North London Consortium 2 - Exams

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

11 Plus Mocks - Practise the real exam experience - Book Now
Soppy
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 4:01 am
Location: Barnet

Post by Soppy »

Do you mean the Consortium 1 exams sat on the 15th that included St Helens, St Albans High School, South Hampstead etc (as opposed to Consortium 2 sat on the 8th which included NLCS, City & Channing) ?

Pardon my ignorance but what does "was an old CE" mean ?

How come some girls have seen the paper ?
mad?
Posts: 5621
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: london

Post by mad? »

CE is common entrance. Yes, I believe Abby does mean consortium 1. Certainly the children at a prep school local to us came out of the exam saying they had done the comprehension in practise last week. They have seen the paper before because despite everything it seems beyond the wit of the schools concerned to actually come up with a new paper every year. I'm sure the parents of the girls concerned feel their money has been very well spent on prep fees, assuming of course that they think their DDs are not bright enough to get through the exam on capability alone. Beyond infuriating really
mad?
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Comprehension for Consortium 1 from existing practice paper

Post by Daogroupie »

I cannot believe that the combined English departments of six top schools cannot come up with a comprehension passage between them. What are they thinking? More fool them because they will now have girls in their school who are only there because they were able to regurgitate model answers that they had been through only the previous week. If those tutors are worth their salt they would contact the consortium and let them know so that this never happens again. I know that if my dd had gone into an exam and been given a comprehension that she had done before she would have felt like a real cheat and would have wanted me to say someting about it, Mad were the girls laughing about it or did they look uncomfortable?
mad?
Posts: 5621
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: london

Re: Comprehension for Consortium 1 from existing practice pa

Post by mad? »

Daogroupie wrote:I cannot believe that the combined English departments of six top schools cannot come up with a comprehension passage between them. What are they thinking?
Yes, doesn't really bode well for the robustness of their subsequent teaching does it?
Daogroupie wrote:More fool them because they will now have girls in their school who are only there because they were able to regurgitate model answers that they had been through only the previous week.
Yes although it is all matter of degree really...many of the girls may have been regurgitating crammed maths and english anyway.
Daogroupie wrote:If those tutors are worth their salt they would contact the consortium and let them know so that this never happens again.
Actually is was a prep school, not tutors, and I suspect they will be rather pleased! Let's face it, it is the ultimate 'prep' :lol: :lol:
Daogroupie wrote: I know that if my dd had gone into an exam and been given a comprehension that she had done before she would have felt like a real cheat and would have wanted me to say someting about it, Mad were the girls laughing about it or did they look uncomfortable?
To be fair for many of the girls it was their last exam and so they all looked pretty chipper. That said I did see one Mum punch the air!... Certainly not something (or someone) I would be comfortable with.
mad?
vas
Posts: 106
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:28 am
Location: Middlesex

Post by vas »

Funnily enough I have only heard this happening in girls' schools. Two years ago I heard the same from a girl who sat the habs girls exam. Or could be that boys remember little or nothing about what happened a week ago.

The thing that made me happy was that if/when my child is offered a place it will be completely on ability rather than every day wondering if she/ he is really only there because they knew the paper beforehand?

Best of luck and they are sure to do well as their answers won't be the same as 20 others!
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Same Comprehension as practice paper at Consortium 2 last wk

Post by Daogroupie »

Where did you sit? We sat at St Albans. Do you think the schools have been told? How did you find out about it? Did you overhear mums talking about it?
mad?
Posts: 5621
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: london

Post by mad? »

Notting Hill. I overheard children and Mums talking about it and then on further 'exploration' a Mum told me directly. I have no idea whether the schools know...but certainly some of the parents whose children are in their own prep did and I can't imagine that with scholarships at stake they will have kept quiet about it!
mad?
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Not just english but it has happened with VR before

Post by Daogroupie »

Actually it happened for a entire VR paper a couple of years ago at DAO and St Michaels. Candidates sitting at St M's found themselves with exactly the same VR paper as they had sat at DAO the week before! St M's were forced to take the result from DAO for each of the candidates affected. That was a case of Moray House screwing up and giving both schools the same paper. So in that case the schools were the innocent parties. But for Consort 2 there is no excuse. I have managed to make up comp passages for my dd and I am not a teacher. What possible reason could they have for using something already in print and readily available that girls were likely to have used for practice?
another mother
Posts: 269
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:46 pm

Post by another mother »

If this is 100% true then you really should complain - if not directly to the school where you sat - which could I imagine feel compromising - then certainly to the GDST who are responsible for Notting hill and SH. I can't believe - given their commitment and strengths that they would condone this but clearly the system is crap!

It may be best to wait and see if you get called for I/v - in which case it may not matter but does still in terms of fair intake -but the schools should absolutely be told in the strongest terms.
mad?
Posts: 5621
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: london

Post by mad? »

As I understand it that has already happened. As this thread is on the herts section I imagine few of the affected parents on the forum will have seen it. I would be interested to understand how widespread the issue was or whether it was actually only related to one prep school? You are right, what a crap system and what a poor 'shop window' those schools have presented.
mad?
Post Reply