opal wrote:
DS is 9 and is currently in year 4. He will sit the test in Autumn term 2012. We are based in Chelt and are potentially looking for a tutor in the area.
DS is not interested in DIY tutoring as this is an infringement of his play time. However he has said that he does want to go to GS and will go to a tutor.
Is this fairly typical for a 9 year old boy? Am I starting too early?
I'm not sure that my situation is typical but here's my pen'north:
My DS took the test in 2010. He had some fairly desultory VR lessons at the (independent) school he attends, and (I think) eight hour-long coaching sessions with a tutor. I went through tests with him at home (perhaps a couple of hours each week) and did lots of word games, vocabulary building, etc with him on trips to school and whenever else we had the chance. He achieved a mark of 266 standardised against the STRS cohort, and will be taking a place at Pates.
When I asked him to allot percentage scores for the three sources of tutoring he had received, the results surprised me. He ascribed 65% to me, 25% to his tutor and 10% to school. This is wholly unscientific and completely subjective, but the important point (and the reason I'm posting this) is that
in his mind the DIY input I gave was far and away the most useful to him. He considered it was by far the biggest contribution to his achieving a pass. (Surprised by these figures I told him that he did not have to flatter me and that all I wanted to know was what he really thought. On hearing this he revised his figures to 75%: 20%: 5% !). I'm not so vain as to agree with this as I believe the tutor's help was much more important than he gives credit, but that's not how he sees it.
Hence, based on my experience, I believe that it's
really important that your DS has some DIY tutoring. All the other kids we know who did well in the 11+ had parents who were extremely focused and supportive (in some cases downright pushy) and gave up at least few hours each week. I think it's true to say that many parents opt for private primary education because they desperately want a place at a Grammar school for their child: Pates in particular, along with STRS and HSFG or SHS. So it might be worth explaining to your son that GS places are highly sought after, and that losing a few hours play time each week is a small price to pay for something that will help him for the rest of his life. We know of people who have turned down generous scholarships to Cheltenham College and St Eds in favour of a place at Pates, purely on the basis of Pates' stellar academic excellence.
Incidentally there's another thread in the Gloucester forum called "What would you have done differently", or something similar. This should provide useful tips. You'll find a lot of useful info if you delve back to last year's topics.
opal wrote:He is in the top sets at primary but won't do anything 'extra' at home including reading.
Talk or bribe him into it. Get him reading by starting a good book with him. Get him goal-focused and explain what's at stake and how the system works. Take him round the school of your choice and let him see just how good it is. Explain that a GS place won't fall into his lap:
he has to want it and work for it. No amount of tutoring, DIY or otherwise, will help if he's not truely eager to win that place.
opal wrote:If anyone can make any recommendations please PM me.
The problem is that the best tutors are booked several years in advance; we were very lucky in that we came to the top of our tutor's waiting list because several kids dropped out. Sorry I can't make any suggestions, but as you have a year and a half to go you should be in luck.
opal wrote:Is this fairly typical for a 9 year old boy? Am I starting too early?
Yes and probably yes respectively. Once we got started our DS actively enjoyed doing VR tests and would frequently ask if we could do extra work to explore the various types of question. He had never asked to do work before and hasn't since, reverting to coach potato mode on opening the envelope containing his results.
Starting date is very much dependent on the individual. We started in the March before the exam and in retrospect that was too early: May or even June would have been better. Bright kids get bored repeating things they can do easily. One thing I think most people agree on is to stop
all tutoring at least a month before the exam to keep the kids fresh and eager. Coaching up to the last minute is generally agreed to be counterproductive (again, search the threads and you'll find more on this).
One last point is that, last time I looked, there was talk of changing the Glos 11+ away from being solely VR-based. It was rumoured that Pates' academy status would enable them to set their own test, something I have heard they are keen to do. It's possible the other Grammars with academy status may do the same - I don't know.
Hope this helps; sorry I've rambled around the topic.