Chelmsford County High School

[Applejack]

Hi vrushalidv,

It's definitely doable...we only started extra work at home at the beginning of this year. No tutors and I also had an overactive 3 year old causing absolute mayhem!

Had we known that our catchment secondary was the worst in the borough, we would have made an informed decision and probably moved to Chelmsford last year. Now we have an anxious wait until allocations day or beyond

We didn't do any training for the CEM other than a few CGP practice tests 2 weeks before the exam and DS ended up getting the highest score in his class but we both know it was only because of age standardisation.

From my limited knowledge of CEM, it's more about mastering speed and technique than being tutored for specific content because that changes every year.

Good luck whatever you choose to do

[ToadMum]

Hi vrushalidv,

It's definitely doable...we only started extra work at home at the beginning of this year. No tutors and I also had an overactive 3 year old causing absolute mayhem!

Had we known that our catchment secondary was the worst in the borough, we would have made an informed decision and probably moved to Chelmsford last year. Now we have an anxious wait until allocations day or beyond

We didn't do any training for the CEM other than a few CGP practice tests 2 weeks before the exam and DS ended up getting the highest score in his class but we both know it was only because of age standardisation.

From my limited knowledge of CEM, it's more about mastering speed and technique than being tutored for specific content because that changes every year.

Good luck whatever you choose to do

Um, I don't know which school you are talking about, but KEGS (the boys' grammar school in Chelmsford) is part of the CSSE; the exam papers are set by the Consortium schools themselves, not CEM, and the raw scores are not age standardised...

[Applejack]

I know Toadmum

DS also sat the CEM test on "Super Saturday" but that was just a stab in the dark back-up! He wasn't overly impressed with the school when he attended the open day esp. after he visited KEGS.

@vrushalidv...out of curiosity is there a specific reason you've limited your choice of grammar school options to CCHS?

[Proudmumregardless]

I'm going to say it as I see it and echo the previous post. If your child needs that much tutoring she will NOT thrive at any of the grammar schools in this county. May I suggest if you are in Harrow looking at the grammar schools on that side of London which are less competitive and have potentially lower standards.

I really do think all the Essex grammars need to restrict their catchments unless in exceptional circumstances. Threads like these really raise my hackles.

[vrushalidv]

@proudmumregardless

I did not say anywhere that without tutoring my child won't clear or will clear. We are just looking at options so that we do the best we can for our child. At this stage we are not much aware of what help is available in chelmsford for 11plus so looking for information as now we will be moving in middle of academic year. I assume this forum is made to help each other so posted my query.

[MmeOgg]

Chelmsford and its surrounds are a hotbed of tutoring services. I have no reason to think that they are any better or worse than the tutors in London. They may be slightly more geared to providing advice specific to the Essex grammars as they will have more experience with children sitting their 11+ in Essex (although it probably isn't much of an advantage).

In my opinion availability of tutoring should be way down your list of priorities when moving house.

[vrushalidv]

Thanks MmeOgg...Good to hear that there are options available in chelmsford if we move in middle of year...We were concerned as here in harrow and nearby almost all good places have big waiting lists so getting admission gets difficult in middle of year. since move to chelmsford is fixed just wanted to make choice between before exam or after exam. thanks everyone for your help.

[ToadMum]

You might want to have a think about alternatives, should your DD not manage to get a place at CCHS. Some of the secondary schools have oversubscription criteria giving a higher priority to pupils attending named feeder primary schools rather than (or as well as) place of residence and I would assume that places at some of those feeder schools would be highly sought after.

http://www.essex.gov.uk/Education-Schoo ... Essex.aspx

Again, the admissions team at County Hall will be able to advise you.

[MrsB]

Hi Vrushalidiv
Good luck with the move and welcome to Essex. I would not take people's comments about not thriving too seriously. Any child who gets in should thrive and the reality is that a large number have been tutored to some degree, whether by professional tutors or by parents who feel able to and have the time. We did it ourselves without a professional tutor, but let's not kid ourselves, it was still tutoring, it's just we didn't pay and it was stressful trying to stay patient and embarrassing to discover all the things we did not know!

I would consider trying to book a place with an Essex located tutor sooner rather than later, because the Essex English and applied reasoning exam question style is quite particular. If the current tutor is using Bond or similar, that is fine, but by about Easter / early summer I would introduce to the Essex style exams using past papers which can be bought from CSSE or from other sources which mirror the style. I also think that some of the maths questions cover particular topics which don't necessarily completely match the Bond books (sorry I don't know as DH did the maths...). Don't introduce the past papers too soon though, as they are a bit of a turn off when the child is not quite ready.

Finally, I do agree with the suggestion of looking for a house in the catchment of a good comprehensive just in case you need a plan B. I hope not.

[ToadMum]

Hi Vrushalidiv
Good luck with the move and welcome to Essex. I would not take people's comments about not thriving too seriously. Any child who gets in should thrive and the reality is that a large number have been tutored to some degree, whether by professional tutors or by parents who feel able to and have the time. We did it ourselves without a professional tutor, but let's not kid ourselves, it was still tutoring, it's just we didn't pay and it was stressful trying to stay patient and embarrassing to discover all the things we did not know!

I would consider trying to book a place with an Essex located tutor sooner rather than later, because the Essex English and applied reasoning exam question style is quite particular. If the current tutor is using Bond or similar, that is fine, but by about Easter / early summer I would introduce to the Essex style exams using past papers which can be bought from CSSE or from other sources which mirror the style. I also think that some of the maths questions cover particular topics which don't necessarily completely match the Bond books (sorry I don't know as DH did the maths...). Don't introduce the past papers too soon though, as they are a bit of a turn off when the child is not quite ready.

Finally, I do agree with the suggestion of looking for a house in the catchment of a good comprehensive just in case you need a plan B. I hope not.

The OP is apparently only interested in Chelmsford County High School, not ColCHS / WHSG / SHSG / Shoeburyness High School or St Bernard's , so is only looking for coaching sold as being specific to the Durham CEM test...