11 Plus Exams Forum

I know this part of the Forum is for Grammar schools but I'd thought ask this question anyway. My son sat the KES (Edgbaston, B'ham) entrance exam last week (12th Jan 2007) and has now been called for interview for a Scholarship/Assisted place next Tuesday (23rd Jan). I was told he had done very well and that the interview will last 15 minutes. Does anyone have any tips or pointers for this interview - I'm sure they'll ask as to why he wants to go there etc but I'd very much like to know if they will be asking further academic-related questions or will it be a fairly informal chat?

We're of course nervously awaiting the outcome of the KE/Bishop Vesey/Handsworth Grammar school places on March 1st.

Thanks

Dr Jalal

Hi Dr Jalal,

My son had an interview last year and was awarded a scholarship.

The interview was with the Head and one other master.

I recall that it's all very friendly and the questions are not directly academic but are tend to be related to things like the child's outside interests, current affairs, hobbies or holidays etc.

They will often ask a question about a topic or article in the National Press and what the child thinks about it. They will also probably ask something about why they want to go to KES; what they like about it and what other schools they have applied to.

Although they ask the top performing boys for an interview, I'm not necessarily sure they aware the scholarships (or specifically the value of the scholarships) on the performance in interview or ability. I suspect they are trying to make a judgement call on what incentive they need to make to make the parents choose KES over say one of the KE Grammars.

Parents of children already in the private sector may be disadvantaged in this respect.

Your son has done well - it's nice to have a backstop.

Hi Ken
Is it right to assume that all children who have passed the exam are interviewed or those just seeking scholarships ?

Is it a standard practice for KES to ask for a report from the child's primary school before the results or interviews ?

Many Thanks!

Hi Marg,

Based on previous year I don't believe they interview all those who have passed - just those that are scholarship candidates or who are borderline for a pass. They tell you when they send the interview details which category you are in.

KES do inteview quite a lot of boys though.

Not really sure about the the Headmaster report - it may be standard practice. I can't recall.

marg wrote: Is it a standard practice for KES to ask for a report from the child's primary school before the results or interviews ?

[Not KenR here BTW]
Before the test in our case.

Hi Dibble,

I know that our reference from the Head was taken up before the test too as she confirmed this when I mentioned my son wouldn't be in school on 12 Jan.

Well my son managed to get through the KES interview without any problems. The Chief Master was very welcoming and made my son feel very much at home. The interview was more of an informal chat and mainly dealt with general themes of school, interests and achievements. The outcome will be posted on Friday 9th, so fingers crossed. My son seems very keen on going to KES and has requested us to seriously consider the school if he doesn't get a place at KEG (Camp Hill & Aston), and even if he manages to secure a place at Handsworth Grammar or Bishop Vesey....but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

Anyway thanks to KenR for his invaluable tips for the interview.

Any chance of sharing the experience of the exams from November Dr Jalal. What were they like, were they difficult? what was in the papers. Any help is appreciated on the KEG tests sat in November.

Share_Info wrote:Any chance of sharing the experience of the exams from November Dr Jalal. What were they like, were they difficult? what was in the papers. Any help is appreciated on the KEG tests sat in November.

They're difficult, but they are difficult for every candidate and the 'pass' mark is correspondingly lower.

I much prefer this as, it seems, bright candidates can make a few silly mistakes yet still come back by answering more (or more difficult) questions overall.

I'm very new here but I know much of what you're asking about has been covered before in this group and you can get lots of information (and perhaps decide who to trust :-) by searching past messages.

I'm very happy to chat but if you descibed what sort of situation you're in and what your particular concerns are then that might save me typing lots of stuff that just doesn't interest you. I'm imagining that you're thinking about entering a child for a future test? But I'm not even really sure of that from what you're written.