Lessons learnt 2015

[coolmum123]

My tips would be:

don't apply if the school is miles away, it's not realistic to think that child will cope with an hour plus journey one way. Don't go to the open day then you won't be tempted!

Pick schools wisely - the schools with the best results isn't necessarily where your Dc will be happy or thrive.

Have a plan B

Focus on English as well as maths, I think the days of where a strong maths score compensated for a weaker English score are gone, there's too much competition for them to make allowances.

Write down your impressions of the schools you visited after open day good and bad that way if you get all the offers you won't be so confused and overthink the whole thing.

And I echo mumoffour sentiments. Thank god our 11+ journey has ended! It is exhausting.

[SleepyHead]

My tips would be:

Focus on English as well as maths, I think the days of where a strong maths score compensated for a weaker English score are gone, there's too much competition for them to make allowances.

+1

[indiemom]

My tips would be:

Focus on English as well as maths, I think the days of where a strong maths score compensated for a weaker English score are gone, there's too much competition for them to make allowances.

+1

+1

[indiemom]

I just saw this thread, I think most of the vital points are already covered by most of the parents already.

So I am not adding much on the exam part of it. And yes with the steep rise in number of students applying for independent schools, the asking level is going up and up, so level 5 in maths is not good enough, it is around level 5a/6c minimum. My boys are also good readers but I know they struggled with the comprehensions. Also creative writing is important and needs practice. I tried to give them creative writing topics from the internet and timed them, 20-25 mins to write the passage (around 3 paragraphs) and then 5-10 mins to improve and correct mistakes, so the SPAG kind of thing and all, that helped.

What has not been discussed so far is the interviews that the kids face as they have not faced anything like this before.

ut I think for some of the schools the interview is also very important. It's hard to prepare a child for the interview because no one knows what the interviewer will ask in the interview.
What I found is useful is the child should have read varied thing, watched various kinds of interesting documentaries and ofcourse newspaper. Being aware of the world around you and able to discuss about issues is a good thing I think. Mock interviews at home is helpful.

BTW I came to know from a colleague of mine that there are websites who claims they train kids for the interviews, I contacted one of them to find out and was shocked that they charge £500 before VAT for 3 sessions and £200 plus VAT for one session !!! I am sure there are parents who must be paying that for their DCs otherwise these websites will not exist

[J50]

And yes with the steep rise in number of students applying for independent schools, the asking level is going up and up, so level 5 in maths is not good enough, it is around level 5a/6c minimum.

I would agree that the ability level required has increased, mainly through more children being tutored both at home and outside for the exams - the natural ability normal distribution curve is unlikely to have shifted much.

I don't think there is an absolute 'steep rise' in the numbers applying, it is more down to most people applying to more schools than they used to. DS1 applied 5 years ago and sat 2 exams, and in his year group at primary there were c. 15 children that sat for Independents and they generally sat 2-3 exams. This year the number sitting from his primary has been 5, and of those the maximum number schools sat for is 5. This is only an anecdotal snapshot of course, but based on the wider impression and anecdotes etc I would guess that the average number of schools generally being sat for has increased by 50-100%+ at around 4-5 with some sitting more and a few sitting less. This would easily account for the rise in perceived numbers applying.

[berks_mum]

There was another thread discussing about levels in the Surrey section and similar observation was recorded. Level 5 is not enough. L6 seems to be more appropriate. Don't know the sub levels though. Here is a link to the thread -http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 58#p493958
So they have to be 5a+ by Year 5. Don't know if it is possible to do it through a state primary without external(parental) tutoring.

[Cranleigh]

I think DAO Groupie on here says 'it's all won or lost on the English paper' and never were truer words spoken in my experience.

The comprehension seems to be the stumbling block for many and was the weak spot for us. I think if I was doing things again I would spend FAR more time on this than anything else and work regularly to time. Proportionally FAR FAR more time. What to do if the child just lacks the maturity? Primary schools just don't do enough comprehension in class in my experience. In our school once a term perhaps for SAT type assessment (and this will generally be far less gruelling than the level expected at 11 plus). The London children at academic Preps have a huge advantage here. Those Preps I know well have children doing composition and comprehension to time in some form or another from Y4 and it's really ratcheted up from the latter half of Y5. They are given a toolkit to handle the comprehension (they know all about PEE etc) & I think it's an absolute walk in the park for a reasonably able child after a while. It's perfectly possibly for an equally able (or considerably more able) child in a regular primary to flounder without a lot of purposeful practice. In an 11 plus guide I have the author says that a school will sometimes overlook a weak composition but never a weak comprehension, I think that's been our experience.

Spelling - having the inside track on an English head marking papers at a super selective, (admittedly only one) but they were surprisingly (?) unforgiving here even for children who would be considered very good spellers at our school. Level 5a/6 SPaG etc. We have no formal tests and accuracy is not seen as being absolutely vital (red pen harming creativity etc). I think I would have drilled the importance of careful editing OVER and OVER at home and will for the next one. Again, is this an area where Prep children have the edge as this is given more a measure of priority, marked more stringently?

Ours has been a positive experience with a good outcome but my thoughts are many of the most selective schools, despite what they may claim, want a child that is as academically polished as possible at 11 plus/well on the way to an A* at GCSE (thinking of the Indy selective exams especially) above and beyond having (even great) potential. They will be unforgiving, a great set of papers but a slip that costs a good few marks and that's that. Probably twas ever thus. They can pick and choose and they want both high ability and great potential. We were told that some schools would consider where a child had been educated before but I am not sure that's been largely the experience. It's pretty much first past the post. That might be a good thing (?)

I do think the volume of those sitting in London has increased (not just that more are sitting a higher volume of exams). As a Times article said: while the number of prep schools has boomed, hardly any new private senior schools have opened, resulting in fevered competition for places and children sitting entrance exams at many different institutions. Thousands of children are taking exams this month for entry to senior schools in September, with some sitting multiple tests in English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning at six or seven schools.Prudence Lynch, headmistress of Kensington Prep, a girls’ school in west London, said some parents “almost explode” from stress. She said: “The pressure is beyond boiling point now. Children, not out of greed but out of desperation, will be sitting six or seven separate schools’ exams. Some are nearly a day long.

“There are SO many prep-school children and SO many more prep schools and NO new senior schools to speak of. There aren’t enough places. The number sitting entrance exams for most of the senior schools has doubled — those that used to have 300 sitting the exam now have 600 or 700.”

[MrsChips]

To anyone who's freaking out reading these posts, can I just say that my son was absolutely not a level 5a by the end of year 5. He was a high level 4 in English, low level 5 in maths (and not much higher than that now!).

He got through to the interview stage at all three of the v selective London schools he applied for and offers from two.

This either means that
a) the standards aren't as high as rumoured
or
b) there's not a strong correlation between NC levels and what they're looking for.

Oh, and his spelling is absolutely dire.

[Stroller]

So they have to be 5a+ by Year 5. Don't know if it is possible to do it through a state primary without external(parental) tutoring.

I agree (and have posted previously) that candidates for highly selective schools need to be at or very near a solid 5 (not a 5a) by the end of year 5. Honestly, that is sufficient, if the child is able and keeps working steadily and effectively. Don't panic. But remember that the attainment needs to be across the board. Weakness in either Maths or Literacy, not to mention whatever else your round 1 exam of choice covers, can cause a child to come unstuck.

Think breadth, depth and competence over and above levels. I've seen children who achieve very high scores in class being pipped at the post in some of this year's exams. Don't underestimate exam technique and the ability to handle pressure.

Also agree with Mrs Chips, content trumps both spelling and handwriting as long as it can be deciphered.

[Cranleigh]

Agree too on the spelling not being as important as the content. Think the schools would agree, guess I was just surprised this was commented on/they had a high bar, it was expected that technical terms in the comprehension should and would be spelt correctly etc (although obviously not a deal breaker if they weren't).