KES Independent school in Birmingham - Advice for test

[ews147]

DIY mum, your son has an incredible memory - my son couldn't remember half of it, just said the comprehension was really interesting (usually hates them) and he enjoyed finishing the story!

The interview was a little more formal though with a few academic questions asked , but also lots of questions about hobbies, favourite subjects etc.

[DIY Mum]

Not being resident in B'ham at the time, I suppose acted in our favour - no formal questions were asked!!

It will be a different story second time round...if we choose to go down the ID route.

[tranquillity]

I can only offer DS's experience of taking this exam last year (he passed with a full bursary). His greatest academic strength is maths. His English is, well, astonishing, and often doesn't seem to me to bear much relationship to English as we know it. . . . who needs grammar? or spelling?. . . . although he has a great, if florid, vocabulary, and is nothing if not adventurous and innovative in using this vocab

In the KES maths paper there were three sections which got progressively harder: my ds said the final section was 'hard', though he managed to answer everything in the end.

He said that the verbal reasoning section had questions on it that he'd never seen before, so maybe practising a wide variety of those would be helpful. Again, he finished everything because he enjoyed the challenge of the new questions.

The English consisted of two sections, an essay and a comprehension. My ds doesn't like writing, at all, anything, ever, but surprisingly he did say he quite enjoyed this test. The essay question he answered was along the lines of ' you have gone back in time, describe where you are, and what happens next'. He went back to the Big Bang (scientific sort of mind!), and only wrote half a page - ! - he should have written around 2 apparently. The comprehension was based on a scientific text, which he also enjoyed, although again he ran out of time and didn't finish the last couple of questions. I can only conclude that the content must have been good enough to impress KES: there may not have been much of it, but what was there had potential.

At his interview the head asked him to describe a scientific principle using cups and balls - I've completely forgotten what this principle was, but, again, my ds enjoyed himself.

To prepare ds last year we'd done a few test papers for the other grammar exams in Birmingham, but the only prep we did specifically for KES were vocabulary games to improve his vocab. I'd expected him to fail because of the English papers, and his dislike of writing, so we didn't do much prep at all.

My ds is truly a whizz at maths, so it's worth improving your ds's maths as much as possible. My ds had done all the Y6 maths during year 5, but no more than that, but that was enough for the KES exam, apparently.

Oh, and speed is really important! The boys have to get a move on as soon as the exams start!

I'm not sure if this is terribly helpful, but nonetheless: Good luck

[no_ball]

is the KES exam easier than the KECH one?
Is IB not really suited for a scientific biased child? I am really unsure about OB being rolled out at KES.

[sherry_d]

Is IB not really suited for a scientific biased child? I am really unsure about OB being rolled out at KES.

I wouldnt say IB is not suited to a science oriented child unless they really struggle with the other subjects. IB is more rounded unlike A levels where you can choose just science or arts subjects but if the child is scientific and really struggles with writing and putting words together then A levels may be better suited. IB means you have to study 6 subjects and pick a module from each of the following.

1. Language A. The study of literature, including selected works from World
Literature, or combined with drama to form the 'Literature and Performance'
course available at SL only.
2. Language B. A second modern language, or Latin, or Classical Greek.
3. Individuals and Societies. Business and Management (HL only),
Economics, Geography, History, Information Technology in a Global Society
(ITGS) (SL only), Philosophy, Psychology (SL only), Classical Civilisation
(SL only).
4. Experimental Sciences. Biology, Chemistry, Design Technology, Physics.
5. Mathematics. Mathematics HL. Mathematics SL, Mathematical Studies SL
6. The Arts and Electives. Visual Arts, Music, Theatre Arts, or a second
subject from Groups 2, 3 or 4
In addition students are required to complete a course in Theory of Knowledge
(TOK), to write an Extended Essay of 4000 words on a subject of their choice,
and to complete a minimum of 150 hours of activities in the areas of Creativity,
Action and Service.

IB is a rigorous course and doesnt limit budding scientist in any way, you can see the destinations of boys at Kings Wimbledon here which is wholly IB http://www.kcs.org.uk/system/files/page ... 20date.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I did a lot of digging and spend time on a student forum of students studying IB and I ended up deciding it really wasnt suitable for my child so decided against a wholly IB school. It is a rigorous and yet demanding course and its not uncommon for kids to stay awake until early morning hours to meet the demands of the course.

Universities arent giving it the credit it deserves with Oxbridge demanding 40+ points which is only achieved by a very small propotion of IB students worldwide. I think last year it was just 67 pupils worldwide who achived the maximum of 45 points compared to about 35 000+ who had at least 3 A grades at A level in UK alone. On the positive side if your child scores high enough it really sets them apart unlike A levels which suffer from grade inflation.

Average children are probably best served by GCSE and A levels until such a time when universities give enough credit to IB. It is easier to get 3 A levels than anywhere near 40 IBpoints and so you need to know your child and decide what may be best for them.

Another main advantage of IB I forgot to mention esp now when students are scrambling for places at Univeristies is that the results come out quite early on in July. It was the 5th this year so the students who miss their offer points have time to negotiate and avoid the stampede and mad rush that everyone else has end of August.

I dont know much about KES apart from that its is a fantastic school from what I read here. I think if you have a science child and they are clever enough to get into KES then you shouldn't really be worried about how they would cope with IB. The only schools that concern me are mediocre schools just jumping on the band wagon to do IB because its the next best thing. They may really be doing those kids a disfavour.

[ews147]

is the KES exam easier than the KECH one?
Is IB not really suited for a scientific biased child? I am really unsure about OB being rolled out at KES.

I'm not sure if it is easier to pass kes than the KECH test(esp if bursary is required), however, the children do generally seem to enjoy it more - though this maybe more to do with the way the day(and test) is structured;lots of activities are laid on and there is every effort made to ensure the kids are fairly relaxed. The test itself is structured in three clear parts.The kech test does have a far more pressurised feel to it, with pace and speed being characterised by lots of difficult 8 minute tests.However, my understanding is that candidates are not expected to gain anywhere near 100% of the marks to garuntee a place(more likely in the region of 65 - 70%. My son did gain places at both schools, but said he definitely preferred the kes test to kech.

[no_ball]

Many thanks, is that 60-70% for KES or KEcH?

[BB248]

KES easier than KECH?? Ironically, in some ways the independent school exams are more accessible to, if not exactly easier for, state educated kids than the grammar in that they examine, basically, English & Maths, or Literacy & Numeracy, as I'm constantly reminded to call them. At least these are the subjects that all kids spend their school days studying. NVR, VR, etc don't appear on the National Curriculum, as far as I am aware, and so may require some additional input from parents / tutor / indie prep school. Cloze tests also aren't something my DC have ever come across at school.

For some parents this alone made them feel less daunting for DC, and the more laid back day with less numbers taking the tests compounded this. Also if you find yourself suddenly needing to consider B'ham secondary schools, way after all local residents have filled in forms / done open days etc, the other advantage is that the exams are several months later!! Oh, and they are happy to give tours outside of open days - at least the girls' indies were. All this accommodating of a family's needs can make them seem more achievable, somehow.

fm or KenR would be able to tell on a more academic level about the relative merits of each exam.

[ews147]

no ball - 65 - 70% is for kech (or that's what I have gleaned from kenr's extensive data

[DIY Mum]

Both of the exams are testing different things.

For example, KES doesn't have a NVR section but does have VR. Comprehension is not a multiple choice format, whereas KE exams have been (so far). There's also no composition for KE exams.

The Maths is difficult in both but KEG's exam is definitely more time pressured (take a look at the sticky and you'll see why).

Although there are no past papers available for the KES exam, I personally feel that the KES exam is mentally easier to prepare for. We certainly spent less time preparing for it as it was one of our last exams (two solid weeks in Dec devoted for composition and vr).

What is annoying though, that after the preparation, you're not told exactly their results (if they pass), so you can't draw any conclusions as to how they really performed in certain areas.

I would love to know how DS performed in KEGs for example, eventhough he passed for KECH. I did get some feedback from KES however and although, they stated that he narrowly missed an AP- it's annoying that we don't receive their scores.