11 Plus Exams Forum

Last year did anyone get into Kendrick Grammar from outside designated area?

No.
There are more than enough catchment girls who qualify.

Since they introduced the designated area (for the current yr 9s) they have never needed to take girls from beyond it and I can't see that they ever will. There are lots of girls who scored above the cutoff and lived within the DA who didn't secure a place.

Many families have moved into catchment, some to allow younger sister/s to attend. Most parents have worked that one out.

I am not aware of data that says there are sufficient within catchment if you take out the families who have moved to fit in with the catchment policy. Perhaps the catchment should be much smaller, such as walking distance in heavy snow for small 11 year olds? Few secondaries are local in the same sense as primaries are. Still, none of this really matters, since it is so easy to fit in with the rules.

It would be nice if the FSM rule were extended so that any qualifying girl would be prioritised over the usual score-based list. At least Kendrick would not have to beg endlessly from parents who could probably cough up the £1k or so annual funding that FSM brings. The entry score list has little correlation with end performance after five or seven years anyway. So much for coaching-proof tests. If you have a naturally bright girl, do consider moving into catchment. It is a large area, and easily done. Many already have. Additionally you do not have to stay in catchment if it does not suit you, as some families have found.

For the current year 9s, only a couple were out of catchment and moved in.

For the current year 7s, the catchment rules changed so the address you are at when you apply for the test is the one they use to deem whether you are in catchment or not, so no point moving into catchment after the test. It doesn't help. The year 8 and 9s did have at option, but as I said only a couple actually did. There were at least 30 on the waiting list who were in catchment, and by the score/distance I would guess more.

The admissions criteria changed for the current year 7s and beyond, and any girl on fsm who qualifies will get admission. Your wish for that has already been granted.

If you are referring to CEM when you talk about tutor proof tests (I don't agree, and CEM don't claim them to be either) then it won't be obvious until the current year 7s reach year 11 before that the test was completely different. Year 8 and above sat GL vr and NVR.

So do they now take FSM girls out of catchment, Tinkers? Strange that that has not eased the school's increasing battle with funding. The catchment policy was a necessary political gesture, but has always been so wide that only a few families would get caught out. Being in catchment for June in year 5 is far easier than being there in October of year 6... so one could now qualify for another school catchment as well as Kendrick's.

The divergence between ability and test scores shows up pretty early on. There is consistent leakage at parents' consultations, backed up by written reports and staff predictions. Certainly by year 9 it is obvious even to the girls what their relative performance is, and the lack of correlation to the entry scoring.

It is also worth reminding ourselves that it is not necessarily girls with parents who invest a lot in gaining entry who do exceptionally well from being at Kendrick. Staff welcome naturally able girls, and appreciate those who are relaxed and enthusiastic about learning, rather than stressed about keeping up. It is a lovely school that would be wasted on anyone with an exams factory mentality. The girls would be better off emotionally and the parents probably get better results at some other grammars.

Hi Guys, am new to this. so please be gentle with me.

A few questions which I think will help everyone who is not in know how:

1 - When does the 1st set of results come out for Kendrick, Last year it was around the 22nd October?

2 - What is the minimum score to be even considered a place?

3 - What is the catchment area? or how can one check if you are in the catchment.

thank you

KD,

I'm not sure when the results come out this year, but the date you mention sounds about right. I couldn't find it Kendrick site.

The qualifying score last year was 110, previously it was 109. However the actual lowest score getting a place is higher, unless you are in one of the higher admissions criteria (previously looked after, daughters of crown servants, FSM etc)
Last year the cut off was 114.97 I think. It was definitely around the 115 mark.
Previous years, it was around 114 the year before and 113 the year before that.

Check here for designated area, there's a link for a map at the bottom
http://www.kendrick.reading.sch.uk/admi ... ated-area/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DD says most of the girls she interacts with(current yr7) were coached. Some of them were entered for CEM in Birmingham and Bucks to get a good practice for Kendrick test. Despite the coaching, mocks and multiple CEM exams almost all of the girls are bright and have a consistent high academic record. DD only moved up to the top sets in Year 6 so she doesn't have the experience of meeting girls from other schools for activities like Maths challenge. Many other girls seem to recognise each other as having met at those activities.

There are many in catchment girls on Waiting list. Some of them probably living very close to School. It is possible that Kendrick may reduce the catchment further over coming years.