Sutton Mocks - Results

[bravado]

Why would thousands of students travel from miles away and all the slots be sold out weeks ago if it was just some questions made up by the PTA? DG

...because even it if were, some parents are caught up in the panic that may surround entrance exams for selective schools and will take every opportunity that's available/on offer/ to shorten the odds....or they've been told they're good, or a worthwhile thing to do, on a forum or from word-of-mouth.....because there's very few other mocks around.....because they think it's the right thing to do?
My point? People will still use something even if it's not necessarily perfect for their needs, or in this case, many may still come even it it was written by the PTA. You've clarified the matter but imho, it was a bit harsh.

[fairyelephant]

How do people present it to the DC? Ds is sitting test b in a couple of weeks. If he doesn't do well I don't want him to give up, and if he does well - ditto! Could say its just for the experience of course but he will want to know the outcome.......

[ToadMum]

Why would thousands of students travel from miles away and all the slots be sold out weeks ago if it was just some questions made up by the PTA? DG

...because even it if were, some parents are caught up in the panic that may surround entrance exams for selective schools and will take every opportunity that's available/on offer/ to shorten the odds....or they've been told they're good, or a worthwhile thing to do, on a forum or from word-of-mouth.....because there's very few other mocks around.....because they think it's the right thing to do?
My point? People will still use something even if it's not necessarily perfect for their needs, or in this case, many may still come even it it was written by the PTA. You've clarified the matter but imho, it was a bit harsh.

Surely if you are not told that the tests are made up by GL or whoever, the natural inference would be that they were probably made up at least by the "T" element of the PTA? You never know, some of the "P"s might do that sort of thing for a living as well...

[999 mum]

Who ever sets the questions, whatever the standard of questions, the greatest boon of the sutton mocks is that the children can experience going into an exam in a strange place with huge numbers of other children. (my dc went to 2 form entry primary school)

[Daogroupie]

Indeed, huge numbers of children who have very motivated parents who have come from miles around and signed up very quickly, as it sells out in a few weeks. Your dc will finally be in a cohort of students who are likely to be able and working hard. This is your real level of competition, not your fellow classmates at primary school.

Sutton Mocks have now been running for ten years. The PTA identified a gap in the market which they knew about, having all got their ds's into a grammar school in the first place. They are generating income for their school and at the same time helping parents find out the realistic level of their dc's in relation to the year. I am very grateful! I urge all my students to do it and if they offered tests for Y3 and Y4 I would have many other customers for them. DG

[BusyQueenBee]

Why would you think it is not representative just because a handful of students on this forum did better in private school exams?

Daogroupie, not just in private schools. He got his first choice a superselective grammar. Hence my post. That is why it is relevant. Nobody intends to undermine the Sutton mocks.

[Amoda]

I also would agree with the previous posts.

My DS didn't do particularly well in the Sutton Mock a couple of years ago and in fact, got on 45% on the VR because he did not align the answers to the right questions on the multiple choice answer sheet! So, it's great practice for getting experience of exam conditions and not much more.

DS is at WGCS now.

[Daogroupie]

It would seem from the experience of your ds that he learned a really vital lesson in how to fill out a mc answersheet. Did he not find any value at all in the questions and the timing? DG

[Amoda]

Yes he certainly did and that's what I mean about "experience of exam conditions". Rather than using it to assess your DC chances of gaining a place at a grammar school.

[Daogroupie]

Well it would have assessed your ds chances at a grammar school had he sat one like QE boys as the exam uses MC and your ds would not have got through it. Was it the whole paper he got mixed up in or just sections? I can understand that as Watford Consortium in only Maths and VR you might have felt the papers were not quite so focused on your preparation. Had you had an English paper as well you might have felt differently. But I would have thought the experience might have saved your ds from making the same mistake in his Y7 cats tests. DG