The Letter

[Kace]

Gosh, does that mean that there are more girls than usual taking the exam this year?!
I know that the girl from dd1's class registered at the last possible moment. Does that mean that there will be a different paper on the 29th from the outset and then a third paper on the second reserve date?

[pushymother]

Gosh, does that mean that there are more girls than usual taking the exam this year?!
I know that the girl from dd1's class registered at the last possible moment. Does that mean that there will be a different paper on the 29th from the outset and then a third paper on the second reserve date?

I am not sure about numbers at the other girls schools but WHSG are allowing 865 girls to sit the test next week. That is way more than ever before.

[Kace]

I am not sure about numbers at the other girls schools but WHSG are allowing 865 girls to sit the test next week. That is way more than ever before.

Oh my...that sick-with-nerves feeling has just intensified

[ToadMum]

Gosh, does that mean that there are more girls than usual taking the exam this year?!
I know that the girl from dd1's class registered at the last possible moment. Does that mean that there will be a different paper on the 29th from the outset and then a third paper on the second reserve date?

I am not sure about numbers at the other girls schools but WHSG are allowing 865 girls to sit the test next week. That is way more than ever before.

Re the different paper issue, as far as I am aware, the Consortium have always had different papers for the main and reserve dates.

865 at WHSG is about 85 up on last year, I think.

[pushymother]

I am not sure about numbers at the other girls schools but WHSG are allowing 865 girls to sit the test next week. That is way more than ever before.

Oh my...that sick-with-nerves feeling has just intensified

If you are in catchment don't worry too much. 11+ tourism is on the rise. Last year I sat in the canteen and every parent I spoke to was out of catchment people that were taking the CSSE as well as every other exam in London and all the home counties.

They did not fill all in catchment places and they will be taking the additional form again so 30 extra places.

I didn't mean to frighten you, your DD will be just fine. Best of luck next week...where is she sitting the exam?

[ToadMum]

If you're really lucky, there will be more like the girl I was chatting to at the backup session, who told me that she had come from somewhere quite a long way towards London but she was taking the CSSE test because she wanted to go to [school I'd never heard of and certainly not part of the Consortium]. Given that we were now in late September, either she was totally confused, or her parents were, or they were putting her in for every available 'free mock', with the true goal being an indie.

[ToadMum]

Sorry, totally off topic, but please turn on BBC2 now if you want to see one of Westcliff High School for Boys' most famous old boys, Benjamin Grosvenor, playing at the Royal Albert Hall (yes, I am a Southend Boys mum, but what the heck ).

[Kace]

We are in catchment and have registered to take the exam at WHSG because we have somewhere to park nearby (workplace of the father of a friend of dd1's who is also taking the exam) - good thing, too, with that many girls registered!
Thank you for the reminders about the "11+ tourists"
My nerves are shot to pieces - don't remember being like this with ds....aarrggghhh!

[pushymother]

We are in catchment and have registered to take the exam at WHSG because we have somewhere to park nearby (workplace of the father of a friend of dd1's who is also taking the exam) - good thing, too, with that many girls registered!
Thank you for the reminders about the "11+ tourists"
My nerves are shot to pieces - don't remember being like this with ds....aarrggghhh!

It will be very chaotic. Good that you have a place to park. The queue snaked all the way down the road from the entrance last year. You will see groups of prep school girls in full school uniform and frantic parents trying to park. My DD stood with me and read a book in the queue (it relaxes her to read) and did not notice a thing.

You will be sent to a hall to check in at a table that displays your part of the alphabet(surname A-C etc)where an adult will check your DD's name against the registered list and have you sign saying she is fit and well to sit the test. She will then sit on a bench behind the table until there are about 5 girls and a sixth former will walk them to their examination room. My DD's examination room is her history lesson room this year :>).

You may then go to the canteen and wait it out and buy cakes and drinks or disappear and return at the designated time.

Last year they announced to those of us in the canteen that the finish would be delayed by 15 minutes as they had not built the 10 minutes reading time into the timetable for the English portion of the exam.

For some reason my DD and I cannot remember how we were reunited but it wasn't an issue. Best of luck again!!

[HomeMum]

We are in catchment and have registered to take the exam at WHSG because we have somewhere to park nearby (workplace of the father of a friend of dd1's who is also taking the exam) - good thing, too, with that many girls registered!
Thank you for the reminders about the "11+ tourists"
My nerves are shot to pieces - don't remember being like this with ds....aarrggghhh!

It will be very chaotic. Good that you have a place to park. The queue snaked all the way down the road from the entrance last year. You will see groups of prep school girls in full school uniform and frantic parents trying to park. My DD stood with me and read a book in the queue (it relaxes her to read) and did not notice a thing.

You will be sent to a hall to check in at a table that displays your part of the alphabet(surname A-C etc)where an adult will check your DD's name against the registered list and have you sign saying she is fit and well to sit the test. She will then sit on a bench behind the table until there are about 5 girls and a sixth former will walk them to their examination room. My DD's examination room is her history lesson room this year :>).

You may then go to the canteen and wait it out and buy cakes and drinks or disappear and return at the designated time.

Last year they announced to those of us in the canteen that the finish would be delayed by 15 minutes as they had not built the 10 minutes reading time into the timetable for the English portion of the exam.

For some reason my DD and I cannot remember how we were reunited but it wasn't an issue. Best of luck again!!

Thanks for this information Pushymother. Every little will help with my DS. He worries about the little things all the time. Good luck to all the boys and girls on Saturday