St Anselms- Any Advice welcome!!!

Eleven Plus (11+) in Wirral

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miggi
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 11:10 pm

St Anselms- Any Advice welcome!!!

Post by miggi »

I'm looking for any advice re St Anselms. We have been practicing VR papers for Wirral grammar Boys, but thought we should look into St Anselms as a possible alternative should son not pass, as i beleive the pass mark is not as high . I know there are 3 papers, VR, English and Maths but hoped someone could point me in the right direction of what best to use to practice the English (no idea what format the test is) and Maths. What indeed is the required standard ??? Son is currently getting over 85% on Bond VR papers and is in Yr5 with anticipated targets of a 4A for Writing (English not his best subject!) and a 5B for Reading and Maths this year. We are also not religious (although i am not against the teaching of it) and son not baptised. Would he still fit in? :? All help greatfully appreciated :)
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: St Anselms- Any Advice welcome!!!

Post by hermanmunster »

Hi Miggi

Am sure you will get some responses from people in Wirral soon but meantime try searching the forum for posts about the school - here is the link to some results. http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... mit=Search Inevitably some pros and cons - but there are some parents with kids there so you could send a private message to get some more info.
guest43
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 5:06 pm

Re: St Anselms- Any Advice welcome!!!

Post by guest43 »

Hi there. I can offer some experience though not as much as some on this site I'm sure.

I wouldn't say that St Anselm's is necessarily easier to get into. They would argue that their selection process is a better academic test than the 11+, as it is less open to distortion through mass tutoring.

I have non-Catholic friends who chose St Anselm's over Wirral Boys, feeling that it had more of a community feel to it and less of an exam factory. That said it IS very Catholic and not at a token level.
sugarpuss
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:41 pm
Location: wirral

Re: St Anselms- Any Advice welcome!!!

Post by sugarpuss »

Hi,
My son has recently sat the St Anselms paper, and did very well, although he will be going to WGSB- we thought St Anselms a very good "Plan B".
The pass mark for English and Maths papers are 55% each and VR passmark is 120/140, the boys need to pass 2 out of the 3 test papers, to acheive the required standard. The English paper is a standard comprehension piece, then in the second part, they will be required to show writing skills. As an example, my son was asked to write either a diary of a soldier or write about an experience which frightened him. The maths paper seems to be pretty much what they are learning in school.
In summary, my experience of the exam is that other than the usual VR practice, should they be making good progress in their general schoolwork, the English and Maths paper needs no practice, although on the open day in September you will be given a sample Maths and English paper to get an idea of the sort of questions they will ask. As a note, my son felt the difficulty of the questions in the VR paper was much easier than that of the 11 plus paper for the grammar schools.
We were told at the open day that approx 30% of the boys in the school are from non-catholic backgrounds.
Good Luck !!
sugarpuss
miggi
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 11:10 pm

Re: St Anselms- Any Advice welcome!!!

Post by miggi »

Many Thanks for all your help- it will certainly be worth us attending the open evening in June and obtaining the sample papers. I have heard that St Anselms is like Marmite - we'll either love it or hate :)
Wirralian
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:21 am

Re: St Anselms- Any Advice welcome!!!

Post by Wirralian »

miggi wrote:Many Thanks for all your help- it will certainly be worth us attending the open evening in June and obtaining the sample papers. I have heard that St Anselms is like Marmite - we'll either love it or hate :)
Hi Miggi, I have two sons there, and they are really happy and settled. I find it to be a much more warm and welcoming school than WGSB, but that's just my opinion. It does have a strong Christian ethos, but that is certainly no bad thing in this day and age. It is often referred to as a "family", and it definitely has that feel to it. The staff are really friendly and helpful. It has a real soul to it, and although it is crumbling a bit in parts, it has a special feel to it, and a sense of history. Money has also recently been invested, bringing a little more into the 21st Century. Highly recommended school! :D
DizzyDora
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2012 9:37 pm

Re: St Anselms- Any Advice welcome!!!

Post by DizzyDora »

Hi


I also have two sons there who absolutely love it. Any problems we have had have been sorted.

Mr Duggan is an excellent headmaster and indeed the school is a family.He won't take any messing!


Here is a link to the school website re:- exam papers

http://www.st-anselms.com/224/entrance-exam-papers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also fantastic for boys who love sport!

Equally so for those who don't!
miggi
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 11:10 pm

Re: St Anselms- Any Advice welcome!!!

Post by miggi »

Thats great thankyou- (think the school was updating the site with papers when I last checked.)
Its reassuring to hear such positive views of the school. Son loves sport but not the best at at- hope they have a good B team!!! :)
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