Help - not feeling well!

[Moonlight]

Or maybe the schools concerned could change or even offer an alternative date?

Given that the 11+ has been on the third Saturday in November for quite a while, I would have thought the indies in the CSSE area of influence would avoid that day.

This would definitely be the most sensible thing to do but not everyone thinks like this. I know of one indie school that has avoided the 11+ date and has arranged for their exams to take place this weekend instead. Much better planning.

[colchesterdad39]

Unfortunately it comes down to the private / indie schools not wanting children to sit the 11plus as it looses them pupils and money if they then get a grammar school place! So sad that they put parents in that situation. The CSSE told me they have asked these schools to set alternative dates but they simply will not. which is why quite rightly they offer an alternate date themselves.

[Moonlight]

Unfortunately it comes down to the private / indie schools not wanting children to sit the 11plus as it looses them pupils and money if they then get a grammar school place! So sad that they put parents in that situation. The CSSE told me they have asked these schools to set alternative dates but they simply will not. which is why quite rightly they offer an alternate date themselves.

A couple of years ago my son was offered a place at a selective school and we were able to accept subject to receiving the result of the 11+. I thought it was really good of the school to do that because, when we cancelled the place, we weren't charged a term's fees which is usual practise in some indie/private schools. When the Principal showed us around the school initially, he asked if my son was sitting the 11+ and also recognised that a number of potential new students would not be requiring a place at his school after allocation day.

It is a shame that some schools make life difficult for parents because there is a lot of movement after allocation day and a renewed interest in indie schools when things haven't gone to plan for their children. Thankfully though, there are some schools that use common sense.

Wishing your son good luck for his exams on the 30th. I am sure that you will be relieved when it is all over.

[colchesterdad39]

Thank you moonlight, your right my son and I will both be relieved come next Wednesday lunchtime! Its nice to hear some schools are sensible and I know of another that is also having their testing day in January which my son will be attending, so maybe its just the stubborn few that add to some parents stress! all the best for anyone else taking the alternate test

[moved]

This is one of the main advantages to changing the date of the test. As a parent I put both children in for scholarship/bursary places and recommend this to my tutees. A free place at an independent is often an attractive option.

Had I known the outcome of the 11+ I would not have needed to do this. It put significant extra stress on my children at a young age and caused the independent schools a significant amount of wasted time assessing their academic and non-academic abilities.

[Moonlight]

If I had known the result of the 11+ earlier then I, too, would not have gone down the indie route. The trouble is the results come out so late and, for me, I needed to have a good 'back up' in case we didn't get the result we wanted. I did feel bad about putting my son through all these extra exams and, as it turns out, unnecessarily but if we didn't plan ahead we may well have been given our local comp which we didn't want.

Life would be so much easier if every school were a good school and you knew you would be happy whatever your allocation was but, unfortunately, it's not like that.