Appeal

[Musheer]

My daughter recently took the Sutton Grammar Exam (SET) and passed both stages. She was also eligible for Wallington Grammar and Nonsuch Grammar. She was offered a place at our fourth-choice school, we were very disappointed to receive an email on Monday stating that she did not get into any of the grammar schools. We are unaware of her exam scores. My daughter has a profound hearing disability and we live within the catchment area of the Wallington grammar.

We are considering our options:

• Appeal: Is an appeal likely to be successful? Would appealing negatively impact her chances of getting a place through the waiting list?

• Waiting List: We are wondering about the likelihood of her getting a place through the waiting list.

Both the waiting list notification and the deadline for appeals are 22nd April.
Could you please advise us on the best course of action?

Appealing won't impact your chances of getting in via the waiting list.

What are your grounds for appeal? Eg is school better set up for someone with hearing loss?

I can’t really comment on the appeal chances. You would need to either show some sort of admissions error (very rare) or show that your child’s need for the particular school you’re appealing for outweighs the downsides to that school of squeezing in another pupil. For example, does one of them have particularly good facilities for hearing impaired pupils, that other schools don’t have? That’s the sort of thing that might win.

Appealing absolutely does not affect your place on the waiting list. They are separate processes. Appeal panels aren’t influenced by WL position and WL position isn’t influenced by whether you appeal.

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The girls schools have stopped giving scores, which makes it harder to know the likelihood of a place until you know your position on the waiting list. (The boys schools have never given scores). The waiting list will move, so if you are near the top you have a good chance.

An appeal is likely to be tough to win. She has passed the test, so is deemed of grammar standard. You would presumably need to prove why she particularly needed the school. I assume you are thinking of arguing her hearing loss makes things trickier for her so she has done exceptionally well and they should be more lenient with her score? I don't think this is very likely to win, as the admissions is very much based on score (within and outside of catchment separately).

Appealing will not affect your chances of getting a place via the waiting list.

Your daughter passed the test, so you don't have to prove that she is of grammar school standard.

Do you think your daughter's disability affected her score? If you can show that it did and that the school were aware of her disability, you may be able to argue that they should have made some allowance for this and that failing to do so has cost her a place. It may be hard to convince the panel, but I suspect that would be your strongest case.

You need to look for things that are available at the appeal school but not at the allocated school and that are particularly relevant to your daughter. The fact the appeal school is a grammar school is not enough. You need to find specific things - subjects, extracurricular activities, etc.