11 Plus Exams Forum

Q5 here deals with the age-old question of coaching (the "Proposal" is available via FoI): http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/moderngov/Pub ... Public.pdf
Since the grammar schools are all academies now and therefore their own admission authorities, can they impose a limit on practice in primary schools as the County currently does?

Beaconsfield High is not an Academy yet ... and I think the others are committed to using the LA procedures.

pippi wrote:Since the grammar schools are all academies now and therefore their own admission authorities, can they impose a limit on practice in primary schools as the County currently does?

I am not quite sure if I understand you here, pippi? The fact that almost all the GS are now academies does not give them any right to decree what primary schools do. Nor can they discriminate against children who come from any specific school, and admissions are still being managed county-wide by BCC anyway. Apologies if I have got the wrong end of the stick.

On the other hand I am not sure what the situation would be at primary schools that become an academies. Will they feel that they should adhere to BCC guidance?

Sally-Anne wrote:The fact that almost all the GS are now academies does not give them any right to decree what primary schools do.

That was really my point - will they (possibly helped by Bucks CC?) be able to require primary heads to sign the "Following the testing, you will be asked to confirm, in writing, that your school has not undertaken further practice or coaching" declaration?

Sally-Anne wrote:On the other hand I am not sure what the situation would be at primary schools that become an academies. Will they feel that they should adhere to BCC guidance?

Good question!

Guest55 is quite right - I've put the academies lists below.
http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/moderngov/Pub ... lsA.ps.pdf
http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/moderngov/Pub ... lsA.ps.pdf

pippi wrote:That was really my point - will they (possibly helped by Bucks CC?) be able to require primary heads to sign the "Following the testing, you will be asked to confirm, in writing, that your school has not undertaken further practice or coaching" declaration?

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I think most primary Heads would take an extremely dim view of grammar Heads trying to lord it over them!

As the LA is still running the 11+ tests I cannot see why the request for Primary schools to sign this declaration would change.