Unsuccessful grammar school appeal

[Will2]

Good morning all,

I'm looking for further advice from people who have found themselves in this situation, or any advice from ex panel members which may prove beneficial please.

We got the awful news that my we didn't win my son's grammar school appeal on Friday, with my son being devastated.

We felt we put a compelling argument together;however the panel we had must've felt the schools case was heavier considering our of 39 cases only 1 case was upheld!

My main argument was around a rare medical condition he has and how this impacted him on the day of his first test. He scored above the pass mark on his verbal reasoning test but didn't perform to the best of his ability, citing how he was struggling to focus and concentrate which connects to his condition (NHS diagnosis letter of his condition was provided as evidence) - this is the main reason why he didn't achieve the historically high entry score because he achieved a brilliant score in his spatial reasoning test.

We are waiting for feedback; however the panel didn't ask us one single question about his condition during our individual appeal hearing which my wife thought was quite strange. I just thought they must've researched it and understood how this could've affected him.

The other point I felt was strong in our argument, was how our son is musically gifted and what the school we were appealing for could offer him. He has a grade three certification from the trinity college in London (soon to be 4) and this particular school has a recording studio (his allocated school doesn't have this) as well as opportunities to represent the school in this field.

We highlighted other points during our appeal and I'll be honest, I came away from our appeal quite positive, boy was I wrong!

Any advice from this point forward would be much appreciated. I'm waiting on the feedback which I hope will give me closure. Such an awful process to go through. Thanks in advance!

It's kind of why people feel a bit resentful of people from other towns choosing this town's grammar school as it makes it worse for local kids.

No help for those applicants for this September, but if the published admissions policy for the school for 2027 entry (which should have been up on the school's website for the past 6-7 weeks) is the same, you have until 15th May to raise an objection with the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-admissions-arrangements

Schools are required to take in a certain number of pupil premium children.

A grammar school will also take into account that the pupil premium kid that didn’t quite reach the pass mark but did extremely well, most likely didn’t receive paid for tutoring, so is naturally bright.

No, schools are not required to take a certain number of pupil premium children.

(Admissions Code, para 1.7) All schools other than where it is otherwise stated in the Code must give first priority in their oversubscription criteria to Looked After and Previously Looked After applicants. LAC / PLAC pupils do attract the pupil premium, and at the enhanced rate, but it's not the 'PP' bit that makes them 'special' in terms of admissions, because other categories of pupil attracting the pupil premium or service premium are not specifically mentioned as a required priority criterion, merely in terms of admission authorities being permitted to give priority to those attracting the early years / pupil premium / service premium and if they do, they must make it clear which type they mean.

The exception to the LAC / PLAC rule is found in para 1.19: Where arrangements for pupils are wholly based on selection by reference to ability and provide for only those pupils who score highest in any selection test to be admitted, no priority needs to be given to looked after children or previously looked after children.

Teacher and tutor here. Good spatial reasoning is often common and innate, particularly in boys. Verbal reasoning gives a much better view of how a child will cope with many subjects, as it encompasses vocabulary and understanding of language. I personally would not want my child who struggled with focus and concentration in a grammar environment. And as other posters have said, Grade 3 in year 6 is very common and average in a musical instrument.

Could someone clarify please….

What was the actual 11 plus pass mark? Did he pass the 11 plus, but just not get a high enough pass for that school? Or did he fail the 11 plus by those 7 marks?

He passed the 11+ but fell short on the score for entry.

220 was the pass mark.

Punching down is never a good look (@OUB1974same goes to you). You are entitled to be upset that your sons didn’t get into this grammar. You are not entitled to bring pupil premium kids into the discussion. Your kids have every advantage - I’m going to take a punt that you both paid for private tutoring, you pay for extra curriculum activities, have the time and resources to be engaged in their schooling. You are just upset that all that privilege didn’t get you the further privilege of a grammar school education. As I said, as a parent you can feel upset about that, but you should do so from a position where you both understand and acknowledge that privilege. Don’t bring the kids who don’t have that advantage into it.

@MarchingFrogs

Following requests from the LA in 2018, the school changed its policy from no priority for LAC and PP to the current policy of admitting LAC who achieve the pass mark of 220 and reserving up to 20 places (in rank order) for boys who achieve at least 220.

At that time, the school declined a further request to sort by distance all candidates over 220, which it was entitled to do under the Admissions Code. It maintained its distance blind ranking criteria instead,

In 2019, the Adjudicator held the criteria were consistent with the Code.

(At some point in the years since, it introduced a 30 mile radius which at least gives an element of locality, albeit a large one)

@Will2

Firstly, I am sorry and I totally understand the disappointment you must feel.

Secondly, (about the grade 3 music as I feel you were made to feel bad about this and it must be said) we almost didn’t put our child forward for a music scholarship (year 7 entry) because of all the comments we had read on MN about needing a grade 6 or whatever.

I am so glad we didn’t take notice as our grade 2 child (and no grade in second instrument at all) got both of the scholarships (and entry) they applied for in very competitive schools.

There are a lot of reasons people may have a certain grade instrument (time, money, not starting instrument till late, not interested in grades), that doesn’t define whether they have a great aptitude to music or not. Your child is talented.

I hope it all works out for you and your child in the end.

Nope, didnt pay for or access any private tutoring. My son only got 2 weeks of familiarisation at school. I don't agree with private tutoring for the 11+ and we couldn't afford it even if I did. We also don't do extra curricular activities.

I haven't brought PP into the conversation, in fact I said I agreed with the criteria. I disagree with the large catchment area. Not least because it includes a 3,000 square mile area and lots of surrounding cities and towns. Presumably at least part of the high increase in children taking the exam is due to privileged families in these areas who can afford the private tuition that we can't (especily due to vat on school fees). I realise that's a subjective opinion though, they're fully entitled to open it up as wide as they like. It stops it being a school for local kids though.

@OUB1974 I expect some, but not all, of the families living further away at the time of the test move more locally after results are known. I realise this isn’t a privilege offered by many oversubscribed secondaries where it is about address at the time of application.

I do agree with this. The children who have the higher music grades in DC's class are not IMO musical. They play the notes. Follow the rules of the notation. But if you asked them to muck about and come up with a song or just enjoy the music I don't think they could. It's seen as a tick list of things-you-do rather than for the love of music.

Thank you

It’s really very difficult if not impossible to reach a high standard on an instrument at primary age without being musical. String instruments for example require an acute sense of pitch. Marks are awarded in music exams specifically for musicality. That’s not to say that kids at lower grades aren’t more musical, or that you can’t be a late bloomer (many instruments can’t even be started until older ages), but this kind of comment just smacks of jealousy to me. How would you even know whether they can “muck about with a song or enjoy music”?

Whether OP’s child is gifted depends on how long he’s been playing, which she hasn’t revealed. But it’s fair to say that if he’s been playing for 3-4 years (which would be standard by year 6) then grade 3 is average, not exceptional.

PP isn't about income. FSM eligibility is mostly, but until recently UC transition blurred that as well.

20 pupil premium places when there are 174 places in total is fine though. I mean it is just over 10% and the remaining 90% places are there within the 30 mile radius. And a score of 235 when the max is 282 and the cut off was 237 in 2024 was always borderline.
Also all grammars state very clearly not to attend tests on a day a child is not feeling well but to get a doctor’s note instead.
For long term health conditions, extra time with evidence has to be sought well in advance.
The poster whose DC has 240 may still get a waiting place.

Whilst they have to allow appeals legally speaking, they cost schools a lot of money and the DFE is no longer funding this. 40 kids appealing would have cost them over 7000. I think people should not really be appealing if they just missed for a superselective. And if they are just below the 220 in that area, then appeals should go in straight after the test based on school work and with head teacher support.
Generally speaking I think verbal and non verbal style tests you can only really tutor so much for anyway. It is more IQ based and years of reading that makes a genuine difference. Some prep and familiarisation is required, but with that type of tests (which is not based on maths or English) it is more tutor proof. At least that is my opinion (I am sure some will disagree with me).

I sympathise as this happened to my son and his friend, he was one point below on the grammar test and we appealed and were subsequently rejected.
He got into a local Church linked school and he did well there in the end.

His friend did the 12+ a year later and moved to a grammar, perhaps you could go this route? See how he goes and if it’s not working out then prepare for the 12+, there are always a few Grammar school drop outs.

You have my sympathies when it comes to the process. It's brutal. We didn't have to go through appeal but we did lose friends over it and relationships between those of us whose kids got a place and those who didn't remains frosty.

As far as appeal goes, I think you need to remember that while your priority is your child, their priority is ALL of the kids and, of course, the school.

In all likelihood, another child deserved the place more.

I know that's hard to accept, but they have a finite number of spaces.

I truly hope your child moves forward positively and thrives in another school. I really think that's where you need to put your energy now, for his sake.

This feeling of having missed out and unfair treatment can really spiral.

Time to get him excited about new opportunities.

The 30 miles radius has only been in place for a few years. Prior to that, there was no radius and boys travelled by train from much further away including London and Leeds. It’s still a large area but it’s much smaller than it used to be. And my personal experience is that the majority of boys are local - all of my son’s friendship group live within the town or local villages. From the school’s perspective, this gives them a better chance of taking boys with higher scores and potentially higher exam results in the future. I do agree it changes the dynamic from being a truly local school though.

1/3 live more than 7 miles away.

One of my son's friends lost out on a place on a score well over requirement because her house was 40 metres outside of catchment. The boundary literally goes through their road.

It's a hard pill to swallow BUT if the school could meet their full quota with kids on or above that score living in the boundary, why should they make an exception?

They can't please everyone.

That's really interesting. I had read that it can add 5-10 marks to the score. But it's very difficult to find out concrete figures as it's hard to measure and possibly people won't admit to it. I've heard from friends with older kids that it's extremely common to have tutoring so most must believe it to be useful. I dont really agree with it as it unlevels the playing field, but on the other hand, having a completely untutored child that was 2 marks off, if I'd known this would happen we might have tried something more, although obviously not the extensive stuff that some kids have. Tbh I feel sorrier for the kids that scored 2 marks more and got in with extensive tutoring.

I wish they could see inside their brains and select the number of children that way 😆

I’m not sure 7 miles would include many of the local villages for which this would be their nearest grammar though. I would still class those as being ‘local’.

Totally agree
My dd2 got to grade 8 piano but can only play the pieces she learned for her music exam
.She now refuses to play at all because she said doing the exams sucked all the joy out of it
My friend’s son didn’t even take any formal music exams and plays brilliantly . He can even play by ear which my dd cannot do