11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi, I'm looking for some urgent advice about my daughter. She's an August birthday so is the youngest in her class and up to fairly recently has always been in the mid range of her class. She seems to have had a bit of a spurt and got all 5's in her SATS ( 2 5b's and 1 5 c). We've discounted the Grammar School until now thinking she wasn't really up to it, but her maths is excellent and her teacher says she's the best at times tables in her class. My question is, is she likely to pass the test given what I know about her SATs results, and if so, is it too late to start practising. I feel so confused and unsure of what to do. I'd really appreciate some guidance if anyone can help me.

You need to scroll down the page and post in the relevant geographical section. 11+ tests are held at different times in different regions and cover different subjects. Some schools admit children with a pass, others take the highest scorers.

happy123 wrote:My question is, is she likely to pass the test given what I know about her SATs results, and if so, is it too late to start practising. I feel so confused and unsure of what to do. I'd really appreciate some guidance if anyone can help me.

A very warm welcome to the forum, happy123!

My daughter is also an August child – born 30th. So as you can see, had she born another 45 hours later, she would have started school a year later. But all that was some years ago and last month she started her 2nd year at a Russell Group university, just having turned 19.

There is every chance that your DD could be successful in the GS entrance exams. My DD had no problems at all in her time and got offers in a few GS’s that we applied to. We were looking particularly for a certain Catholic GS and she was ranked in the first 2 dozens out of a total of about 600 or so girls who applied. There were 96 places on offer.

It is never too late to do anything so just start practising and go for it. What have you got to lose? There’s everything to gain!

Good luck!

Well thanks so much Flamenco for your warm welcome and your advice. You're right it's worth a shot. I think with my daughter she had a slow start and is definately picking up the pace now. I guess they all do things at their own pace. It seems that summer birthday children seem to be affected more when they're younger. It seems to even out as they get older, or thats what i'm hoping for anyway.
Thanks again.

What area are you in: if you are in some areas such as Bucks or Wilts, then the GS has a set pass mark for those kids in the catchment area, if this is the case, you will have a much better chance if your daughter is sufficiently intelligent. Unfortunately many areas just select based on highest mark first - in these areas kids have been practising and being tutored for up to 18 months and your daughter will be at a disadvantage - however, saying that the last few weeks are the most important, so you never know.

Also, your daughter will only be compared with other kids born in the same month - this is called age standardisation. In simple terms a child born in September may get a score of 75% and be standardised as the 75th percentile for all children born in September - a child born in August may get a score of 70% and be standardised as the 75th percentile against he cohort of children born in August. This is a very fair system as there can be a 10% age difference between the eldest and youngest child sitting the 11+ exam

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