Grammar Appeal

[bobiebobie]

My daughter is sitting the test for grammar to transfer into year 8/9 but there is a waiting list. Has anyone successfully appealed and could offer me any tips?

the school sent me a link to some practice tests but they are for 11+, I presume the test will be more difficult as she’s 13, I’ve bought her 13+ books, is there any other material that could help her? Thank you

What are you appealing?

Presumably this is for an ad hoc vacancy, not an appeal.

applied or appealed ?

I am reading this as

• the OP has applied for a mid-year place for her DD and

although the school is holding exams for potential mid-year entry,

• there are currently no vacancies in the relevant year group, therefore
• even if the OP's DD is found to be of the required academic standard, she won't get a place immediately, but her name will be added to the waiting list.

If a place does come up, all those on the waiting list will be ranked according to the school's oversubscription criteria. The OP, having applied, her DD having (hopefully) been assessed as 'of the standard', but being told there is currently no place to offer, can then appeal against the decision, by asking an independent appeal panel to consider her reasons why her DD's need for a place at the school outweighs the prejudice to the school through having to admit any other students above the number already in the year group, and find in her favour..

Presumably you are considering an oversubscription appeal, where you are arguing your DC's need for a place outweighs the detriment to other pupils at admitting another child. I suspect this will be hard to win, but to have any chance you would need to find things this school offers that your current school don't, and argue why your daughter needs that specifically. Saying they have better results or peers engaged in learning won't help your case.

Some grammar school appeals focus on score, when a child has unexpectrdly narrowly missed passing, and teachers feel they should have passed. This doesn't appear to apply in your case, so be careful when researching that you don't mix the two.

Exactly this, sorry if I wasn’t clear in my original post! Her dad has decided that he’s not paying her school fees anymore so I need to find her another school asap. She’s very intelligent and already has friends at the school so this is her preferred choice and I wanted to arm myself with as much info as possible to prepare her for the test and the inevitable appeal if she meets the standard.

Have the school given any indication of the size of the waiting list?

What are the criteria you plan to use for an appeal - she’s intelligent and has friends there already isn’t a reason you can use , neither is her dad won’t pay her school fees .

My sons' grammar school had exams for the boys on the waiting list if a place became available from year 8 onwards.

Does this school actually have places? Tinyspiny is right that having friends and not being able to go private are not grounds for appeal.

I’d find out how long the waiting list is. If it’s a good school, they’re not going to have many kids leave through the year?

Most clever children have to go to the local bog-standard comp; a tiny minority get to go private or to a grammar school.
I can’t see why an appeal would be granted because of friendships or wanting a better school as this is something all parents want for their child.

No, I asked the question but didn’t get a response. Do you know if this is information they are able to provide or is it classed as confidential?

It matters less how long the waiting list is and more the criteria for its order and where DD will be once she (hopefully) passes. The list may be in score order but is quite likely to be in distance/siblings etc order.

It is nothing to do with time on the list, so the current length isn’t massively relevant to you. If the list is 10 long, DD might still be first on the list.

Please ask the school what the test will
be and don’t just buy 13 + papers. We looked at how to go onto a waitlist for a state grammar and the tests were clearly explained (I believe they were called CAT tests but different schools might be different).

It is also possible that many kids on the list sat the 11+ and got a passing score but are now happily settled at another school and wouldn’t move if a place did come up.

Here is an example (looks like it is still called CAT in this area) - https://kestevengrantham.lincs.sch.uk/key_information/admissions/11_16_admissions/11_16_admissions.html

If you can share the school or even the county, you may get more specific advice

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk

This website is aimed at 11+ but has lots of useful advice for appeals. It helped me win a grammar school place.

It matters less how long the waiting list is and more the criteria for its order and where DD will be once she (hopefully) passes. The list may be in score order but is quite likely to be in distance/siblings etc order.

Absolutely. The school's in-year admissions policy must be published on its website and here you will find the oversubscription criteria, by which the waiting list will be ranked if a place becomes available. You should also be able to find here the format of the in-year testing; e.g. for DS2's old school, the policy states that testing will be in English, Maths and Science, and to be considered 'of the standard', the applicant must rank at least at the midpoint of the year group in question. Then, if a place becomes available, the ranking is according to the oversubscription criteria, which, as the local grammar schools have a priority admissions area, plus priority groups within iIC / OOC, is not just according to ranking on exam score. (Siblings don't come into the mix at all, even as a tie-break, but there are other areas where 'sibling of current pupil' is included).

How stressful for you to be in this position
I hope the dad continues paying until she is offered a place at her preferred school

Nope, sprung it on me last week, he is delightful!

To other saying I won't win an appeal on the grounds that she is intelligent and has friends there, I realise this that's why I'm asking for help. I don't want to come across as someone who is acting like an entitled snob, I went to a crap comprehensive and I don't want the same for her, she's been through enough.

The school is in Bournemouth.

Ok - I have googled and the website is pretty rubbish. I think it’s fine to contact the school for further clarification as it looks like you’ve got their standard reply rather than an inyear admissions reply.

They should at least tell you what they are going to test (maths, English, VR, NVR etc) how long each test is, whether it is multiple choice etc.

Find something that only the school offers like Latin and Greek or a language that your DC is already doing and passionate about or music or whatever that only that school offers.

Okay, so 'my DD deserves better than a comprehensive school' won't win you much sympathy from the independent appeal panel. You really do have to find reasons why your DD will be more disadvantaged by not being able to attend this school than the disadvantage school (as a body - space, safe movement / egress in emergencies, class arrangements re recommended safe limits for practical sessions etc, teachers' workload, staff time for each pupil including your own being diluted etc) will suffer from the addition of another pupil.

In the event that your DD doesn't 'pass', you can still appeal, but your task will be compounded by having to prove that she really is of the required academic standard, as well as the prejudice part.

@bobiebobie have you actually visited other local state schools? Do any have spaces in the year group? If at least one does, but you decide not to apply / take up a place if offered, and you are unsuccessful with the grammar application, then the alternative will be to organise home education. Whether or not you and your DD consider this preferable to a possibly not quite as nice as you'd like non-selective school experience, is of course your decision.

From the sounds of the website, the waiting list is largely ranked in score order, after exceptions like pupil premium and LAC, rather than there being a specific pass mark. Once DD is tested, her score remains valid for 2 years.

Is she currently in year 8, OP? Is XH prepared to pay her fees until the end of the current academic year?

Have you asked the current school for a bursery? Has your ex given notice to the current school that he is withdrawing her / will no longer pay the fees? If so, a copy of that letter and the response from the current school acknowledging she will be withdrawn could be used later on, if you wanted to do that (not required) although her entitlement will be to the offer of a school place, not a grammar school place. Be aware it is not unheard of for parents to state a child is being withdrawn but when they don’t secure their preferred school, the student remains in the fee-paying school.

As mentioned above, places will be offered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria, so LAC, PP in catchment etc. Do you live within catchment?