1. Helpful Information to Support Your Secondary School Appeal

2. General Advice
Don’t panic. You will not get an earlier appeal or a better hearing by sending in your case early. Prepare fully!
CONTACT THE SCHOOLS YOU WANT TO APPEAL TO IN ORDER TO ENSURE YOU GET THE RIGHT INFORMATION. Every school handles their appeals in their own way.
Accept the school place you have been offered as you can always reject it later on if you manage to get another school place you prefer more. It is better to have a school place than no school place at all.

3. General Advice
Get on the Waiting List of every school you would rather your child go to.
If you are not familiar with the school you have been offered make an appointment to visit during the school day. If you have particular questions or concerns ask to meet with a member of staff to discuss these. Visit with an open mind.
Try to be positive about the school you have been given even if that is difficult, as your child may have to attend there if you cannot get another place in a different school.

4. General Advice
Be realistic: accept that the majority of appeals are not successful –especially if no score is above the 106 threshold BUT some appeals are and you want to give your child every possible opportunity For example, in 2015: Chatham and Clarendon accepted 33 out of the 146 appeals heard Dane Court accepted 15 out of 54 appeals heard St Georges accepted 13 out of 68 appeals heard Understand that no two appeals are the same – or even similar really. It can help though to talk to someone who has been through it before.

5. High School to High School (or Grammar to Grammar)
First, get on the waiting list. Some places will become available. The waiting list is in order of the oversubscription criteria on the school website The school will present their case for why they cannot take extra children and why it would be bad for the school if they had to. You present your reasons for why your child must go to this school particularly and why it would be bad for your child if they had to go to a different school. You must support your case with evidence. The panel listen to both cases, ask questions and then decide which case is stronger. It is very important to think of all the issues that show how only the school you are appealing for can meet your child’s needs. It is not enough to say it is a good school - all parents want that for their children.

6. High School to High School
It is best to split this into two parts:
1. Why this school would be the right one for your child and
2. Why it would be difficult for your child if they did not go to this school.
You can find lots of information from the school prospectus and Ofsted report that shows what is school is good (or not so good) at. How does this fit with your child specifically?
It’s unlikely that journey time will be a useful factor
Specialist aspects of the curriculum for a school that you can prove suit your child might help
Social, emotional or medical aspects are the most likely to be relevant to a panel.

7. Grammar School Appeals
There are three main situations with regard to grammar school appeals:
1) The child has not passed the eleven plus and there are spaces available;
2) The child has passed the eleven plus and the school is full;
3) The child has not passed the eleven plus and the school is full.

8. What is a Grammar Appeal?
You are trying to prove that your child shouldn’t go to the school they have been given because it’s the wrong educational environment for them – you think they should go to a grammar school because it best suits their academic ability. You have to prove it. Whether a school has an available place OR NOT they have to take your child if an appeal panel agrees with you. If the school is full then your reason for them taking your child must be considered more important than their argument for why they shouldn’t.

9. Are there Reasons your Child didn’t Pass the Kent Test?
Were there any relevant factors that could have affected the Kent Test result that you didn’t report before? Medical conditions, family circumstances?
This would be particularly relevant if scores from Year 5 suggest your child was at grammar school level or if they were close to the cut off scores.

10. Proof that your child is at Grammar School Level
The academic scores your child achieves at school at the time of the appeal. Ultimately a panel will need to see that these are at grammar school level at the time of your appeal. Year 6 scores are therefore incredibly important for this. How close were their marks in the original Kent Test?

11. Appeals Panel
Ultimately you will need to speak to an appeals panel to explain your case. This panel will already have read any supporting evidence and letters you send in.
The panel will also have your child’s Kent Test Scores and any Headteacher’s Appeal Report.
In Kent, appeals are heard before an Independent Appeal Panel comprising three panellists (except at Simon Langton Boys Grammar that normally uses five panellists).
All panellists are required to have been trained and usually have a mix of members with educational experience and those with none

12. Liaise Regularly
Upton will need to provide a headteacher’s reference for your child.
While we know your child and can report their educational achievements and scores, we won’t necessarily know other things that you think would help your appeal. By liaising with us often we can ensure that our reference letter supports your appeal more specifically. Be aware that we can only comment on things we are aware of and agree with.
Make sure this happens in plenty of time. A good reference can take a long time to craft.

13. Other Aspects
Is it worth getting letters of support from other organisations – youth clubs, Brownies, music teachers etc?
It shouldn’t be – a Grammar appeal particularly is about education. However, an appeals panel is made of human beings, not robots. Some member have experience in education; some do not and can be volunteers.
If for example, your child is a strong musician and music provision at their allocated school is poor then it may add something to an appeal, however small. Or if a reference supports your assertion that your child has the ‘grammar school ethos’ this can only add to an appeal.
Remember though, for a grammar school appeal you must be able to prove Grammar School level academic ability

14. Finally If you are going to appeal then take it seriously:
Prepare well
Rehearse what you will say (someone can speak for you if needed)
Make sure you have proof
Use specialist knowledge where it is available.

15. Helpful Links https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeals/general
ACE ‘Appealing for a School’