I'm worried my son isn't grammar school material !

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scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

I'm worried my son isn't grammar school material !

Post by scarlett »

My son is due to take the kent test this september and has generally passed the practice papers etc with 85 % non verbal and verbal and around 75 % in the maths papers. He rushes through the tests with about 15 minutes to spare and so gets a few questions wrong due to misreading the questions......better things to do with his siblings :( Anyway, I have just received his end of term report , which gave the following levels........... Reading 5c Science 5c Maths 4a english 4a I was quite pleased with these, but his teacher seemed to suggest that if he fails the 11 plus she would need evidence that he is at level 5 to put him through an appeal and seemed a bit despondant about the whole thing.They are not particularly encouraging about the 11 plus at his school anyway......they don't believe in it ....Now I'm wondering if maybe he just isn't capable ? What does anyone else think? I think he is bright and would thrive in an environment like a grammar school...He reads constantly and can make starwars lego models from a pile of random bricks..but then we all think our child is brilliant !! :D
mad?
Posts: 5621
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: london

Re: I'm worried my son isn't grammar school material !

Post by mad? »

Are they teacher assessed or test results? Teacher assessments often tend to be a bit lower... Either way go with your gut feel and good luck.
mad?
rubyhettybetty
Posts: 344
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:26 pm
Location: Rochester

Re: I'm worried my son isn't grammar school material !

Post by rubyhettybetty »

They seem excellent results, I don't know what's she's talking about tbh!

I'm sure he'll pass :)
SSM
Posts: 646
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:09 pm

Re: I'm worried my son isn't grammar school material !

Post by SSM »

My boys were scoring less than that on test papers at home and went on to pass their Kent 11+ with over 407 points, which is normally enough to get them into the West Kent superselectives.

I would keep doing what you're doing.

I found a way to stop them from rushing the papers was to say that they they can't get on with anything else until the time is up for the paper, so if the paper is 40 mins then they have to sit at the table until the 40 mins is up, that way there is no point in them rushing it.

Also, as you have to sit the Kent test before you apply for schools, there is no harm in him sitting the paper and seeing how well he did.

Good luck, and I would say go for it.
tiredmum
Posts: 1161
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:51 am

Re: I'm worried my son isn't grammar school material !

Post by tiredmum »

Teachers can be like that - cautious - i wouldnt worry the results to me show he is more than capable of the 11 plus - there are many dc's who leave primary and go off to grammar with similar results and your child has another year to go!

My dc is off to a medway grammar in sept. At the end of year 5 tests she was level 5 for english(writing and reading)- but only 4b at maths- wasnt told about science. Anyhow the teacher - who thought alot of my daughter- said virtually the same to me - she said they had lots of english of the right standard to put forward for an appeal if needed but not much maths at that point. She did say i should go ahead though - think she just wanted to put me in the picture.

When my dd went into year 6 dhe was working at level 5 in maths practically stright away - think they were tring to get some work of that level just incase it was needed - it wasnt as she passed and i expect you dc will too - stay positive - its the best way :)
pheasantchick
Posts: 2439
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:28 pm

Re: I'm worried my son isn't grammar school material !

Post by pheasantchick »

I'm slightly nervous after my son's parents evening also. He regulary gets 100% on his spellings and mental maths and performs well generally. And I know he is generally bright. But is he bright enough? His tutor seems to think so. And I know he would thrive in a grammer school environment.

I concluded afterwards that if you have a hard working child that generally does okay, its easy to focus on the negative and forget all the positive comments. Like the others have said, take the test, get the results and then take it from then.

If all else fails, I'll be joining you in the appeals forum...! (hope we don't meet there!)
mattsurf
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:44 am

Re: I'm worried my son isn't grammar school material !

Post by mattsurf »

I was in your shoes last year, DS had similar results at the end of year 5, we worked quite hard at home in the run up to the exams, and DS passed with a small but comfortable margin.

I was told that approx 50% of kids who take the 11+ have little real chance of passing, 10% will pass without blinking an eye which leaves 40% who could pass on a good day, with the right level of preparation... unfortunately under a half of them will pass as there are insufficient GS places.

I think that teachers will tell parents if there children are in the 10% who should pass easily, for the rest (like my DS and yours by the sound of it) they are much more reserved in their comments
katel
Posts: 960
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:30 pm

Re: I'm worried my son isn't grammar school material !

Post by katel »

Just as reassurance, my dd was definitely a borderline case - she ended up with 2 5s and a 4 in year 6 and passing the maths paper of the 11+ by 1 mark! We worried endlessly about her struggling in grammar school, but sshe has just finished year 9 with excellent results and is expected to get As and A*s at GCSE.

She wasn't coached, though, so the 2 5s and a 4 were her "natural" level, Not sure if this makes a difference.
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