What if my child has failed the 11+?

[pippi]

KCS Wimbledon is a (very) private school? So probably he should have called this blog "What if my child has failed the Common Entrance"?

Headteachers of very academic schools all know that academically much weaker boys or girls who have gained a place, perhaps after intensive tuition or sometimes special pleading, are at high risk of an unhappy school career.

In this way, cruel and hard-edged though the 11+ can be, it can also help parents find the school where their child can thrive, fulfil themselves - and be happy.

Eh?

[Looking for help]

I am not making a case that suggests our grammar is not as good as it should be or that my other children should have achieved better results, merely stating my son who is apparently capable of these kind of results is deemed not suitable for grammar school. To suggest that he is more suited to a different type of school is ridiculous, and probably not worthy of comment, but its like a red rag to a bull with me, sorry.
Also please note, I’m not suggesting for a moment he will achieve these results, this will become clear in another few years, and he may well not do so, but his CAT scores are far higher than his siblings were at this stage, and he should do well.

Pippi,
This man seems to speak nonsense in my view, he should retreat back to wherever he came from and leave the rest of us to sort ourselves out.

[push-pull-mum]

Parents of children who have 'failed' the eleven plus (or who, as my daughter's lovely dancing teacher put it - 'have been failed by the eleven plus') can never win an argument about whether or not their child should have gone to the school of their choice. After all, if the child goes to another school and does well people will say 'See - I told you she would do better in an Comp/Indie/Whatever' and if they go to another school and do badly the same people will say, 'Ah well, that proves it - she never would have been able to cope at a Grammar.'

The sad fact is that there aren't enough Grammar school places for everyone - and if there were then they wouldn't be Grammars. No testing system is perfect and there are always going to be children who slip through the net.

[Looking for help]

You're entirely right, push-pull mum, but what we don't need is headteachers (the ones with the cushy jobs- that's not all heads, btw) telling us how to deal with our lot, we can do fine on our own

[Happy hamster]

What I really dislike about patronising articles like this one is the assumption that for some reason the parent got it wrong, and the child was never destined for a grammar school education. What utter twaddle. I have three who qualified and one who didn’t. The one who did not qualify is currently predicted to achieve 10 As or A*s at GCSE level, none of the others came anywhere close to that despite their privileged secondary schooling. Comparisons are odious, I know, but the feeling that my youngest has been let down by a system, rather than his ability is something I will be annoyed about for a long time to come.
My son came to terms with the disappointment very quickly, and has managed the transition to secondary pretty well. I am fairly happy with the school he is at, as it is truly comprehensive, and not a secondary modern, but still feel that he has been denied the opportunity because of a weak testing system open to abuse through overcoaching, and the inability to determine who is ‘suitable’ if in fact that’s the correct description.

Totally agree with this comment. What a patronising **** that headmaster sounds.

[Daogroupie]

Also includes the common myth that students can be overprepared and somehow their knowledge drops away from them when they get to the school.

It simply if they apply themselves at school or not, it is not to do with how they got a place but what they do when they get there. DG

[Tolstoy]

Agree with both DG and Happy hamster and have experienced all aspects. The DC with the stella score who didn't acheive through lack of application. The DC who scraped in who is on target for As at GCSE.( Equally bright, working harder). The DC who is just as academically able far more interested in learning for learnings sake but who didn't pass. Should be feeling fairly confident that current sitter is Grammar standard but know that it means nothing and forced to do some prep over summer to stand any chance and still it's in the lap of the gods.

Push-pull mum is spot on. Us DP with DC who fail can't win. There are not enough Grammar places in the country for all who would prefer their DC to be educated at one and a one day test as many have said is a very blunt instrument.

Sadly there are not always good schools as a back-up unless you have a wad load of cash left over in your budget every month. Something this headmaster perhaps doesn't understand either.

[loopylou]

Schools like Tiffins (mentioned in the article) certainly do not take the top 23% of boys. They take around the top 5%.
Many other grammar schools around the country are the same and that adds another element to this Head's advice - that the 11+ is not, and was never designed to be, a truly accurate assessment of potential and ability.

There are the children of grammar school ability who do not pass the exam on the day. Perhaps they make a silly error filling in the multiple choice boxes incorrectly, panic or misread one question which pushes them below the cut off. In addition, many children pass the 11+ yet fail to get a place. This is more common in some regions than others but the net result is the same - some children of grammar school ability will never have the opportunity to attend a grammar school simply because places are so limited.

The 11+ exam is not a definitive way of identifying those best suited to a grammar school. It is a quick and relatively cheap way of finding 180 very clever children. It doesn't matter to the school particularly if they are the 180 very cleverest. It doesn't matter to the school if 10 exceptional children fall through the net because, as long as they fill all spaces with bright pupils, the exact mix isn't so important to them.

In areas where the grammar schools have no sibling priority links, this can be seen quite frequently. Parents whose eldest child win a grammar school place feel reassured that the system correctly identifies those destined for grammar school. However, when their second or third child fails to win a place despite being of equal or greater ability to their siblings it suddenly hits home just how imprecise the whole thing can be.