Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

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semb
Posts: 123
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:41 pm

Re: Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

Post by semb »

Hi all

killinghall - your regular regime sounds good, ours is a bit more hit and miss depending on what else is happening.

sandra - I think it is much too early to be worried. With 7 months to go his Maths and NVR sound on track. I would imagine he'll continue to improve in all areas. When you say he's doing the CGP books do you mean the study, practice or test books? The study books give tips. The main thing I've found with comprehension is vocabulary and speed. If Dd doesn't know what some words mean, she can't easily answer the comprehension questions. If she reads too quickly she might miss a critical word that changes the whole meaning or implication.

At the moment I'm not focusing on time so am telling her to read slowly so that she doesn't miss key words. Regarding the vocab, I think the only remedy is to read, read, read, especially challenging books that are rich in the tougher vocab. Wish I knew some shortcuts, but I can't think of any other way round this. Does your DS like to read?
Aethel
Posts: 1190
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 6:24 pm

Re: Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

Post by Aethel »

Ahhh. DD is getting a bit bored of the verbal reasoning stuff, we only got a half session done this weekend, so resorted to stealth anagrams and some guided reading. I really don't want to turn her off doing it, it's been pretty good up until now...

What are you guys doing with regard to screen time? DD loves minecraft videos (along with every other kid in the UK it seems!) but she has a tamagotchi style game she likes to sign into most days to "feed" the pets, I was persuaded to let her join it by a friend of ours but am not especially convinced it's a great game....
Aethel
Posts: 1190
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 6:24 pm

Re: Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

Post by Aethel »

Hey, anyone still there? I've booked DD in for a mock test in June, but I'm more concerned that it's not so much the work that will be an issue as the stress of performance. She's frustrated that the tutored kids at school are constantly discussing their tutoring homework and is feeling bored of this and worried that by home-working she will lose out. Argh. It's the anxiety component that's annoying as it's so unnecessary.
I wish I could make it less stressful for her.
semb
Posts: 123
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:41 pm

Re: Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

Post by semb »

Aethel wrote:Hey, anyone still there? I've booked DD in for a mock test in June, but I'm more concerned that it's not so much the work that will be an issue as the stress of performance. She's frustrated that the tutored kids at school are constantly discussing their tutoring homework and is feeling bored of this and worried that by home-working she will lose out. Argh. It's the anxiety component that's annoying as it's so unnecessary.
I wish I could make it less stressful for her.
Hi there,
I know what you mean about kids discussing their tutoring in the playground - it's worked the other way for use though - Dd doesn't moan about me asking her to do some when she knows other kids are doing work too. I'm trying to be relaxed about it to counter any playground induced stress. We had a complete break over half term as Dd wasn't well, then we've had a disrupted couple of weeks with one thing and another, so only really back to it this weekend. The break seems to have done Dd good though, and she actually chose to do some NVR. (Generally she much prefers VR and English, is fine with Maths but dislikes NVR).

I think booking your Dd in for a mock is a good thing - it's to help her gain confidence in the performance so she doesn't feel so stressed. And in a way I think you could reassure her that working with you one to one at home is better as you can give her your undivided attention, unlike kids going to the big tutoring centres.

I've booked Dd an early mock in April - I've told her to expect to find it tough as she hasn't done anything to time yet - it's to give us a benchmark from which to improve time-wise.....really hoping it doesn't just stress her out!
killinghall
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:25 pm

Re: Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

Post by killinghall »

What mocks are you guys going for? The only one I know of is the Susan Daughtery set in Winnersh. I wasn't sure whether it would be worth it or not (4 exams for £200)
semb wrote:
Aethel wrote:Hey, anyone still there? I've booked DD in for a mock test in June, but I'm more concerned that it's not so much the work that will be an issue as the stress of performance. She's frustrated that the tutored kids at school are constantly discussing their tutoring homework and is feeling bored of this and worried that by home-working she will lose out. Argh. It's the anxiety component that's annoying as it's so unnecessary.
I wish I could make it less stressful for her.
Hi there,
I know what you mean about kids discussing their tutoring in the playground - it's worked the other way for use though - Dd doesn't moan about me asking her to do some when she knows other kids are doing work too. I'm trying to be relaxed about it to counter any playground induced stress. We had a complete break over half term as Dd wasn't well, then we've had a disrupted couple of weeks with one thing and another, so only really back to it this weekend. The break seems to have done Dd good though, and she actually chose to do some NVR. (Generally she much prefers VR and English, is fine with Maths but dislikes NVR).

I think booking your Dd in for a mock is a good thing - it's to help her gain confidence in the performance so she doesn't feel so stressed. And in a way I think you could reassure her that working with you one to one at home is better as you can give her your undivided attention, unlike kids going to the big tutoring centres.

I've booked Dd an early mock in April - I've told her to expect to find it tough as she hasn't done anything to time yet - it's to give us a benchmark from which to improve time-wise.....really hoping it doesn't just stress her out!
Aethel
Posts: 1190
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 6:24 pm

Re: Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

Post by Aethel »

We booked elevenplusexam dot co dot uk : they have GL mocks in Harrow but also CEM type in High Wycombe. The mock I've booked DD for is £68 and includes two 45 min papers and then a sort of "debrief" session where they go through some of the questions with the DC. We picked that one because one of DD's friends is sitting it also.

We'll see how that one goes: I'm hoping it will give us an idea of how she's doing without being too intimidating....
Aethel
Posts: 1190
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 6:24 pm

Re: Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

Post by Aethel »

So.... We got a set of CEM mock papers and I timed DD on the first paper only in the book (one 45 min test, but divided up into sections of 3 / 4 / 5 /10 minutes like the real one.
It was interesting to see how it worked as I didn't realise how broken up the test paper is that way, so sections such as Comprehension where she is v quick, would usually gove her extra time in the Maths bit... But the broken up ness of the sections meant she had to work hard to get the 15 short maths qs answered in 5 mins. And the synonyms tables were quick. I guess it's simpler to throw your child at a tutor along with a bunch of fifties.... She did ok but it does make me nervous that the tutored kids are getting a lot more practice in....
Aethel
Posts: 1190
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 6:24 pm

Re: Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

Post by Aethel »

Anyone about? How are things going?
workingmom
Posts: 112
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 10:47 am

Re: Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

Post by workingmom »

Hi

My girl is in year 5 currently and shall be trying for Slough schools this year.

My daughter is struggling with shuffled sentences.

Are they part of every CEM exam ?

Are there any books / rules that I can use which might help her ?
rashminder12
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:46 pm

Re: Anyone fancy a 2016 support thread for Berkshire CEM?

Post by rashminder12 »

Hi all,
My DS is also preparing for Bekshire school, Reading Grammar school for boys and also for Slough consortarium. My DS is in Y4 at the moment and will be sitting for exam in September 2017.

Thanks for all of yours advise on this thread and sharing your experience. I am home tutoring at the moment. Using AEpublication books and bond books for practice VR, NVR, Math and English..

Any suggestion or advise will be appreciated.
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