WG or Parmiter's - anyone's children got in without tutor?

[herty]

I'm just interested in hearing from anyone whose children (or friends/acquaintances) got into WG (either gender) or Parmiter's on exam without going to a professional tutor.

Can it be done?

I daresay it can, but just by coincidence all the people I know who got in got in on (a) distance, (b) music exam, (c) sibling or (d) were heavily tutored professionally.

Anyone know of examples where this does not apply - to inspire me and others, and our children?

Thanks.

[aka]

Hi. Yes my DS was offered an academic place at Parmiter's without having recourse to a professional tutor. I did however tutor him myself at home. I started in the January before he took the exam in November. I taught him the VR techniques and then used a variety of papers and focussed particularly on the areas that he had the most difficulty. After the summer holidays I started to focus upon speed. He has also made a good friend at the school who was also tutored at home and gained entry to the school via the academic route, so it is perfectly possible for it to be done! Good Luck !

[lemondrop]

My cousin's DD got into WGGS without a tutor, although my cousin is a secondary English teacher and did a bit of practice with her DD at home.

I also know of 2 children from our school who got into Latymer with no tuition at all. Children going to selective schools is a rarity from our primary so this is quite a feat, on average only about 2 children per year go to selective school and rarely more than 5 even try.

[herty]

Thank you! It's good to know it can be done! I'm self-tutoring my DD too, and am a teacher (though not of VR, maths or primary aged children) so felt I ought, in theory, be able to help her as much as anyone else could, probably more in that I started off with a pretty good idea of what she already knew, and also what she was capable of.

Sometimes, though, you get the feeling that everyone else in the world is employing professional tutors, so it's good to know I am not alone!

[KS10]

Same here. OH and I both have a teaching background and tutored ourselves. I did, however, have a friend whose daughter had gone through the process the previous year and she told us which books to get.

I meant we did the tutoring ourselves.

[herty]

So do I take it your DC got in, too, KS10, or are they applying this year?

Ay tips on books you found particularly helpful?

[KS10]

DS is in Yr 7 at Parmiter's. We did Bond mainly, a couple of NFER Nelson (think that's what it was called) lent to us by aforementioned friend, First Aid in English (about half the book) and some Habs Maths questions, but these last were mainly for QEB preparation. We also looked at the 'How to do ...' (Bond) which helped us to explain the work that we were all struggling with. Had I known of this site's existence I would have been pestering Patricia.

DS said that FA in E helped with verbal reasoning.

[tense]

My DD got into Parmiter's without a tutor.

We hadn't even considered the school for her until we went to see it when she was in Year 6. As you will know, this didn't leave us long before the exam! Although I did of course buy her a Bond book and the NFER papers, we were very hands off - we thought it was such a long shot that there didn't seem much point over-doing it.

Although I knew my DD was considered "bright" - she was was consistently top of her class & had level 5s in all three subjects in Yr5, we were still astounded when she got in, thinking she didn't stand a chance against tutored children.

Parmiter's takes a high number of children that are the only one from their primary - I can only hope that this means the crazy system we have in Herts works in some way.

Good luck!

[herty]

Thanks - that is encouraging.

Thanks for tips on books, KS10 - not heard of the English one, but might have a look.

Not long till the exams now! (bites nails)

[WatfordMum]

I don't believe you need a tutor, if you have time and a good positive relationship with your child you can do all the tutoring yourself. Most parents find it daunting because they don't know how to go about it. The first thing is to use books to teach the subject , especially techniques in verbal reasoning. For hertfordhshire, the Susan Daughtrey books 1-4 are good. Peter Robson books for maths. Then move onto test papers(Bond papers, Susan Daughtrey graded test papers). The CDs on this website are good for practise and increasing vocabulary. Good Luck!