the school confirming there were currently eight spaces (a considerable decrease from the initial acceptances) and they could accommodate a further five girls of appropriate academic standard on top of this. A number of questions were asked by parents attempting to explore whether even more spaces could be made available. The Panel then has to decide how many, if any, places are available without prejudice to the education of the other girls in the school - presumably likely outcome is 13! However, they can then instruct the school to admit even more girls if their needs are stronger than any prejudice that might be incurred. On the other hand the Panel is under no obligation to put this number in if they consider there are insufficient girls of a grammar school ability.  Sorry if that sounds complicated. It is and you are probably best to ignore the following sentences! A judgement by the Ombudsman over Poole High School appeals actually states that the precise rules as to who qualifies in which category under such circumstances are impossible for Panels to follow legally and the Code of Practice that governs appeals should be amended! Don't worry, I am confident an experienced Panel such as this will work their way through it sensibly.The group hearing for Simon Langton Girls has now also taken place, reportedly a far more interesting occasion as there were a considerable number of participants who had lost out because of oversubscription. One suspects that here, the school representative must have felt very isolated as parents appeared to come together to press for additional places. It will be interesting to see if it has made any difference to the outcome. Two consequences: parents have not had to sweat to provide a case for expansion in their individual cases and appeals are much shorter. I must confess that on reports back so far, I am starting to be converted. Another group hearing has been arranged for Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammars, although this is likely to be less pressured than it would in previous years, as just 20 qualified first choices were turned down in March ( a continued fall from its peak of 53 in 2009).

As expected, the Appeal Panel for Fort Pitt has put through around seven appellants meaning that the school can again restrict itself to four classes, although it has historically had room for six.  Interestingly this does of course go against the pattern elsewhere as schools seek to expand their numbers. However to my surprise at least one of these was on assessment grounds, showing that the Panel (with two members the same as last year) may have changed its stance on the fairness of the Review process.