Early date for B'ham GS exams 2012

[DenDe]

I actually found with my own children last year that the break over the summer did them good. They showed much better results in practice tests after the holiday than ones done before. I don't think the early test will be a bad thing at all.

With 2 DC still to put through the 11+ I welcome the new system. I understand that there will be no guarantees with the October results but I think parents will be able to make a much more infomed choice about which schools to put on the form.

[um]

With all this talk of getting results early, I really want ds2's results now...spare a thought for us parents who are being kept completely in the dark until 1 March.

[moseleymum]

In the past you could let the kids relax and enjoy themselves over the summer holidays and come back refreshed to put in a final effort through Sep and Oct. I don't suppose that will happen now, kids will be kept working right through.

It's bad news for tutors too - neither of the ones we used worked through the summer holidays, that will have to change! It will also increase the gap between children that are tutored or prepped by parents and those who think a bright child should be able to get into GS on their own merits - they'll be coming at it after 6 weeks off and completely rusty, the tutored/DIYed kids will have been working all summer.

Mike

I agree. Kids should be given a chance to relax over the summer. That seems unlikely now.

Also, there is only going to be a short time, just a few weeks, from the end of Ramadan and before the exam. Some kids will choose to fast for long periods during the key time that they need to work.

[UmSusu]

Although there are inevitably going to be some drawbacks to the the new process, it is still a far more sensible process than the existing one:

You will get a good idea of how well they did and make a reasoned assessment as to how much space you are prepared to allocate to grammars on your CAF - whereas now you fill in the form and don't even know if your child will actually answer anything or just cry and fall apart the day of the exam.

As for not actually knowing whether they will be offered a place at the preferred grammar schools, well that is the same accross the country - why should the grammar school entrants be treated any different? Offers day is 1st March for all. But you will have an idea of how likely you are to be offered a place based on scores of previous entry years.

The time may be earlier, but that is the same for everyone.

Some tutors may not like to work over the summer, but I am sure that when the demand from parents requires it, they will just have be more flexible.

It will be a more stressful summer with more work required from children, but I would point out that it is much more stressful to come back from a long break and then have to cope with long school days, the new routine now that they have moved up to year 6 and have the gear shift in terms of after-school preparation for the exams just as the days are getting shorter and colder.

As for the concern about Ramadhan being so close, I did wonder about this last year as I had to make sure my DSs preparation was largely completed in the summer because I had my own exams in September / October. I found that fasting was not at all detrimental to his studies - in fact it was the opposite. He managed to do far more without his usual incessant snacking and asking about meals throughout the day. He got up, got on with the work and there was still enough daylight and warmth to let off steam outside at the end of the day - the 'barakah'of fasting?

DS1 is part of the current system and will get his results in March. DS2 will be sitting the exam in September. Although I will have even less time to prepare DS2, I still prefer the new system.

[KenR]

I think the new format will be excellent news for those who live close to the B/Ham border in Worcs and only had 3 choices on the PAF - 1 of which had to be the local worcs comp.

Will certainly help parents make informed choices - alos those who frequent this site don't just have 2 years of scores but 7 years of data!

The scores are available below:-

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... =11&t=7148

[poiuyt]

old, new, who cares, for the natural bright child, its all a walk in the park.

Now for those enrolled in professional money making tuition centres well....And the thing about, fasting, it is obligatory on those that reach the age of puberty.

[Camphillian]

old, new, who cares, for the natural bright child, its all a walk in the park.

Now for those enrolled in professional money making tuition centres well....And the thing about, fasting, it is obligatory on those that reach the age of puberty.

Presumably the earlier test date will mean the kids are two months less likely to have attained the age when fasting is required, so hopefully it will not have any bad effects on them while they are preparing for the test, as very few will even be 11 by then. (I am talking about the ones for whom it is not a walk in the park, of course, as the others won't need to spend much time preparing anyway)

[UmSusu]

I have a first class degree in English literature and language and I still would not describe the literacy component as a 'walk in the park' even for 'naturally bright children' (whatever that means).

[DIY Mum]

Oh there are a handful out there.

It's the same with adults. You can be educated but not necessarily 'intelligent'.

[Camphillian]

I have a first class degree in English literature and language and I still would not describe the literacy component as a 'walk in the park' even for 'naturally bright children' (whatever that means).

All your revision obviously paid off, then! Well done.