Appealing for Grammar School place

[ElevenPlusAppeal]

Hello. I know there are some very wise and experienced people on these threads, and I'm hoping you may be able to help. I have name-changed for this, as the information I'm about to give is very identifying, but I have been on Mumsnet since DS was born.

We have two grammar schools within our catchment area. DS did not get a high enough score for either, but we're planning to appeal the one that requires the lower score, because it is by far the best fit for him. It's the school I went to, and it helped me - a student whose parents had never been to university - get a place at Oxbridge. It is a kind, nurturing and yet academically rigorous school where we know DS would thrive. Our grounds for appeal are as follows:

A couple of years ago, I had breast cancer just as we entered lockdown. We ended up with an extremely stressful situation of trying to balance home schooling, my chemo, and DH's work (he was a key worker). It was a terrible time but we got through it and thought he was fine - but apparently not. It turns out he goes to pieces in exams, and just absolutely panicked during the 11+. A girl next to him started crying and had to be led out, and that was it - he immediately shut down. It wasn't helped by the fact that the exam was around the same time as my annual mammogram to check for reoccurence, so it was a stressful time anyway.

We obviously feel awful that we've let him down so much and didn't realise how badly he coped with stressful situations like this. Although we did do 11+ prep with him, it was all at home and online with a tutor - so nothing like the stress of an exam hall.

DS has consistently achieved high results throughout his time at school, and has been regarded by all his teachers as a natural fit for grammar school. He's not just high achieving - he also has the intellectual curiosity and focus that's essential for grammar school students. We have letters from three teachers and his tutor attesting to this. We also have a letter from his headteacher, confirming the emotional trauma he's experienced and his academic prowess. And we have a letter from his counsellor at the time of my illness, confirming the trauma he suffered. We've also, since realising what's happened, taken him to another counsellor to see if she can help him with some of his unresolved trauma. I think she would probably be happy to write a letter for us if need be.

I suppose my question is: do we stand any chance at all? And is there anything I can do to improve his chances even a bit? I feel so awful that he is in this situation thanks to my stupid cancer and will do anything at all to make things better.

very little i’m afraid

how old when he went through the trauma?
how long has he been receiving therapy for?

was he borderline?

what did he get in the CAT scores?

I think it would depend on the gap in marks between what your son achieved, and what the pass mark is. If there is a big difference then I would expect any appeal panel to be concerned that your son would not be able to keep up. If on the other hand the gap is quite small, then the fact that so many people are willing to backup your claim that your son has the ability but crumpled in the exam, then it would be worth appealing. My concern would be that grammar schools often include a lot more regular testing. If your son finds that difficult, will it really be the ideal learning environment for him?

Ive not appealed OP but have one boy in Grammar and another that flunked the 11+ spectacularly . He was borderline anyway . He’s now in private with small class sizes and doing much better. Grammar is a tough environment and for us it’s been the right decision

Those I know that have successfully appealed had legal assistance . So you may want to think about seeking help .

I looked into the likelihood of successful appeal and near us I found that success tapers off the further the child is from the pass rate. Not sure where I found the figures ( it’s a few years ago) .

I Wish you the best of luck in your appeal .

Did he take the exam in Sept 23?

If he underperformed or upset during the test was the time to appeal not in October when scores were issued?was he even aware of your annual check up? Is he on wl for either school, or both?

It would help if you said which area you are in. Appeal success rates and processes vary between areas. For example, in fully grammar areas like Kent and Bucks appeals are worth a shot, but in the Birmingham area they are very unlikely to be successful.

Have you looked on the 11 plus forum? There is a section for each region, and a separate section for appeals.

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/index.php

key information is how far he was from passing OP

Given he didn't get a high enough score, you have 2 challenges in the appeal. Which grammar area are you in? That may have an impact on how you present as different areas have different processes, for example the possibility of a Head review, etc. Some have a hard pass mark, some take the top x% in scores.

1- appeal against non-qualification - to show that he is of grammar standard and why he didn't qualify. For this you would need evidence from school to show that his work is consistently of the required standard, and the reasons why he underperformed on the day. Realistically, he was back to school for some 2 years before taking the exam in Sept 23, so it's going to be a challenge to show that his anxiety wasn't known before the exams - and it if was, you could have asked for special circumstances. The letters are good, but you would need reports too showing results - what do they predict he will get in his SATs?

2- appeal against over-subscription - that the detriment to him of not attending is higher than the detriment to the school of taking another pupil. This is about the school and how its offering specifically suits him - do they offer a language or other offer, a sport, a specialism that meets his needs? Their case will focus on the school being full, and it's difficult beforehand to see how strong this case might be. In some cases it is very strong, others not.

Thanks so much for all the replies! To answer points raised:

I don't know how far he was from passing exactly: how would I find that out? When we were notified of school allocation no reference was made to scores. I think maybe ten points out but I don't have the specific data - only his final mark.

We didn't know at the time that he panicked in the exam - he didn't tell us. We had been so obsessed with not putting pressure on him that we didn't ask for specifics of the exam. It was only later that it came out. And tbh we wouldn't have known we could appeal at the time anyway.

Regarding his ability, obviously, we are his parents so are biased. But we're both teachers (DH primary, me secondary) and are both confident he is grammar school material. Teachers expect him to easily get exceeds in SATS, but I know that doesn't correlate particularly well with the 11+. We don't think he would fit in well with one of the local grammar schools, which is why we're not appealing there, as it is highly pressurised. The one we are appealing for is less so. (DH and I are both former grammar school students and I have taught in one, so we do appreciate what the environment is like.)

We're in Warwickshire.

He took the exam in Sept 23.

He was aware of my mammogram, yes.

He had counselling when I was ill, and then has just started some more this year.

Regarding what a previous poster said about testing at grammar school, I do get that. Which is why we're getting him counselling now. But it does worry me that this would be an argument against him at appeal.

We are both teachers and so unfortunately can't even consider private as an option. We've talked about trying to get jobs abroad to maybe get him into an international school if this doesn't work. But that would mean taking him away from extended family who have really supported him over the past few years. It's a difficult call.

Are all the schools grammar? I am not familiar with the area.

I don't know how far he was from passing exactly

come again??!

You and your husband are teachers

and you don’t know the marks or how close he was to pass?

good grief

When we were notified of school allocation no reference was made to scores. I think maybe ten points out but I don't have the specific data - only his final mark.

it would have been from the LEA on the day the results were issued!! way before school allocation

It is really quite unfair.Whrn my dc did the 11+ they did a practice one and the 2 'real' ones.The best result in each exam counted.In recent years, as a cist saving measure, they have cut back to one single exam.
It is very unfair on nervous kids

I think maybe ten points out

on the basis of?

OP, here are the qualifying scores:

...and you should have been notified of his score on 16th October on the "parent portal" (I am in a different part of country, but this is all on Warwickshire's council website)

WCCC-1990003847-3787 (warwickshire.gov.uk)

Gives this year's automatic qualifying scores (which OP won't have had before friday, they differ slightly every year in Warwickshire) so you should be able to gauge where he is.

OP would have been given her child score then, which she refers to, but not the overall qualification score , which was not set then.

...or any child that is having an off day

but for some grammars (kent), if you pass that’s all you need.

Its then done by distance

We've talked about trying to get jobs abroad to maybe get him into an international school if this doesn't work.

You would need to carefully investigate health coverage if you do this. If you get jobs abroad you would not be entitled to free NHS treatment.

Would his score have been accepted in previous years? Surely you can ask LA what the lowest score to be offered a place was? Did you have an idea of what he could potentially achieve as a comparison to what he did?