CGP vs Bond--advice really appreciated

[kittymum]

I agree with G55! Both my children have qualified for Bucks since the change to CEM and we didn't do any mocks. I really don't think they are appropriate and the people I know who did them found they had a negative impact on their children and rather freaked them out.

Personally I feel doing mocks etc puts too much pressure on a 10 year old.

I used the fptp books (with extra time added) and my children read a lot.

[11+pass]

I am only talking from what I've seen. The majority of children in GS since the CEM exams took over will have done at least one mock exam. Also OOC children do get offered Bucks GS. 18% of the incoming year 7 intake at DCHS is from OOC children. They had the extra class last year as well but only about 4% girls from OOC got offered. Also the majority of children at Chesham Grammar are from OOC.

[Sally-Anne]

I'm in the "no mock" camp as well. Mocks have only become fashionable since CEM was introduced, and they were part of the panic reaction to the supposedly "tutor-proof" test.

All children taking Bucks test are given the opportunity to take the familiarisation test 2 days before the real test, in or out of county. In county pupils take it at their own schools, just as they will the real test, and out of county pupils take it at the grammar school where they will sit the real test.

A mock test may (or may not) give the children exposure to:
a) the environment in which they are taking the real test, which the Bucks familiarisation paper does already;
b) the way the test is administered, using CDs. I have serious doubts about whether many tutors have that process sufficiently "nailed" to make it realistic.
c) test content under timed conditions, which it is perfectly possible to replicate at home if you are DIY tutoring.

[Guest55]

Chesham is on the border between two counties - of course some children don't live in Bucks! There are areas than are in catchment but not in Bucks itself.

No-one living in Bucks needs to consider a mock as their children sit the test in their own schools.

[Sally-Anne]

There are also the non-Bucks Partner Schools, who administer the test in-school on behalf of BCC.

[kittymum]

I am only talking from what I've seen. The majority of children in GS since the CEM exams took over will have done at least one mock exam. Also OOC children do get offered Bucks GS. 18% of the incoming year 7 intake at DCHS is from OOC children. They had the extra class last year as well but only about 4% girls from OOC got offered. Also the majority of children at Chesham Grammar are from OOC.

Obviously we can only talk about what we know but this is not representative of the school my ds is at (where my dd will go in Sept). Yes some do mocks but not many but I think it's fair to say all do prepare in some way shape or form. Also SWBGS has yet to offer to all of its catchment children for Sept yet! They have only offered catchment siblings and catchment up to 3 miles.

[LLM]

Thankyou very much for your replies.Very much appreciated.