2011 redbridge results

Eleven Plus (11+) in Redbridge

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

arrgee1991
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:57 pm

Re: 2011 redbridge results

Post by arrgee1991 »

S2010 wrote:I've just sent this to Tim Dickens from the Ilford Recorder. It's a bit long and I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do but what else can one do.

...He went to tuition for almost 18 months after regular school, and put in great effort.

...At the moment private 11+ tutoring has become a small industry within Redbridge, and tutors are earning vast sums (most of this I imagine is not declared to HMRC) and parents are doing everything possible to get the 'golden ticket' .

... The pace of the work is suited to academically gifted children. Therefore, I believe there needs to be some input from primary schools, such as to enter children that consistently show high academic performance rather than an open to all rat race. In addition, primary schools should take over tutoring or preparing children they have put forward for the 11+ test and private tutoring should be at the least discouraged.

...The second point relates to the absurdity of my local catchment area. My son has been awarded a place at our catchment school, Wanstead High School, which is a very good school with good standards; however we live on the other side (near Beehive Lane) of Redbridge roundabout and a 5 minute walk from Valentines High School. My son will have to take the bus from Eastern Avenue and spend between 30 min to 1 Hr to get to his secondary school because of some catchment area that was agreed before the completion of the current A406 dual carriage way. There is great talk of trying to encourage children to walk to school and help the environment.
I understand your frustration. There is a contradiction in that you have sent your son for tuition for 18 months paying the tax dodgers and then want it discouraged. :)

That aside I think there are a couple of important points that can be extracted.

The first is that the tests should not be the sole basis of selection. VR/NVR tests can be coached and allow mediocre pupils to succeed. They will struggle at a grammar, but parents may be happier they struggle there than elsewhere.

The second is that primary schools have no input. Each primary school in Redbridge should have a quota of pupils for the grammar that they recommend. This would have the advantage of a broader intake. Obviously it will cause issues at the schools, but overall should be fairer. It would also mean restricting the common catchment area to Redbridge alone.

The catchment area for Wanstead High is another matter. It is the most south west of the schools, and if it only accepted pupils from west of the A406, its intake would be halved. There is a subway under the roundabout which many pupils walk through every day. There will be a new academy opening next year, so the pressure on places at schools may ease a bit.
Tixylixy
Posts: 43
Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2011 2:22 pm

Re: 2011 redbridge results

Post by Tixylixy »

I must confess, I do find it somewhat disconcerting that schools in Redbridge generally do not offer any guidance to parents who may wish to/or believe that their child/children should attempt the 11+ exams. I've mentioned my ambition to my son's teacher and although he said that my son is very able and could pass the exam, provided he worked hard, that was as far as the conversation went.

If schools offered to assist parents/children in this area, many parents who are dissatisfied with tutors or perhaps unable to tutor themselves, could at least receive assistance from their children's schools.

For so many parents, preparing their child for the 11+ is a minefield about which they know nothing but fortunately forums like this one is an invaluable source of help.

Thanks to all you parents out there for your contributions.

arrgee1991 wrote:
S2010 wrote:I've just sent this to Tim Dickens from the Ilford Recorder. It's a bit long and I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do but what else can one do.

...He went to tuition for almost 18 months after regular school, and put in great effort.

...At the moment private 11+ tutoring has become a small industry within Redbridge, and tutors are earning vast sums (most of this I imagine is not declared to HMRC) and parents are doing everything possible to get the 'golden ticket' .

... The pace of the work is suited to academically gifted children. Therefore, I believe there needs to be some input from primary schools, such as to enter children that consistently show high academic performance rather than an open to all rat race. In addition, primary schools should take over tutoring or preparing children they have put forward for the 11+ test and private tutoring should be at the least discouraged.

...The second point relates to the absurdity of my local catchment area. My son has been awarded a place at our catchment school, Wanstead High School, which is a very good school with good standards; however we live on the other side (near Beehive Lane) of Redbridge roundabout and a 5 minute walk from Valentines High School. My son will have to take the bus from Eastern Avenue and spend between 30 min to 1 Hr to get to his secondary school because of some catchment area that was agreed before the completion of the current A406 dual carriage way. There is great talk of trying to encourage children to walk to school and help the environment.
I understand your frustration. There is a contradiction in that you have sent your son for tuition for 18 months paying the tax dodgers and then want it discouraged. :)

That aside I think there are a couple of important points that can be extracted.

The first is that the tests should not be the sole basis of selection. VR/NVR tests can be coached and allow mediocre pupils to succeed. They will struggle at a grammar, but parents may be happier they struggle there than elsewhere.

The second is that primary schools have no input. Each primary school in Redbridge should have a quota of pupils for the grammar that they recommend. This would have the advantage of a broader intake. Obviously it will cause issues at the schools, but overall should be fairer. It would also mean restricting the common catchment area to Redbridge alone.

The catchment area for Wanstead High is another matter. It is the most south west of the schools, and if it only accepted pupils from west of the A406, its intake would be halved. There is a subway under the roundabout which many pupils walk through every day. There will be a new academy opening next year, so the pressure on places at schools may ease a bit.
arrgee1991
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:57 pm

Re: 2011 redbridge results

Post by arrgee1991 »

Tixylixy wrote:If schools offered to assist parents/children in this area, many parents who are dissatisfied with tutors or perhaps unable to tutor themselves, could at least receive assistance from their children's schools.
It's the ultimate contradiction. What you learn (or should be learning) at primary school should allow you to pass tests for secondary schools, but my son was never taught VR/NVR at school. The only place to learn this is outside school.

The whole point of the VR/NVR is to make the test based on IQ, but the sad truth is they are just for those who are coached. Enough practice will get you high marks. One reason my son didn't apply was we saw no point in tutoring him for 2 years to pass IQ tests.
Hopefuldad
Posts: 209
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 12:46 pm

Re: 2011 redbridge results

Post by Hopefuldad »

hi all

this topic was for redbridge results, but we are discussing the pros and cons of the system.

Disappointed to see just a handful of results, and yet there were approx 1500 kids taking the test. The essex site has a very good sample of results and this helps people on wait lists and future generations.

Sorry about the rant but we should stick to the point
HD
mw
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2010 6:15 pm

Re: 2011 redbridge results

Post by mw »

Hopefuldad wrote:hi all

this topic was for redbridge results, but we are discussing the pros and cons of the system.

Disappointed to see just a handful of results, and yet there were approx 1500 kids taking the test. The essex site has a very good sample of results and this helps people on wait lists and future generations.

Sorry about the rant but we should stick to the point
HD
Couldn't agree you more, HD!
moved
Posts: 3826
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: 2011 redbridge results

Post by moved »

Would you like me to split the thread?
tomcat
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:19 pm

Re: 2011 redbridge results

Post by tomcat »

hi all

this topic was for redbridge results, but we are discussing the pros and cons of the system.

Disappointed to see just a handful of results, and yet there were approx 1500 kids taking the test. The essex site has a very good sample of results and this helps people on wait lists and future generations.

Sorry about the rant but we should stick to the point
HD
Does the thread need to be renamed to "2011 - Post your childs scores only".

I agree that the scores are important for all to see. Pass or fail, the numbers may motivate future 11+ candidates. Equally they will allow others to be realistic and gain an appreciation of the standards required to gain entry. If this simply saves some parents and their children wasting their time on the day and more importantly their money with pointless tuition in order to prepare then its a massive public service.

May I also make one point on alleged cheats posting their results. If the rumours are anything to go by, the cheats had access to the papers in advance of the exam. If my daughter had done the VR or the NVR paper before, I guarantee that having reviewed the answers, she would score near perfect if she ever saw that paper again - especially the NVR. Any child thats done the paper 3-4 times would. Redbridge Council have assured me personally that the spread of scores do not look abnormal this year when compared to last year - indicating no cheating. All I can say to that is, I hope the cheats were not prevalent last year as well.

So come on parents. Post your results. Let everyone see how our children did. If your child scored near perfect results, no one can tell whether he/she has an amazing IQ or a rogue tutor :-) If you also indicate whether you will or will not take up the place, then the waiting list candidates will get a feel for their chances too.

For the record, I've already posted my daughters scores along with 3 other parents in this thread. Only 1496 left to go.
arrgee1991
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:57 pm

Re: 2011 redbridge results

Post by arrgee1991 »

mw wrote:Has anyone received it yet? Nothing in website and email so far.
This was the first post in the topic. Surely discussing issues around the results is sticking to the point.

A few posts replying to the impact to a Redbridge resident of the results seems perfectly valid to me.

Split the thread if need be, but I don't see the need to, nor for the ticking off for not strictly adhering to the subject.
arrgee1991
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:57 pm

Re: 2011 redbridge results

Post by arrgee1991 »

Hopefuldad wrote:Disappointed to see just a handful of results, and yet there were approx 1500 kids taking the test.
tomcat wrote: For the record, I've already posted my daughters scores along with 3 other parents in this thread. Only 1496 left to go.
Only a handful of people post on this forum. For every poster there are a dozen lurkers, and probably hundreds more who don't even know this forum exists. Another forum I administer has 5 members logged on and 50+ viewers lurking at peak times. Also the individual results are somewhat private, so I can understand people not disclosing them for their child.

I agree there should be a publication of the overall results and the standard a candidate would need to achieve. This would help parents to make the decision on making an application and give them some idea of how high up they are in a waiting list.
Abba
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 10:20 pm

Re: 2011 redbridge results

Post by Abba »

For the record, I've already posted my daughters scores along with 3 other parents in this thread. Only 1496 left to go.
Tomcat, no doubt this Forum has been invaluable! Heres another one of the 1496 scores. Only 1495 left to go....

NVR - 65/75
VR 78/80

sorry can't remeber the standardised score; ICHS rank 31, but DS ig oing to one of the Essex schools.

Hope this helps.
Post Reply