The Medway Tests for Entrance to Grammar School in September 2011 had problems in two Test Centres this year. Children from a number of primary schools who sat the test at Chatham Grammar School for Boys had their test papers collected in early and then they were given out again, causing disruption, and children at the other centre were the victims of disruptive behaviour by some of the candidates. My advice was to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman and he has recently concluded his investigation....

I am receiving a number of enquiries about oversubscription appeals.These are where the school (it may be non-selective or grammar) is full. I am advising some parents to put in a holding appeal (simply writing "I am appealing for a place for my child (name) at (name) school. A more detailed letter will follow" on the form, which means you do not need to submit full details by deadline day). You can then leave submitting a detailed letter until after 4th April when the first round of reallocations takes place in Kent (Medway 21st March). I am happy to delay taking on clients until that time, when you will know whether an appeal will be necessary. Also the pressure on myself is less, and so I am able to turn around an appeal letter more quickly. Please feel free to contact me if you wish clarification on this.

Headline News: 83% of Kent children have been offered their first choice secondary school; it is 87%. Just 413 Kent children have been allocated to a school not on their list, a steep drop from the 620 of last year. In Medway it is just 55. Good news for those who have been successful, but that's no comfort for those left out in the cold.A total of 513 out of Kent applicants have been offered places, mainly the West Kent high score schools, the Tunbridge Wells church schools, and the North West Kent grammar schools.

Numbers of Sussex children being offered places at West Kent Grammar schools have fallen considerably as I forecast back in November, so the pressures have eased. However, I am still hearing of girls in Pembury and boys in North Sevenoaks, grammar school qualified, who have not been offered grammar school places. As the Knole Academy is full, many of these children are being offered places at Skinners Kent Academy. Also as I forecast then, the pass mark for out of Dartford boys applying to Dartford Grammar School has shot up from 394 to at least 408.

Summary; better news than last year for most, but still some very sad outcomes.

There was a glitch with the online decision notification from both Kent and Medway. I gather this was not down to either Authority. With 87% of Kent applicants on line, this was very frustrating  but all has apparently been sorted (unless you know different!).

You may have caught me on BBC SE last evening, commenting on major issues and again on Radio Kent this morning.

I will add to this as I have time, but as you will appreciate, my first priority is to potential clients.

I shall be on Radio Kent between 8 and 9 in the morning of Wednesday March 2nd, and possibly later on, answering questions and talking about transfer patterns and issues.

Decisions arrive by email for those who have applied electronically after 4 p.m. on March 1st. With some 80% of the 20,000 children involved in Kent and Medway having completed online applications, this can still be a lengthy process, with some families waiting several hours for their decision. All applicants will have a letter posted on that day aimed to arrive by post on March 2nd setting out the school allocated and the procedure if you wish to appeal for a school you have not been offered.

Please note, if you now wish to apply for a new school in Kent that you have not previously listed, there is a new system forcing you to go through the bureaucratically cumbersome In Year Admission process, details here, or from KCC.  For Medway it appears much quicker, a complete turn around from two years ago when you couldn't even apply for new schools at this stage.

I am already arranging consultations for clients, so please contact me as soon as you know the school to which you have been allocated. Remember, the minimum you need to do to appeal is to write on the form provided:  "I am appealing for a place for my child (name) at (name) school. A more detailed letter will follow". This enables you to take your time over putting your appeal together without needing to rush to meet deadlines.

Several firms of Kent solicitors are now offering appeal services at fees which appear to be some £160 per hour or more. Please remember that preparing school appeals are not primarily legal matters. I believe my own experience of over 600 successful school appeals over the past eight years, together with my extensive knowledge of admission and appeals matters across Kent and Medway is a strong recommendation in itself.

last updated 4 May 2011

I am receiving a number of enquiries about oversubscription appeals.These are where the school (it may be non-selective or grammar) is full. I am advising some parents to put in a holding appeal (simply writing "I am appealing for a place for my child (name) at (name) school. A more detailed letter will follow" on the form, which means you do not need to submit full details by deadline day). You can then leave submitting a detailed letter until after 4th April when the first round of reallocations takes place in Kent (Medway 21st March). I am happy to delay taking on clients until that time, when you will know whether an appeal will be necessary. Also the pressure on myself is less, and so I am able to turn around an appeal letter more quickly. Please feel free to contact me if you wish clarification on this.

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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 Local Authority areas and are appealing for schools in those local authorities.

To make an appeal for a Kent school you should download an appeal form here.

• You will find the most recent appeal statistics for both Kent and Medway here.
• There is a new Code of Practice for School Appeals, issued by government, taking effect from March 2009. 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 April 4th using the In Year Admission process. 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 April 4th 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.
• Grammar school oversubscription appeals can be very complex, as appellants may have children who have passed the eleven plus, others will not have, and the appeal panel has to balance competing claims.
• 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.

Kent County Council is experimenting with a new approach for some of its Appeal hearings this year, where schools are heavily oversubscribed. Schools where this process is being used for the first time  include Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys and Simon Langton Grammar School for Girls.  The Admission Code for School Appeals recommends that where a school is oversubscribed, appeals should be divided into two stages, although Kent County Council has not followed this recommendation in previous years. Where this happens, the first part is called the group stage, where all parents appealing are invited to a meeting at the start of proceedings. At this meeting, all the issues relating to oversubscription are debated between parents and the Admission Authority Presenting Officer in front of the Appeal Panel. No matters relating to individuals are  considered. This enables the Appeal Panel to determine before hearing individual appeals how many children, if any, can be admitted before prejudice applies (see section on appeals).  The second stage is the individual appeal where each parent puts the case for their individual child. In the second stage there is no discussion of oversubscription issues. The Panel then has to decide which children should be offered places, possibly accepting that for some, there will be prejudice, but their individual circumstances outweigh this. I have some experience of the system, as Medway Council has used it for many years with, in my view, mixed success. Many parents are inhibited at the Group meeting and find it difficult to put forward their points. At some meetings the meeting rapidly degenerated into an unpleasant verbal battle (I don't see this happening at the Kent appeals); at others very few parents turned up,few views were expressed and the meeting fizzled out (more likely). My advice is go to the meeting, at the very least you will see the Appeal Panel members in advance. Don't be afraid to speak out if you believe the school is capable of admitting extra children although this can be come quite a technical argument and school cases for not admitting additional children can be quite intimidating.  You won't affect your individual chances by making the case that more children in general can be admitted. In Medway where Appeal Panel members were used to the process, they engaged in quite vigorous and challenging questioning of the Admission Authority. One would expect that KCC panellists will have been trained to carry out similar rigorous questioning. However, where there is no Group Appeal  (all KCC Appeal Panels up to now), questioning on prejudice is required to take place in every appeal and can be quite perfunctory and formulaic, so there does need to be a  change of approach.   One of the strongest arguments year on year comes from looking at the numbers in older year groups. If the school can manage these, then why shouldn't it manage the same number again. -------- This is a new article on a new theme and I am very happy to accept suggestions and ideas to improve it.

• I am happy to provide a consultation in the privacy of your own home, provided I believe I can be of assistance. For appeals, the service I provide includes an explanation of the process, collecting information, advising on options (there are often more than parents have considered), preparation of a unique appeal letter to suit your individual case, together with, and essentially, a final preparation for the appeal hearing by phone. A fixed quotation on cost for this service will be provided on request, starting at £400 depending on complexity and location.
• I will be arranging Secondary school appeal consultations from Mid February, although you may need to wait until the beginning of March if you don't know whether you are going to be accepted at the relevant school. Please send outline details to me via the contact me page. Information I need to assess if I can help you varies according to the school concerned, but for grammar schools this may include:

1. Your child's individual test scores (available from the primary school in Kent)
2. Was there a Kent headteacher assessment (available from the primary school), or a Medway Review (details sent with your decision)?
3. The town or village where you live;
4. Your child's current school;
5. Schools you are considering;
6. Any other relevant factors;
7. A contact telephone number.

For infant class appeals, please supply me with any reason you are aware of that could overcome Infant Class Legislation (see Primary page)

I will get back to you as soon as possible by phone or email to discuss possibilities and provide preliminary advice where appropriate.

• I am also available at other times of the year for consultations on matters relating to admissions and appeals, the fee being appropriate to the work to be carried out, but will be significantly less if it is a stand alone meeting.

• All communications are confidential, unless you authorise me otherwise.

Please note that my telephone consultation service is suspended for secondary school appeals until after the peak appeal period.

Please note also that because of pressure of work, and my own areas of expertise, I am only able to support families for Kent and Medway schools, who live in the Kent and Medway Local Authority areas (excluding Bexley and Bromley I am afraid). Howevre, if you are thinking of relocating to Kent or Medway, please feel free to enquire about my telephone consultation service to see if I can assist. 

I have had a very few cases where the Contact Me page link has apparently not worked, so if you have not had a reply after 48 hours, please send me a brief email directly to confirm your enquiry. 

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