Child has flu

KB · Post by KB » Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:54 pm

I do feel for you - I sent one of mine to do the test thinking it was just nerves but by the time they came out they were very poorly & in bed for several days after!
If you are not sure & have the necessary certification so they can do the second date then I would do that because if they start & can't finish you will feel awful for sending them/ if they dont get a high enough mark you will never know if it was the best they could do.
Itis very very unlikely that a child applying under CSSE wil get through on appeal of being unwell on the day so dont whatever you do rely on this as an option.
Just maybe he will be fine on Friday....

Alexandra · Post by **Alexandra** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:04 pm

Seeing what he is like I don't think he will make Saturday. To be honest I hadn't even thought about an appeal - they are notorious for not getting any where. Obviously if he is ill, his health comes before an exam, I just feel so frustrated after so much preparation that it could be ruined for this.

I feel so uneasy about going for the second day because if he was too ill on this date - that would be it - no second chances. I would feel less anxious if this was a GCSE or A level as although you would not want to be ill it can be re-sat at other times, this feels like now or never. I go from feeling I should dose him up and send him and cross fingers and toes that he will be able to perform to thinking if he is ill - he is ill and can't do it. Feel very confused. I just want him to get better and sit it on Saturday as planned!! Where is that magic wand when you need it???

Silver29 · Post by **Silver29** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 9:31 am

Alexandra, please try not to worry. My friend's son had been ill the entire week leading up to the test date and she really struggled with the decision, but as he was still coughing, not really eating properly etc she decided she had no option. The CSSE were great, all she needed was a doctors note and her son sat the test around 10 days later and is now happily at WHSB (his first choice).

I know you want the whole thing out of the way now but he needs to be back in good health to sit the test. I am sure that if he were unfortunate enough to have caught another bug (highly unlikely) by the day of the re-sit the CSSE would have another option.

Good luck!

moved · Post by **moved** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:16 am

DD sat her exam with a broken finger. I worried until March that we should have left it until the next sitting. If you can bear it and he is not well I would recommend the second sitting. If he seems normal, just a bit bunged up with the tail end of the cold then you can send him on Saturday.

First-timer · Post by **First-timer** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:29 am

Alexandra, still thinking of you and your DS. Hope he's on the mend.

Blessed · Post by **Blessed** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 1:44 pm

Hi,

If your child is unwell, it might be best to keep him at home.
See thread below
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... hp?t=11372

Hope he gets well soon.
All the best.

Alexandra · Post by **Alexandra** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:31 pm

Aaaagh!!! Unfortunately son is still like a dying duck! He is mildly better today but still been on sofa all day and really quite poorly. Found out that three of his friends have been off school allweek with what sounds the same thing. I thought I would just have a go and see what his concentration was like. I did three maths questions with him. Oh dear, according to himm half of 42 is 26 - he really is not right. I still have not fully made a decision but I am probably now airing on the side that he is not well enough. He has had flu-like symptons since Monday and having had flu myself it can take up to 2 weeks if not longer before feeling better. Even if he feels a bit better on Saturday, he is sure to still be weak after being so poorly and often if you have been in all week the first day out often feels very woozy. I do hope I make the right decision

Chelmsford mum · Post by **Chelmsford mum** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:21 pm

Alexandra wrote: I did three maths questions with him. Oh dear, according to himm half of 42 is 26 - he really is not right. I still have not fully made a decision

Hi Alexandra,

I have 2 girls at the Chelmsford grammar school.This very time last year the one in year 7 had terrible sinusitis, something she is prone to.Her nose and eyes were puffed, she had a terrible headaches and she just wasn't herself for several days.I let her sit the 11+, even though I wasn't quite sure.Without boring you with all the details(you could find them on the Essex forum if you wanted to),she underperformed but scraped in.She was getting in the 90% at home and then got in the seventies on the day.

Now this may have been absolutely nothing to do with her condition. But in the whole time we waited for the 5 places to move(she missed by less than 1% overall on offer day) I beat myself up about my decision.She may have performed that way anyway.I do know that.
However if you don't get the result you want, better to think , "we did the best we could".
There has never been a successful appeal in Essex on the grounds of "he/she wasn't well enough".In fact I have never heard of a successful appeal for the school my children are at ever.
The whole waiting 4 months is bad enough, IMHO, I think it is agony to spend that time also thinking..."But did he do himself justice".
I really feel for you and hope you can make your decision and then have peace of mind.I didn't even mention her health on the forum at the time we had the initial disappointment because if you let your child sit the exam, you feel you cannot cry"but she was ill" afterwards.Certainly to be brutal the appeal authorities do not want to know as the CSSE guidelines are clear.
Only you know what is right for him but better to look back on his 11+ when offer day comes thinking, "well he did the best he could".
Very best wishes and get well soon to your son.
CM

Alexandra · Post by **Alexandra** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:43 pm

Thanks for your reply. Your right about the appeals - you can't just say child was ill on the day or every parent whose child didn't get in would say their child underperformed because they were ill. I'm not even thinking about appeals procedure to be honest. I just want to make the decision based on 'will his illness hinder his performance on Saturday?'. Yesterday I was thinking there was a chance he would improve and be OK for Saturday, but realistically, however much I want him to take the test on Saturday, he really isn't well. He is not thinking straight and would certainly not do himself justice. To be honest I am fairly sure he wouldn't even make it through the exam at the moment let alone perform on it. I can think of lots of different outcomes of the test and hundreds of different futures for him but I have finally come to the conclusion that it is the present that I am in and have to make decisions based on that. My adorable son is poorly and needs rest, care, love and support and that is what he deserves. He is not up to sitting a test and finally I realise that it is his health now that is important and I feel quite shameful that I could consider shoving him out the door to sit for 3 hours in an exam with a stinking headache, sore throat, feeling sick, dizzy and very weak. What am I thinking? Decision made unless a miraculous recovery is made. It is obsurd that this test could make me think anything else. Yes, I consider it important - but that important? No. He will be fine whatever the outcome because we love him and will always be here for him at any stage in his life. My love is not based on how he does in the test and that's what I need to get perspective on!

Chelmsford mum · Post by **Chelmsford mum** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:55 pm

[quote="Alexandra"] My adorable son is poorly and needs rest, care, love and support and that is what he deserves. He is not up to sitting a test and finally I realise that it is his health now that is important and I feel quite shameful that I could consider shoving him out the door to sit for 3 hours in an exam with a stinking headache, sore throat, feeling sick, dizzy and very weak. What am I thinking? Decision made quote]

You are just thinking like all of us parents who want the best educational outcome for their child.It is a time of terrible pressure.

However that is what subsequent sittings are for ...to give recovery time so he can go and do himself justice.
Last year there was even an extra one so all is not lost.

Loads of TLC this weekend for him....and you.
Sleep well.