that even if she starts at a school now, they will be expecting her to have done some study at home, A levels require more independent learning.

I have now heard back from the Head who says FIVE students were admitted under appeal. Even not knowing the number of appeals in total, this seems like a high number. I'm now kicking myself for not submitting it earlier.

Also, will the fact that we submitted it only recently count against us at the hearing?

This appeal

Only if they can make a strong case for being too full after already admitting 5 extra. But that would need to be balanced against your case.