Sitting the test next year??

Eleven Plus (11+) in Gloucestershire (Glos)

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EmeraldE
Posts: 431
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Sitting the test next year??

Post by EmeraldE »

Hi all you mums and dads that have it all behind you now :D The waiting for results must be awful! I am sitting here as a mum of DS sitting next year and already feeling ill. I have it in my head that the child has to be brilliant, privately educated, privately tutored and the next best thing to Steven Hawking!

Anyone else in my boat?? I just feel that the primary school gives little feedback as to how DS is in relation to his peers. As I am new to the Glos area he has not been 'assessed' as such. I think he is bright but what am I to measure him against?? (sounds horrible all this measuring!)

The wheel keeps on turning and my finger nails are bitten to the core..poor kids..life is tough!!!

<< off to practice yoga or pilates for some sanity amidst the madness :?
EmeraldE
Posts: 431
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

In my haste

Post by EmeraldE »

I forgot to ask the questions I set out to in my last post!!
1. Do any of you 'old hands' have any good advice for us newbies?
2. What would you do differently should you have the time again
3. what kind of regimes did you instigate for your DC's?

These questions are NOT multiple choice :D hee hee
capers123
Posts: 1865
Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 9:03 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Sitting the test next year??

Post by capers123 »

EmeraldE wrote:Hi all you mums and dads that have it all behind you now :D The waiting for results must be awful!
Hello, good evening, and welcome.

We're not finding the wait that hard, and barely notice it most of the time. That's not because we're complacent, but because the hard work has been done by DD already - we can't change what's been done. It's also because we're horrendously busy (I'm trying to work out when we'll be able to open the result envelopes next week, when the whole family are in the same place at the same time).
I am sitting here as a mum of DS sitting next year and already feeling ill. I have it in my head that the child has to be brilliant, privately educated, privately tutored and the next best thing to Steven Hawking!
No. They need to be reasonably bright, and if they are, then at a minimum run through the NFER practice paper pack from WH Smiths. Private education and private tutoring can get a less bright child through, but there are many of us who have had a medium amount of tutoring for them just to counter that effect. That's not to say that there are not bright children in private schools - there are, but just as many in state schools as well. That said, I do know some children who are Hawking-like, but they are few and far between.
I just feel that the primary school gives little feedback as to how DS is in relation to his peers. As I am new to the Glos area he has not been 'assessed' as such. I think he is bright but what am I to measure him against?? (sounds horrible all this measuring!)
Well, KS1 SATS scores are about the only information many schools give out, and these give a rough idea of if it's worth going in for the 11+. Likewise, mock KS2 SATS at the end of Y5, if the school do them. It's worth having a one to one with a good class teacher once they've got to know your child, as they might let some information leak out!
Capers
Jimi
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:32 pm
Location: Cheltenham

Re: In my haste

Post by Jimi »

EmeraldE wrote: 2. What would you do differently should you have the time again
I would have done what you are doing here! We only discovered what was involved with a couple of months to go, if only we'd had a year :roll:

From what I read and from experience, vocabulary building is really important. If you can encourage this over the year then you should see a definate advantage. Reading together, understanding word lists, scrabble and even vocabulary computer games will help. I think test question types can be understood in a relatively short time.

But I'm not a tutor :)
Glos_Mum
Posts: 660
Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:05 pm

Post by Glos_Mum »

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Last edited by Glos_Mum on Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:36 am, edited 2 times in total.
EmeraldE
Posts: 431
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Post by EmeraldE »

Thanks folks, that's all really useful advice!!
I too think vocab is very important, esp as my DS is the oldest in the year, being a September baby..so no chance of any help with the 'weighting'. We have been doing technique and vocab building for a while and now are working on maths tips and tricks to build speed in the maths questions...speed seems to be the main issue. I guess there is a year to get it all in sinc and so I am not quite panicked yet (ask me in a few months!!)

Wishing you guys all the best of luck for results day :0)
silverflora
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:47 pm

Post by silverflora »

Now that it is all over, and final exams were sat today, I have had a little think about the "lessons learned" over the past few months and what I would have done differently if I had to do it all again.

My comments are in relation to getting into Pates in particular, as this has been our objective from the start.

I believe that if the child is bright, they will get in irrespective of any preparation. I don't mean that one shouldn't familiarise them with the test format ( this IS important!) but no amount of tuition, preparation, tutoring will make a huge difference. It will slightly improve the childs score - but you can't make a child a genius if they're not.

Although we had a tutor, I don't think this was money well spent or a necessity. At the school gates this was spoken about as if it were of paramount importance - it isn't. If you as a parent can do some VR yourself, you have sufficient skill to show your child what is required.

After doing some papers, my DD came up with her own "short cuts" which are truly obvious and don't need to be taught - e.g. with multiple choice, many of the answers can be gleaned by looking at the answer paper rather than the question paper, thereby saving lots of time. A bright child will find their own shortcuts - and I know many of you have reported that your children have done just that.

I agree about the vocabulary - but I would think that a bright child is probably reading quite a bit ( of an appropriate calibre of book!! ) and is picking this up along the way - so it shouldn't be too much of a problem ( unless you use the Tutors 15 minute tests where the vocab is REALLY hard and not representative of what a 10 yr old child will know!).

The Pates downloadable papers indicated that there would be a variety of questions in addition to the bog standard VR ones ( e.g. What does YACHT rhyme with, which word is spelt incorrectly etc.etc ). Don't be fooled ; they use the 15 standard ones as per posts on this site.

I don;t think my DD will get into Pates - even after working hard with her. She simply hasn't got what it takes. WE had a good try - but I don't think it is meant to be. A friend who is Head of Languages at a grammar school outside Glos told me that you can always tell the children that scraped in after TONS of tutoring - they are the ones struggling to keep up throughout the year. So maybe its just as well I have a plan B!!
EmeraldE
Posts: 431
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Post by EmeraldE »

Thanks Silver, good advice!

There is also the additional issue with getting no.1 son into grammar and then finding maybe no.2 son fails!! He would be traumatised not to be at school with his brother. The decisions you have to make as parents are so difficult. As each child is different they need different forms of education.

My mate found this out. She tutored her son to sit the 11+ he struggled all the way, in the end he failed to get the scores on the doors, but went to a good comp, where he is now in the top sets and doing great. As she put it, he is a big fish in a small pond as opposed to a small fish in a big pond.

I feel I might be able to settle once both DS's are settled in secondary school wherever that may be..as long as it is the same school!!!! :D No pressure then!!
silverflora
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:47 pm

Post by silverflora »

Elaine
You're absolutely right. My younger DD simply wouldn't be able to get into a grammar and I'm not going to try. Even if by some miracle (and it WOULD be a miracle!!) she got in, she would struggle from Day 1.

I too had hopes they'd go to the same school, but you have to do the best you can for each child and treat them as individuals. If I let them both go to a school which suited No2 DD, No.1 would be bored stupid - so I have reconciled myself that its 2 different schools, suited to each DD and a school run that will run me ragged! But that's what a parent is for ( isn't it?)
Glos_Mum
Posts: 660
Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:05 pm

Post by Glos_Mum »

silverflora wrote:
I agree about the vocabulary - but I would think that a bright child is probably reading quite a bit ( of an appropriate calibre of book!! ) and is picking this up along the way - so it shouldn't be too much of a problem ( unless you use the Tutors 15 minute tests where the vocab is REALLY hard and not representative of what a 10 yr old child will know!).
Last edited by Glos_Mum on Wed Jan 01, 2014 7:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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