patsylabrador Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 A friend has asked OH for help with a letter but we are out of up-to-date knowledge with this. His daughter has just failed to be accepted to the local Grammar school by only a few points. He has been told he can appeal but is unlikely to succeed. He trusts OH and asked him to help. The family is Somalian and English is the girl's second language. She has worked her socks off to try to get into the school and knowing the area they live in I understand why. I took my kids out of school and they're in their twenties now so I have no idea how these things work. Does anyone have any knowledge of the kind of things we should be thinking about in an appeal letter. Would it be relevant for example that the Father runs a youth club to try to encourage young people? Thanks if you can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/ChoosingASchool/DG_4016309 http://www.lawpack.co.uk/cohabitation/articles/article768.asp http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/mar/11/education.schooladmissions Hope these will be of some help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Thank you. There's loads of information and pointers there that will help us get some structure. I didn't know where to start. Brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 You're welcome Let us know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 As far as I understand it, (have 3 children at grammar school) she will only stand a chance on appeal if she passed the basic point boundary for the school. If this is the case but her mark just wasn't high enough for that particular year then a well contructed appeal may work, but they rarely do unfortunately. We thought that we would be in this position with DS but fortunately a couple of children with places dropped out just after the places were given, so he s"Ooops, word censored!"ed in even though his pass mark was over the basic which doesn't tend to change year on year, a lot depends on the overall standard of the intake. There is a good book that we bought when we thought that we might have a problem, called Winning Your School Appeal by Ben Rooney, there are quite a few copies on ebay. If she didn't quite reach the basic mark it might be worth them taking her out of school for a year and then having another go next year. The exams are very tough and if English is her second language that gives her another year to improve her confidence. I am so glad that we live in an area with quite a few excellent grammar schools most of which are single sex too which I think is an advantage because they understand how the children tick and don't need to have a one size fits all approach. My son has found this to be very helpful his school know their boys very well andtreat them all as individuals. Good luck to them all, I feel their pain, I hated that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Thank you Chickencam. I've passed all that info on. We now have a strategy, a good idea of how things work and a plan B. OH's mate is proud of his daughter and wants to feel he's left no stone unturned. Can't do more really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubababe Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Good luck. Getting into a good school is so important. I have my fingers crossed for them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer_chicken Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I go to Grammar school. We have a girls and a boys grammar in the area, and for equality both schools officially offer 95 places as this is the maximum my school can take, but on appeal the boys school has to accept another 20 as they technically have the room for it. These places still massively sought after though, and my brother tried to get in on appeal and failed (missed out on the 11+ by about 4 marks I think). The main things I remember my parents saying people were using were siblings already at the school; learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and anything that might have affected them on the day of the exams (illness, something bad happening at home etc). I'll talk to my parents tonight to see if they remember any more. Good luck to them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
