Independent Education Advice - Oversubscription Appeals

Oversubscription Appeals

If you are interested in using my professional services, please email me with a brief outline of your situation (including test marks if a grammar school appeal), and a contact phone number, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

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.

There is a new Code of Practice for School Appeals, issued by government, taking effect from March 2008. Some key issues are set out at Code.

If your child is not allocated their first preference school in March, you may be able to secure a place at a school higher in your list through appeal.

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!). If yours is one of the few Foundation schools that organises early appeals, you can still send in your case when you are notified of the date, without penalty.

Appeals are always possible for non selective schools when the number of pupils applying for a school is larger than the approved number of admissions.

Kent admission rules allow parents to apply to any school not on their original list after March 25th. Use this to the full, as at the least you are placed on a waiting list and then have rights of appeal. Some children who did not originally apply for a school and who now apply after 25th March will be offered places ahead of others on the waiting list.

You will be asked to submit a case and appear personally at the Panel hearing. The best grounds for appeal are where families can show that the admission of another pupil will not damage the education of those already admitted, where another child has been wrongly selected ahead of their own, or that the admission policy has been interpreted wrongly. Some Foundation & VA schools are keen to admit additional pupils, and in such cases the appeal is much easier, if you have a reasonable case, or your child appears to ‘fit’ the school ethos.

Each oversubscribed school has its own character and approach to appeals for additional pupils.

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 writing the appeal letter & preparing the case for the appeal . 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 there is technical evidence to present, or where parents are not confident of making the case I will have prepared for them. Whichever package parents select, I ensure the best case is put forward and have a very good record of success.

Remember, at the end of the day, if the school is genuinely full there may be no way to secure admission.

Figures for Kent Appeals, March - December 2006. 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 may not be a good guide to 2008.

Local Authority Schools

Grammar Appeals include both children who have been unsuccessful in the tests, and oversubscription issues.

Foundation & Voluntary Aided Schools

13, 830 primary applications were received in Kent in 2007. 97.5% received a school named on the application form (98.2% last year), 91.3% received first preference (93.6% last year). See Primary School Appeals.
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 :

* The 14 grammar oversubscription appeals were all for Sir Joseph Williamson's Grammar School and were clients of mine

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. There is no substitute for local knowledge, which is why I confine my operation to Kent & Medway.