12+
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Re: 12+
Eccentric and I PMd each other to share and discuss results earlier in the day as we knew from previous postings that both our daughters were trying for the 12+.
It must be so tough for parents and children to absorb the result, take stock and re-energise to build on evidence you already have. I think following to the letter anything that Etienne and co suggest for an Appeal will be key.
Sally-Anne I didn't mind how you arrived - broomstick was fine
- you worked your magic and stopped me having a sleepless night about mirror codes !!
Tolstoy I will happily jot down thoughts on how we tackled the low score of 79 in the Bucks 2013 11+ in a week or so.
Happy Easter / holidays everyone...
It must be so tough for parents and children to absorb the result, take stock and re-energise to build on evidence you already have. I think following to the letter anything that Etienne and co suggest for an Appeal will be key.
Sally-Anne I didn't mind how you arrived - broomstick was fine
- you worked your magic and stopped me having a sleepless night about mirror codes !!Tolstoy I will happily jot down thoughts on how we tackled the low score of 79 in the Bucks 2013 11+ in a week or so.
Happy Easter / holidays everyone...
Re: 12+
Summary of 12 + work as promised as my DD passed. In addition to tutor more on that later we did the following as DIY :
Bond NVR 10 min tests - and full tests. 10 min tests as many DCs on here could do in half time so did 2 at a time.
As many CGP test papers as we could. For blasted nets and cubes (several hours of our lives we can never get back) we finally landed on fairly helpful tips in CGP parent study guide for NVR.
First past post Cloze/ NR & 3d NVR. Also had apps about a month before test but would recommend supervision from parent using these as so many permutations could do for hours otherwise.
GL assessment bought by accident - fairly hard but slightly helpful for building resilience if questions are tough demonstrating the need to keep going etc.
Patricia's word list from this forum we only had 7 months so made small inroads but a useful guide. DD not a fan of reading but classed a good reader and loves being read to and of course reading on her iPad. When she watched Iplayer she chose herself to have subtitles and turn audio off just to help a little. We insisted - did 30 mins book reading almost every day and tried to encouraged fast reading.
We bought bookmark dictionary and she often helped her Gran with crossword word using it. We bought Scrabble and played once so much for good intentions. We'd bought some US flash cards insidestoryflashcards.com which were fun and useful although pricy.
About a month before test we stuck on wall a timetable from arrival from school to bedtime building in 30 mins of each aspect of rest plus 30 mins reading and spelling plus leisure time so it didn't feel like never ending work.
Regarding motivation we all visited SHFGS on open evening and she and we really loved it she immediately wanted a tutor. We found a tutor £40 and she had approx 25 sessions. What really helped was it was a like a little weekly haven of hope someone who actually believed in DDs individual potential unlike her dire upper who seem to want to downplay previous SATs and current class work perhaps I wonder cynically so at the end of Yr 7 they look like they have achieved. She was all L5s in SATs and with very thorough weekly teacher assessment for English with a very experienced and committed English teacher but because the upper school relies on its own tests she ended up in middle set for English. When I discovered that middle set Yr7 upper was evidently the equivalent of lowest set in her Year 6 class with work such as homophones such as sun/son I was on the phone pretty fast and she was in top set the next day. The CATs also suggested that with stretch she could get As at GCSE but at her upper they don't seem to know how to stretch. Ofsted identified that too.
Anyway the tutor was fab and well worth the little sacrifices we made careful food shops, giving hump some other luxuries.
DDs 11+ score was 79 so difficult to gauge where to try to improve even though SATs and CATs suggested she was able so we had to cover everything but knew her NvR score had been good. We abc the tutor also tried to work on DDs self belief and confidence - half the battle for her bad psychologically that's why such careful preparation was invaluable. The day before the test we layed out every piece of work to show how prepared she was. She'd had a little lucky object she took with her on the day something to touch if she suddenly felt a bit lost. On the day she was very calm and quietly determined. When she came out she was devastated thinking she had failed as the questions were really hard. We really felt off her but tried to be breezy about it all let's wait and see etc. A few days later I wondered if the 75 min online test had been adaptive and wish if that was the case that had been made explicit prior to testing - I could have said doing worry if they feel like they are getting harder you aren't losing concentration they are getting harder because you are getting more correct.
Anyway on results day she passed her and tutor efforts results in an increase of 7 for NR and increase of 10 for for NVR and a huge doubling of her VR.
So the message is your child can progress from a score of 79 at 11+to a pass at 12 +.
This is a really long post but I hope snippets of if help some of you and your children.
Bond NVR 10 min tests - and full tests. 10 min tests as many DCs on here could do in half time so did 2 at a time.
As many CGP test papers as we could. For blasted nets and cubes (several hours of our lives we can never get back) we finally landed on fairly helpful tips in CGP parent study guide for NVR.
First past post Cloze/ NR & 3d NVR. Also had apps about a month before test but would recommend supervision from parent using these as so many permutations could do for hours otherwise.
GL assessment bought by accident - fairly hard but slightly helpful for building resilience if questions are tough demonstrating the need to keep going etc.
Patricia's word list from this forum we only had 7 months so made small inroads but a useful guide. DD not a fan of reading but classed a good reader and loves being read to and of course reading on her iPad. When she watched Iplayer she chose herself to have subtitles and turn audio off just to help a little. We insisted - did 30 mins book reading almost every day and tried to encouraged fast reading.
We bought bookmark dictionary and she often helped her Gran with crossword word using it. We bought Scrabble and played once so much for good intentions. We'd bought some US flash cards insidestoryflashcards.com which were fun and useful although pricy.
About a month before test we stuck on wall a timetable from arrival from school to bedtime building in 30 mins of each aspect of rest plus 30 mins reading and spelling plus leisure time so it didn't feel like never ending work.
Regarding motivation we all visited SHFGS on open evening and she and we really loved it she immediately wanted a tutor. We found a tutor £40 and she had approx 25 sessions. What really helped was it was a like a little weekly haven of hope someone who actually believed in DDs individual potential unlike her dire upper who seem to want to downplay previous SATs and current class work perhaps I wonder cynically so at the end of Yr 7 they look like they have achieved. She was all L5s in SATs and with very thorough weekly teacher assessment for English with a very experienced and committed English teacher but because the upper school relies on its own tests she ended up in middle set for English. When I discovered that middle set Yr7 upper was evidently the equivalent of lowest set in her Year 6 class with work such as homophones such as sun/son I was on the phone pretty fast and she was in top set the next day. The CATs also suggested that with stretch she could get As at GCSE but at her upper they don't seem to know how to stretch. Ofsted identified that too.
Anyway the tutor was fab and well worth the little sacrifices we made careful food shops, giving hump some other luxuries.
DDs 11+ score was 79 so difficult to gauge where to try to improve even though SATs and CATs suggested she was able so we had to cover everything but knew her NvR score had been good. We abc the tutor also tried to work on DDs self belief and confidence - half the battle for her bad psychologically that's why such careful preparation was invaluable. The day before the test we layed out every piece of work to show how prepared she was. She'd had a little lucky object she took with her on the day something to touch if she suddenly felt a bit lost. On the day she was very calm and quietly determined. When she came out she was devastated thinking she had failed as the questions were really hard. We really felt off her but tried to be breezy about it all let's wait and see etc. A few days later I wondered if the 75 min online test had been adaptive and wish if that was the case that had been made explicit prior to testing - I could have said doing worry if they feel like they are getting harder you aren't losing concentration they are getting harder because you are getting more correct.
Anyway on results day she passed her and tutor efforts results in an increase of 7 for NR and increase of 10 for for NVR and a huge doubling of her VR.
So the message is your child can progress from a score of 79 at 11+to a pass at 12 +.
This is a really long post but I hope snippets of if help some of you and your children.
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Dollydripmat
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2014 8:19 pm
Re: 12+
Great post ! Well done Kata girl, such a long road for you (and many of us) , I'm so glad it's paid off for you and your DD. At least you can relax now and enjoy the summer together. Good to hear your DD has found her confidence again (my DD has got better since we were successful at review ). Wishing you the very best for Y8. Dollyxxxx 
Re: 12+
Thank you Kata girl for such detailed info including the initial score. It's really useful to know that high ability DC can and do sometimes score extremely badly first time around but it's worth having a second punt. I told my DS today and hoping it will give him the confidence to go for it next year. Also hoping there will still be room for him at the local Grammar, the risk that goes with delaying for another year.
Re: 12+
Dolly and Tolstoy Thank you for your kind words.
Apologies it was the third time I typed it so there were a few rogue typos. Should have said the GL book we bought was for maths. Also for background should have said DD had minimal prep for the 11 + - no tutor and just a couple of weekends of DIY.
Dolly our DD is like a different child since she knows she's passed and will be going to a different school - good to hear your DD has regained her confidence x
Tolstoy I was quite touched that you could share the post with your DS. Yes it can be done . Good luck with whatever you decide.
Thank you both and others for the support - I will be sticking around to chip in where I can and to cheer others on along their journey...
Apologies it was the third time I typed it so there were a few rogue typos. Should have said the GL book we bought was for maths. Also for background should have said DD had minimal prep for the 11 + - no tutor and just a couple of weekends of DIY.
Dolly our DD is like a different child since she knows she's passed and will be going to a different school - good to hear your DD has regained her confidence x
Tolstoy I was quite touched that you could share the post with your DS. Yes it can be done
. Good luck with whatever you decide. Thank you both and others for the support - I will be sticking around to chip in where I can and to cheer others on along their journey...
Re: 12+
Thanks khan1971 I think you are asking if she has a grammar school place. We won't hear until May 2nd. I think there are limited GS places for Yr 8s but we are catchment for SHFGS which typically has more places than most. That wasn't the reason for our choice we really loved it...
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BlueBerry22
- Posts: 184
- Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:16 pm
Re: 12+
Very late to the party but well done to Katagirls DS, commiserations to Eccentric.
It is tough out there & I do hope that your chosen GS is able to offer you a place.
Wishing every one all the best as appeal season kicks off.
BB22
It is tough out there & I do hope that your chosen GS is able to offer you a place.
Wishing every one all the best as appeal season kicks off.
BB22
