Mock tests in Sutton

[Flustered]

Just booked ds on to mock tests at sutton grammar. Can see they have 2 sets of test dates. Is it worth doing the second set?

[Reading Mum]

is your question whether to do 2 mocks or whether to do the later date?

I can't see the point in 2 mocks. In terms of date it depends on how far along in your prep you are?

[Flustered]

Doing earlier set cos want to see how ds copes in exam room in unfamiliar surroundings. Is it worth doing second set to hopefully build his confidence a second time around?

[Hera]

All the Sutton mock papers on the different dates are the same if it is the one done by the PTA at the school so I can't see a benefit of doing it twice. However doing 2 or perhaps even 3 mocks is I think really helpful. In the first mock DS thought he knew it all, raced through the papers, twiddled his thumbs when he had finished and was shocked by the result. The second one for us was Sutton where he faired much better and when we did the real thing he wasn't at all nervous and when I questioned him after he said it was just like another mock and he had done loads! 2 in fact and a couple of mock, mocks with me.

Sorry, just seen they have changed it this year and are offering 2 separate tests. Yes if it was me I would do both.

[Flustered]

My friend's dd sat the PTA tests last year and recommended my ds sit them this year. She said it was great to have her sit a set of mocks with loads of other kids in an exam hall. I will sign up ds for one set but can see from their website that this year for the first time they are offering 2 completely different sets of mocks. From what you say, Bel, 2 could well iron out some problems. Don't suppose anyone knows how quickly they fill up? I guess I could book one now and think about it for the second set or just blow another £25 on the 'cause'. True to my name, I am now very flustered! Any more advice out there

[Daogroupie]

Book on both, the dates will fill up very quickly because people will come from miles around. We did them two years in a row with both dds and came from Herts. If we had been allowed to do it again we would and this year they have two different papers. Book now you will not regret it. It is fantastic to see your dc's marks in context in a long list with thousands of other candidates. It will show you where you need to focus. It is a real wake up call. DG

[tiffinboys]

Details of Sutton Mock tests:

http://www.suttongrammar.sutton.sch.uk/ ... ests.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The exposure to the test enviroment was very helpful, though the papers were not related to the Tiffins' tests, these are useful for many other schools' tests which involves VR, English and Maths.

I doubt if we would have taken both sets; we had taken mocks of other tutors and quite benefited from those tests.

[Daogroupie]

But did those other mock tests give you your mark against thousands of other candidates? I run comprehension and creative writing mocks twice a week and can show my candidate exactly where they would get marks and where they have gone wrong but I can't show them where they are compared to a huge slice of their year group who will also be sitting selective exams. Last year one of my students who sat Sutton mocks got 94% in the Maths that put him in the top 2% but 80% in the English that put him in the top 9%. This showed that there really were not that many more marks to be picked up in Maths but he could easily miss out on a place because of his English mark and that he could pick up more marks by really focusing on English and so he did and got into DAO and QE boys with very strong English and Maths results. So Sutton mocks showed where he needed to focus. Other complacent students that we know of who did not bother to see where they were in the cohort had very misplaced confidence and missed out on their desired schools. DG

[Flustered]

Your comments are very interesting. I thought the Sutton Grammar tests were really only designed for the test experience but from what you are saying we can get a lot more out of them. I think I am getting closer to my decision. Two sets of mocks - first one to see how ds copes then second set to build confidence and highlight weaknesses. What do you reckon?

[tiffinboys]

But did those other mock tests give you your mark against thousands of other candidates?

For us, one sitting of Sutton test and results for that were sufficient as the results came, from memory, late in July or early August and entrance tests were in September. DC had scored very highly (and there was a danger of becoming over-confident). There were no tests after and so we could not go back and see if there was any more improvement. Also one reason, DC would not have taken this test again, was that these were not quite relevant to Tiffin test (VR/NVR), which was foremost in our preferences. Also experience of different test papers, rather than the same type and standard, was more helpful in our preparation.

The other mocks were sat by just over 200 candidates at each sitting - raw score and Highest/average scores were given and review session for NVR held. So again these were good enough for us as we then exactly knew which NVR types we needed to concentrate on.