Secondary school placement appeal

Minstadave said:
None of them around our way give a significant discount with a scholarship, they're mostly just extra tuition/opportunities.
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Some academic scholarships can be stuff like 25% off fees with maybe a hand full of 100% free places, sometimes there will be music or sports scholarships too.

Though there tends to often be support for parents who can't afford fees in addition to the merit-based stuff, they kinda need to have this too in order to maintain charity status.
 
Wasn't there some black celebrity paying for young people of colour to have a private education? All this talk of moving house, just black `em up, job sorted :)

But seriously, I fully share parent's concerns about finding a decent school in the UK, especially in the inner cities outside the private sector, the tales the wife comes home with from some schools are terrifying, she now says that what were once claimed by her as wild exaggerations by me about the state of schools and teachers, were far too comlementary. Good luck!
 
Chris Wilson said:
Wasn't there some black celebrity paying for young people of colour to have a private education? All this talk of moving house, just black `em up, job sorted :)

But seriously, I fully share parent's concerns about finding a decent school in the UK, especially in the inner cities outside the private sector, the tales the wife comes home with from some schools are terrifying, she now says that what were once claimed by her as wild exaggerations by me about the state of schools and teachers, were far too comlementary. Good luck!
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Imagine typing these words. Ho hum.

Is your wife in school?
 
AHarvey said:
Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone has been through a secondary school placement appeal for one of their children and would share their experiences of it?

We've just had the date through for our daughters and although we have prepared for it, you can't be too prepared.

The main thing we're going on is the school that she wants to go to is a better-performing school than the local one she's been assigned too and she's very academic, SATs scores show she's at least 3 years ahead of where she should be and she's wanted to be a vet since she was 3, so we're really pushing that the school we want has an advanced performance program and the school we've been given, although my wife and I both attended has gone down the toilet over the last 10 years. There was a massive student fight while the OFSTED inspector was there... says it all really :D
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Your appeal will fail, those are not valid grounds for appeal over a placement.
 
Richie said:
Every child is a superstar protege in the eyes of their parents TBH...
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Not at all, my middle child isn't academic, everything has been a struggle, he's not slow/dumb, just but just isn't really interested.He's 8, finally got him into reading, we're doing handwriting practice at home etc, but he's just very laid back about everything
 
Ripper said:
I’m in charge of admissions at my school and run the appeals. Sorry, but if it’s full I don’t expect you’ll get a place based on what you’ve put there. There will be others appealing too with far more distressing circumstances than your own which an appeals panel will likely sympathise with more.

I would really recommend getting your daughter prepared for the other school. You could join a waiting list and may get a place eventually when someone else leaves, but this may take a while.
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That is the worry, we know people have got in in previous years using the same approach we are, however, this year it just rammed with applications due to child numbers, it's crazy
 
AHarvey said:
Really, because we have a headmistress at the current school and a governor at the new school that have both said that they've seen people get in on that.
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You may have a very slim chance if the schools she has been offered has absolutely appalling academic outcomes ie hardly any kids go to sixth form etc. I really wouldn’t hold you breath though only ~20% of appeals are successfully and most of those relate to mistakes in the application of the process or special educational needs. You would be better of preparing for your daughter to go to the offered school and consider the appeal a bonus the vast majority of people are disappointed.
 
Quartz said:
Have you considered private education? If she's as clever as you say she might get a bursary or scholarship. Gresham's, for instance is in North Norfolk. Many private schools are generous with scholarships and bursaries.
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That's the route we went down. Some very generous bursaries available for kids that perform well in the entrance exams.
 
Maybe I’ll be more bothered at the time I have kids, but I kind of don’t care too much what a most likely out-of-date ‘snapshot’ assessment makes of a school? It’s probably all ‘fake it for the assessment’ rubbish - and I feel it’s still that even the best schools could be chock full of bullies or have a rubbish teacher that gets swapped in etc...

More important that you give the child a boost at home regardless, no? Then it’s a complete lottery with what the other kids and parents are like. There are probably great kids and parents at all schools. Obviously you limit the risk of bad apples with a better catchment area, but bad apples are part of life. I definitely don’t think I’d move area specifically for a school.

Meh - I went to a so-so school and did OK in the end *shrug*

Private school fees are absolutely insane, I’d love my children to have the best but I’m not sure I could justify the expense. What I really do like at private schools is the emphasis on sports / exercise / music. Alas, plenty of potential to have all children involved with that with a bit of effort.
 
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Nitefly said:
Maybe I’ll be more bothered at the time I have kids, but I kind of don’t care too much what a most likely out-of-date ‘snapshot’ assessment makes of a school? It’s probably all ‘fake it for the assessment’ rubbish - and I feel it’s still that even the best schools could be chock full of bullies or have a rubbish teacher that gets swapped in etc...
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Nah, speak to any teacher re: the differences in teaching say a bottom set class vs a top set class in an average state school... if you've got a bad school that's half full of those bottom set types you could have all sorts of disruptions and conversely a top performing school full of mostly those top set types will generally be less hassle.

In some schools they have teachers assigned to drive to kids' houses because they haven't turned up for their GCSE exams, the parents haven't been interested enough to know the timetable and the parents then have to try and persuade the kids to come to school and at least attempt to write something in the exams so as to try and scrape a passing grade in a couple of them.

If you've got a larger number of people like that you'll have plenty more issues with disruption and just a bigger population of kids that are further behind. Even if you have separate sets your top set in a bad school could be full of people who would be middle set in an average school so can't really go at the same pace.
 
Quartz said:
Have you considered private education? If she's as clever as you say she might get a bursary or scholarship. Gresham's, for instance is in North Norfolk. Many private schools are generous with scholarships and bursaries.
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Didn't really think of it before but lowering the fees or scrapping it completely for bright sparks to attend is another way to increase the value for the ones that are paying the 5+ figures a year.

And pad the scores but still, there is a gigantic difference in opportunity between being in a class of desk carvers and ones who are able to engage in lessons.
 
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