Grammar School Appeals
This page is currently being rewritten- Grammar school appeals in Kent and Medway are now in full swing. Two schools that are reported to have late appeals are: Gravesend Grammar School for Girls - mid June; and Maidstone Grammar School - early July. Contrary to expectations MGS is using a KCC Panel rather than setting up their own as had been planned.
- As you might expect in Kent and Medway, the majority of my work is supporting parents with appeals for grammar schools, using my unrivalled knowledge of the local situation and my expertise and lengthy experience in Appeal work. I have achieved succcess for places at nearly every grammar school in the County, although the level of difficulty varies, and I am happy to advise parents of this before they engage me. Make no mistake, a school appeal is time consuming and stressful, but my expert service takes much of the strain off your shoulders and maximises your chances of success.
- Currently, due to pressure of work, I am only accepting clients who live in Kent or Medway and are appealing for schools in those local authorities. Also, I am unable to offer free advice on appeals to other enquirers.
- As with all pages on this website, this page is packed with free information to support parents. However, many delighted clients will testify that my professional service does make the difference!
- If you wish to contact me regarding a Kent grammar school appeal, please first speak to your child's primary school to obtain their scores in the Kent test. Feel free to email me with a brief outline of your situation (including test marks) and a contact phone number, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
- Medway grammar school admission appeals have been made more difficult for parents to win following publication of a new Code for Admission Appeals. These regulations mean that Independent Appeal Panels will reject appeals for grammar school places if there has been a local Review, unless they consider the process has been unfair! Where there is no satsifactory Review, they can consider all circumstances. YES, THIS IS CORRECT. As nearly all Medway families considering an appeal will have been to Review, their situation is difficult. For more information go to New Code Grammar Appeals.
- This situation is the result of a new Code of Practice for School Appeals, issued by
government, which became law on 17th January. you will find this at Code.
- First piece of advice is – don’t panic. You will not get an earlier appeal or a better hearing by sending in your case early. If you are not ready, make sure you record your appeal by the closing date, using such words as “I am appealing for….... I will send in my detailed case when it is ready”. This enables you to take advice or plan your appeal without additional pressure (it is already stressful enough!). Following several queries on this - the rule is: "Parents should also be informed that there is no statutory time limit for submitting information about their appeal".
- The following applies to Kent schools only (not Medway). If you have applied to a grammar school and your child has not not passed, you are encouraged to appeal by 27th March. If you have not passed the eleven plus, you can apply to any other grammar school after the 27th March and will then be turned down. You then have the right to appeal against this decision.
- In past years, appeals to
grammar schools produce a wide range of success rates, both from county
to county and for individual schools within counties. Clearly the new Regulations (above) will have a major effect on outcomes in Medway. I strongly advise you, in the case of Foundation Schools who provide their own Independent Appeal Panel, to contact the headteacher to find the school perspective.
- Medway parents were offered a review of any non selective decision in November and should have taken this up, but are still allowed to appeal if not. Many Kent children are put forward for headteacher’s appeal in February (without parental knowledge), but parents are not bound by this. These stages take place before the March decision is confirmed.
- If yours is one
of the few Foundation schools that organises early appeals, such as Rochester Grammar School, it is important to get the appeal in in good time, as a late appeal may find the school full after others have been heard.
- All Kent foundation and voluntary aided grammar schools who request the information are to be issued with Kent test scores and Headteacher Appeal Report sheets for children who have appealed. These will be shared wth parents and panel members. This is partly to reduce false claims. Some parents have not seen the appeal document before and this is likely to have an influence on your appeal case.
- Possibilities for parental appeal
include: (1) the selection panel was missing information which would lead to a
different decision – e.g. medical condition or family circumstances not
reported, but can be demonstrated; (2) information provided was
incorrect – you have the right to see all relevant documentation; (3)
the panel made a mistake and another child with lower scores was
selected without good reason; (4) independent proof that your child is
of grammar school ability. I am happy to advise clients of other possibilities when I have discussed individual cases. You may also succeed if marks are near the
cut off and you find a sympathetic appeal panel. If none of the above
applies, your chances are low; so plan an alternative route for your
child’s secondary education – although each year I am delighted by successful appeals which originally looked unpromising.
- I advise on the expected appeal pattern for each school, and the best strategy to achieve success. I offer a range of services for parents including the preparation of written appeal letters. I do not normally attend appeal hearings, as Panels are more interested in talking directly with parents. However, I am happy to represent parents where appropriate. I ensure that the best case is put forward and have a very good record of success where I can establish supporting evidence.
- In Kent, there is a basic division between grammar schools run by the county (community schools) and the foundation and voluntary aided schools that form the majority. Foundation grammar schools each have their own approach to appeals; some using an independent appeal panel set up by the county, others choosing their own panel members. Some wish to admit additional pupils, others resist strongly.
- Most grammar schools admit all applicants who have achieved a standard, or those living nearest where there is oversubscription; but others select the highest scorers in the assessment tests. It is more difficult to win appeals to the latter, but I have also achieved success for parents at such schools over the past three years.
- The 2008 aggregate Pass scores for the following schools are as follows. These were the level on national decision day (beginning of March), but the scores do fall as some children do not take up their places and additional children are then admitted with slightly lower scores after March 27th: Judd - 411; Skinners - 404; Tonbridge Girls (inner) - 405, (outer) - lower; Rochester Girls (different scale 543). Rainham Mark took all applicants who passed.
- After March 27th, parents can apply to any grammar school in Kent. If the child has taken the Kent test and passed, they will be offered a place if there are vacancies, otherwise they will be put on the waiting list operated according to the school oversubscription criteria. If the child has taken the Kent test but not passed, the application will be turned down. Parents then have the right to appeal. If the child has not taken the test, they will be asked to do so.
- Medway Community Schools that are oversubscribed operate a group appeal. This year it has applied to Sir Joseph Williamson's, and will probably be used for Chatham South and Greenacres, but was also used at a Kent School, The Grammar School for Girls, Wilmington. At a group appeal, all appealing parents are invited, to hear the Admission Authority case for not admitting additional pupils in the presence of the Independent Appeal Panel, and to ask questions. The Appeal Panel can then make a decision on how many additional children should be admitted (if any), so that individual appeals can focus on the parental case, without the issues of fullness being considered further at every appeal.
I believe this is an effective way of managing oversubscription appeals, but can produce fireworks or a difficult meeting that requires good chairmanship, as happened at The Math.
- Bexley schools appeal statistics are given here.
- Some grammar schools are regularly oversubscribed with successful candidates, particularly in West Kent. If you are deprived of a place on this basis, you still have the right to appeal.
- There are number of websites and books offering advice on how to succeed at appeal. Most of these offer general advice, not tailored to specific schools or local authorities, and so are of limited value. One is offering misleading advice on the new Code of Practice to Kent parents which has led some to pull out of, or come wrongly prepared to appeals. There is no substitute for local knowledge, which is why I confine my operation to Kent & Medway.
- In 2007, there were 1300 Headteacher Assessments in Kent, of which 632 were successful.
Figures for Kent Appeals, March - December 2007. The following figures are solely for appeal Panels organised by KCC. Many Foundation and VA Schools organise their own Independent Appeal Panels and are not included. Be very careful how you interpret the following, as circumstances very enormously amongst Kent schools (it was ever thus!). The secondary school success rate is over a third higher than the previous year, for reasons which are not obvious and so is unlilely to be a good guide to 2008, especially with the new Code.
Local Authority Schools
| Appeals | Successes | % success | |
| Grammar | 633 | 295 | 47 |
| Non Selective | 34 | 17 | 17 |
| Primary | 218 | 73 | 33 |
Grammar Appeals include both children who have been unsuccessful in the initial tests, and oversubscription issues.
Foundation & Voluntary Aided Schools
| Appeals | Successes | % success | |
| Grammar | 414 | 173 | 42 |
| Non-selective | 70 | 47 | 67 |
| Primary | 32 | 9 | 28 |
- Scores for a Kent grammar school pass were: at least 120 in two tests, and at least 115 in the third.
- The Medway 11+ pass score for 2007 was an aggregate of 519 over the three tests.
- 74%
of Kent children were offered their first choice school in 2007. this
is a considerable fall from last year's 79%. however, the percentage of
children being offered one of their three choices has risen from 95% to
96.1 %.
- Medway Appeal Statistics for period 1 Mar 2006 to 31 Dec 2006 obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. These apply to the community and Voluntary Aided Schools only :
Appeals Successes % success Grammar Assessment 39 5 13 Grammar Oversubscription 14 14 100* Non selective 109 53 49 Primary (Year R) 13 3 23
- A good website for information on admissions and appeals is: eleven plus exams. However, you need to treat the contributions with caution. It is very Buckinghamshire based but whilst the school appeal advice varies considerably from the many varieties in Kent, it can be very helpful. Currently, the Kent forum appears to be dominated by politically motivated alarmist comments, so be very careful not to be taken in. There is also a lot of forum discussion about West Kent issues, very different from those in the rest of the county. You will find older contributions from me under the name of Peter, but I have removed recent contributions as I don't wish to be associated with the direction the forum is taking. This website contains the factual information I initially posted.
- Medway parents who applied for a Review have often included documentation such as School Reports or medical evidence, as the Application form invited documentary evidence to be attached. Both types of evidence have been sent back as not acceptable, which begs the question what type of documentary evidence was considered. Certainly there is no indication in the paperwork that Medway Council would reject any documents other than letters from headteachers or tutors.
- To appeal for a Medway Grammar School because your child has not been offered a place on Review, you must include that school on your application form. There is no way of appealing against the Review without naming a grammar school. I am happy to work with parents in preparing an appeal before the end of February, as the appeal can then be lodged in March as soon as a decision is made not to offer a grammar schoool place. The Review Panel Report will form part of the Local Authority case in any community grammar school selection appeal. If it is very critical of your child's work, you are best advised to make alternative plans.