many said watford was easy but failed

[Ess30]

Pls post your post - double posting in quick succession makes me feel like a raving loony .

[Daogroupie]

In my experience private school exams are a lot easier than states and certainly do not have a different way of selecting. Yes they have interviews but in the end they want students to keep them in the league tables and are certainly not going to take students with lower scores but higher potential. Everyone wants the students who will deliver at GCSE and A level. Habs, City, Merchant Taylors , St Albans these are all schools that any state student who has prepared for DAO would find it quite straightforward to get into. My dd came out of the VR exams for some of these schools laughing because it was so easy compared to doing 100 in 45 mins at DAO. I use the 13 plus English comprehension papers because the 11 plus ones are just too easy compared to DAO. I have never met a student who has prepared for DAO and failed to get into any of these schools. Any parent that has prepared a student for state selective should be looking at trying for a scholarship for at least one of these schools. I know plenty of students who got very good scholarships last year for these schools. On the VR it is really very simple, the more you do the better you get at it and there are several techniques that really help. Susan Daughtery has made her entire career on teaching VR tips and continues to do so. DG

[HenryVIII]

'Failed' is an incendiary word. Both my DSs had scores 218/214 respectively and these put them in the top 25%/30% for the respective years that they sat the test. Their school provided VR as homework throughout Y6 and both had gentle tuition largely as neither are talented mathematicians. In fact DS2 left Y2 with a 2C in writing (so below average) but left Y6 with L5. The school does not spill out 60 children who head off to the super selectives - the distribution is the same as always with only a handful of the children - the usual suspects heading to the WGSs/Parmiters.

What I have observed from friends' and neighbours' children that it is targeted support in an area which a child needs; maturity and a certain hunger. Two of these characteristics are hard to coach for.

And sometimes it's we parents who think that our kids are more advanced than they really are... I confess to being one of them. But remember that there are plenty of good schools in SW Herts - we are incredibly lucky. Children catch up and the schools address this and make sure in time there is a much more level playing field.

[luvingdad]

Hi,
My son scored 246. Is it worth putting Watford grammar in CAF ? we are in rest of catchment area. historical data is not encouraging me

Thanks in advance.

[rosegarden]

I think there may be some over thinking here. My DS sat the consortium test and got 262.

He is at a local state primary, which currently has a Requires Improvement ofsted. Fantastic school, can't praise it enough, but not a pushy school.

We didn't use a tutor, did VR at(maybe half a paper a week for a few months, depending on what was on). Did literally two maths papers at home. He did the maths purely on what he was taught at school.

Looking at his class, the results are pretty much as you would expect, knowing the children. One child scored much higher than my ds. None of us got terribly stressed about it, and it wasn't mentioned in class at all.

Oh, as ds wasn't blown away by watford boys, so we've put another school
!

[Shawshank]

In my experience private school exams are a lot easier than states and certainly do not have a different way of selecting. Yes they have interviews but in the end they want students to keep them in the league tables and are certainly not going to take students with lower scores but higher potential. Everyone wants the students who will deliver at GCSE and A level. Habs, City, Merchant Taylors , St Albans these are all schools that any state student who has prepared for DAO would find it quite straightforward to get into. My dd came out of the VR exams for some of these schools laughing because it was so easy compared to doing 100 in 45 mins at DAO. I use the 13 plus English comprehension papers because the 11 plus ones are just too easy compared to DAO. I have never met a student who has prepared for DAO and failed to get into any of these schools. Any parent that has prepared a student for state selective should be looking at trying for a scholarship for at least one of these schools. I know plenty of students who got very good scholarships last year for these schools. On the VR it is really very simple, the more you do the better you get at it and there are several techniques that really help. Susan Daughtery has made her entire career on teaching VR tips and continues to do so. DG

I think the issue is that many of the scholarships are fairly minimal from a monetary perspective - unless I'm mistaken quite a lot are 5 or 10%? So if financially these schools are out of one's reach, this really won't make much difference to many anyway.

[Daogroupie]

Actually you would be surprised. I know of students each year for the past four years getting 100% bursaries based on a strong showing in the exams. But good for the students that do have a go if people continue to not have a go and see what they can achieve based on what they believe rather than hard fact. DG

[noonynunu]

Actually you would be surprised. I know of students each year for the past four years getting 100% bursaries based on a strong showing in the exams. But good for the students that do have a go if people continue to not have a go and see what they can achieve based on what they believe rather than hard fact. DG

DG, I have previously looked into financial support for private education. Unfortunately it seems our earnings are such that we are unlikely to get much help with the financial side. I was of the understanding that, for the majority of private schools, financial aid is given in the form of bursaries which are means tested rather than exam results based. Were the children you know gaining 100% bursaries awarded this based on income or actual exam results?

[Radlettmother]

I think we were specifically talking about sw herts, rather than all state exams DAOgroupie. I agree with you, DAO is completely different, especially the English, which is very difficult. In regards to not just picking based on higher scores, I am certain private schools do that, it's part of the reason most won't tell you your result.

In terms of bursaries, I know a few children on very high % bursaries, some 100%. They are bright kids who would have done very well in exams, but if a child is bright definitely have a go. It is based on income, but you won't get one if your child can't pass the exam. The income threshold is fairly low, but many take into account number of other children, expenses etc.

[kenyancowgirl]

Actually you would be surprised. I know of students each year for the past four years getting 100% bursaries based on a strong showing in the exams. But good for the students that do have a go if people continue to not have a go and see what they can achieve based on what they believe rather than hard fact. DG

DG, I have previously looked into financial support for private education. Unfortunately it seems our earnings are such that we are unlikely to get much help with the financial side. I was of the understanding that, for the majority of private schools, financial aid is given in the form of bursaries which are means tested rather than exam results based. Were the children you know gaining 100% bursaries awarded this based on income or actual exam results?

Scholarships are limited by the Charities Commission, I believe, so are usually a maximum of about 25% with the majority being a gesture at around 10% (some school seven do non monetary scholarships!!! ) Bursaries are means tested and can be for the full amount of 100% fee reduction (and often cover other aspects like trips and uniform as well) - they can also be for less, on a sliding scale dependent on income. The key thing is that bursaries are means tested every year and there is no guarantee that they will continue at the same level for that child throughout their time at the school (the school will do their best, if your income remains the same or goes down, but cannot guarantee it as it depends on the amount of money in the bursary pot) However, as someone up thread has said, bursaries are usually offered at a high level to children who have done extremely well in the entrance test and come from a family with a lower income - scholarships tend to offered purely to those who have done well in the entrance test, regardless of income.