13 Oct Selection Review Process for Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools
Maximizing Your Child’s Chances with a Comprehensive Educational Assessment
The Selection Review process is an important opportunity for parents whose children did not achieve the qualifying score of 121 on the Secondary Transfer Test to explain why their child should still be considered for a Buckinghamshire grammar school. This process is crucial for many families, especially when unforeseen circumstances affected their child’s performance on the test day. However, there’s a powerful tool that parents can use to strengthen their case significantly: a Comprehensive Educational Assessment.
This article will explore the details of the Selection Review process, how a Comprehensive Educational Assessment can help improve the chances of success, and why it should be considered a key element both before and after the eleven plus test.
Understanding the Selection Review Process for Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools
A Selection Review allows you to present a written case to a Selection Review Panel (SRP) explaining why your child is suitable for a grammar school despite not reaching the qualifying score of 121 in the Secondary Transfer Test. If successful, your child will be considered qualified for a Buckinghamshire grammar school in the same way as if they had achieved the required score.
The Selection Review Process consists of two grammar school headteachers and one primary school headteacher, ensuring that educators with experience and understanding of children’s development make the decision. The SRP may also include a specialist, such as an Educational Psychologist, if your case includes a specialist report—another reason why a Comprehensive Educational Assessment can play a critical role.
Who is likely to succeed at Selection Review?
Most successful Selection Reviews are for children who scored between 110-120 in the test. Children with lower scores are less likely to succeed, but exceptions can be made in cases where strong academic evidence and mitigating circumstances are presented.
Role of a Comprehensive Educational Assessment in the Selection Review Process
A Comprehensive Educational Assessment can be a game-changer during the Selection Review process for several reasons. This assessment, conducted by an independent and accredited educational psychologist, goes far beyond the typical school reports and provides a detailed understanding of your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
Here’s how it helps:
Uncovering Undiagnosed Learning Issues
The assessment can identify undiagnosed conditions such as ADHD, ASD, anxiety, or dyslexia, which may have significantly impacted your child’s performance in the test. Even if your child was not previously diagnosed, discovering these conditions post-test can explain why they scored lower than expected.
Supporting Extra Time and Adjustments for Future Tests
If you conduct this assessment before your child takes the test, the results could qualify your child for up to 25% extra time, regardless of what the school recommends. This extra time can be essential for students who process information more slowly or have anxiety-related issues. The assessment provides formal documentation that can support an application for reasonable adjustments, maximizing your child’s potential to succeed.
Strengthening Academic Evidence
A Comprehensive Educational Assessment provides detailed academic evidence that can further substantiate the Headteacher’s Selection Review Summary Sheet. The SRP prioritizes academic capability in their decision-making, and an independent report that highlights your child’s specific learning needs, cognitive strengths, and overall potential can add significant weight to your case.
Documenting Emotional or Psychological Impact
The Selection Review Process is interested in extenuating circumstances that could have affected your child’s test performance. The Comprehensive Educational Assessment not only identifies cognitive or learning challenges but also addresses emotional issues such as test anxiety or recent family trauma. This comprehensive insight can substantiate claims about why your child did not perform as expected.
Reasons to get a Comprehensive Educational Assessment for the Buckinghamshire Grammar School Selection Review Process
- Uncover undiagnosed learning difficulties such as ADHD or dyslexia
- Help secure extra time or accommodations for the test
- Provide detailed academic evidence to strengthen the review case
- Document emotional or psychological factors affecting test performance
- Strengthen appeals with third-party evidence
- Offer independent, unbiased educational insights
- Support the headteacher’s recommendation with additional data
- Highlight specific learning strengths for grammar school suitability
- Present mitigating circumstances with evidence
- Plan future academic support based on the assessment
Academic Evidence and the Selection Review Panel
The key to a successful Selection Review is presenting strong academic evidence that shows your child is working at the level of a typical grammar school pupil. A Comprehensive Educational Assessment provides a detailed analysis of your child’s learning profile, including their strengths and areas of difficulty, adding depth to the information supplied by school reports and teacher recommendations.
Key Academic Evidence Includes:
- Headteacher’s Selection Review Summary Sheet: The SRP values the headteacher’s insight into your child’s academic abilities and learning attitude. This form, completed by the headteacher, gives an up-to-date overview of your child’s school performance.
- Comprehensive Educational Assessment: This assessment offers an independent view of your child’s abilities, going beyond typical classroom observations and test results. It highlights specific areas where your child excels and provides evidence of their potential to succeed in a grammar school setting.
Exceptional Reasons for Not Qualifying
The SRP also considers exceptional reasons that explain why your child did not perform well on the Secondary Transfer Test. While extenuating circumstances are not enough to secure a successful Selection Review on their own, they can provide valuable context when combined with strong academic evidence.
Exceptional reasons include:
- A letter from a GP or hospital outlining an illness that impacted your child’s performance can support your case.
- Significant family events such as the death of a close family member or a recent house move can affect a child’s ability to concentrate during the test.
- For military families, a letter from an employer explaining a long-term parental absence, particularly for those serving in combat zones, could be important.
In these cases, a Comprehensive Educational Assessment can help to document the impact of these exceptional circumstances on your child’s academic performance or emotional well-being, adding credibility to your claim.
How to Submit a Selection Review Request
You must submit your Selection Review Request by 1 November if you received your child’s Secondary Transfer Test Score (STTS) on 11 October. The request involves two steps:
- Completing the Selection Review Request form on the Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools website.
- Submitting a detailed case outlining why your child would thrive in a grammar school, including academic evidence and any exceptional circumstances.
What you’ll need
- Your child’s Student ID number (found in the results email)
- Your child’s headteacher’s email address
- Any supporting documentation, such as a Educational Assessment and medical reports
Strengthening the Headteacher’s Recommendation
The headteacher’s recommendation plays a crucial role in the SRP’s decision. They can recommend your child as:
- Exceptionally able (very highly recommended)
- Very able (recommended without reservation)
- Recommended with reservation
- Not recommended for grammar school
The headteacher will also comment on your child’s attitude toward learning, describing whether they:
- Enjoy challenges and work independently
- Are consistently hardworking and reliable
- Have varied output
- Lack self-organization
If your child has faced challenges such as undiagnosed learning difficulties or emotional issues, a Comprehensive Educational Assessment can help substantiate the headteacher’s recommendation, or refute it if they recommond against Grammar School, providing a fuller picture of your child’s potential and academic ability.
What Happens If the Selection Review Is Successful?
If your child’s Selection Review is successful, they will be treated the same as a child who scored 121 or more on the Secondary Transfer Test. This means they will be considered for a place at a Buckinghamshire grammar school, provided your application meets the school’s admission rules.
What If the Selection Review Is Unsuccessful?
If your Selection Review is unsuccessful, your child will not qualify for a grammar school place. However, you can still lodge an Admission Appeal. The Independent Appeal Panel (IAP) will first assess whether the Selection Review process was fair, consistent, and objective. If they find it was not, you will have the chance to present further evidence, and a Comprehensive Educational Assessment from Global Education Testing can be a vital tool during this stage.
The Selection Review process offers a second chance for your child to gain entry to a Buckinghamshire grammar school. However, the importance of thorough preparation cannot be overstated. A Comprehensive Educational Assessment not only identifies undiagnosed conditions like ADHD, ASD, or anxiety but also provides the academic evidence that could strengthen your child’s case. Whether your child needs extra time for the test or a well-documented case for the Selection Review or appeals process, this assessment is an invaluable resource in ensuring your child receives the educational opportunities they deserve.
Alexander Bentley-Sutherland is the CEO of Global Education Testing, the leading provider of Learning Development Testing tailored specifically for the International and Private School community worldwide.