My ds unexpectedly scored 117 and we were thinking about going for a selection review. He is very bright, but quiet and suffers from anxiety. He was badly bullied and humiliated during year 5. He is at an out of county (just) primary. I have contacted his HT who has refused to support him. The reasons being 1) They are out of county so never complete the forms, 2) His past school reports say he is within 'age related expectations', 3) His current year 6 teacher can't predict his end of year results and is reluctant to say he is working at 'greater depth', 4) They have a policy of only supporting those that have missed by 1 mark and will write a supporting letter in these cases only.
Unsurprisingly, they were not willing to write anything about the bullying (as it reflects badly on them). I have met with the SENCO in the past regarding the bullying and wider anxiety, which we (at home and at school) are monitoring and self managing. I have no written evidence of this though.
Is there any point in going for a selection review without school support or evidence of his anxiety? Is it worth asking the SENCO for a letter regarding his anxiety? Doubt we will get one though.
Any advice will be gratefully received!

Welcome.

There are some points to consider for a Review in Bucks. https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... aneous#e33
You need to scroll down to point E33.

117 is quite a reasonable score, but to be honest, if the only evidence you have is of age-related expectations, then a review is going to be very, very difficult.
There is no face to face meeting with the panel, so no opportunity to discuss the issues you raise.

_________________
Etienne

Thanks Etienne.

All we have is his end of year school reports which are very sparse with general statements about topics covered and not very personal to him. No results of tests other than his SATS at end of year 2.

Trouble is he's a very quiet child who never puts his hand up (despite knowing the answer) and he isn't 'outgoing' enough to get noticed by the teachers. They just don't seem aware of his ability or potential.

It seems we have good extenuating circumstances (if I can get the evidence), but not the academic. It's the academic evidence from the school that does it at selection review isn't it? What I write wouldn't count for anything I guess?

You could perhaps try an appeal where there would be an opportunity to talk things through with the panel.

You would have until the summer term to gather evidence.

Write to the headteacher now, thanking him for meeting you, and saying that you have understood that:
• The school is out of county so never complete the review forms
• They have a policy of only supporting those that have missed by 1 mark and will write a supporting letter in these cases only.
• His current year 6 teacher can't predict his end of year results

Keep a copy of your letter and of any response.

See if the Senco will give you a letter.

If there are any further incidents, such as bullying, complain to the school in writing so that you have a written record.

If you can afford it, you might consider the possibility of getting an educational psychologist to assess your son to see if he is of grammar school ability.
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... ication#b3

I'm not suggesting any of this would necessarily work, but at least you might have some evidence for a panel.

_________________
Etienne

Thanks Etienne.

It's disappointing that the school won't support us (and I'm feeling rather emotional and angry about this too), but I will contact the SENCO and request a letter anyway. This could be useful for whichever school he goes to.

I'm reluctant to go down the appeal route as I don't think either my ds or I could handle it. My mental health has been affected by managing his anxiety and the horrendous bullying at school and I just can't face the prospect of making a case to a panel. I'm much more comfortable with the idea of putting something together, sending it off and forgetting about it!

Unfortunately an assessment from an educational psychologist is not an option for us financially.

We are still thinking all this over, but are likely to either go for a selection review and expect the worse, or do nothing and hope that he gets a place at our nearest comp (which happens to be oversubscribed) and doesn't end up at an underperforming school elsewhere.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

_________________
Etienne

Thank you for your time.

A quick question. I've read elsewhere on this forum that you can submit the selection review online, but I can't find this on the BCC website. I only find a 'contact us' form. We are out of county if that makes a difference.

Anyone able to post the link or direct me to the right place?

If we do go for review we will have to do it online. The school is now closed for half term and I've had no response from the SENCO to date, so will have no time to post it.

Thanks.

I believe this is the link https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/edu ... on-review/

Apologies, but I have a last minute Selection Review issue!

The SENCO hadn't provided the requested letter so we submitted the review yesterday without this and included my email messages to the school as evidence of the bullying and anxiety.

However, she has just sent a supporting email! Should I send this separately or just leave it now?

The email plays down the anxiety and doesn't mention the bullying at all so I don't know how much use it would be anyway. On the other hand, it does provide me with proper evidence of the anxiety which might hold up better than my emails?

Thank you to everyone on this forum. It has been really informative.