For those who passed...

[pickle]

....I just wondered, if you don't mind sharing, the levels the children who passed entrance exams are working at?

DS didn't pass his, I believe that was mainly down to lack of confidence, nerves and disruption during the exam, but he's progressing so well at school I wonder if I should appeal. I was thinking about the 12+ but I'm doubtful he'd move schools once he'd just settled in because of the type of child he is. He's already panicking about high school now!

Looks like he'll achieve high level 5's for maths & literacy in May.

Any help greatly appreciated.

[countrymum]

She is working at 5a in English and Maths and is doing the level 6 sats papers in both English and Maths. Still can't make me a decent cup of tea though There are many threads about level 6 on here and tbh am a bit on the fence regarding them. I am quite happy for her to be assessed at secondary and be given the level they believe she is working at. A 6 at primary I believe can be quite different to a 'proper' secondary 6.

Good luck with any appeal, all the best x

Edited Reason: Too much waffling!

[pickle]

Thanks for sharing countrymum and congratulations to your dd, you must be very proud

I agree with you on this system. I think we should return to the system of old where the child sits one exam in his/her own school and if they pass, they go to the nearest grammar school.

My ds has been told he's one mark away from a 5A in maths and he's a 5A in literacy. I could just kick myself that he didn't pass the exam. He's progressed a full level in a year which is fantastic but the timing couldn't have been more wrong!

We live very close to a GS and a great all boys school but I'm not overly keen on the all boys aspect, which is why I'm considering an appeal, although I feel it's going to be extremely stressful for me and the outcome will, more than likely, be a no.

It doesn't help that this is our first time through this process and we were very naive and had no idea what to expect so we feel we've let him down a little by not doing our homework.

I've no doubt that he'll do fantastic wherever he goes but I think going to a GS would give him the confidence boost he needs.

Looks like I'll have to go through the appeal just so I know I did everything I could for him.

Thanks again.

[Paprika]

Good luck Pickle but you don't need luck, your DS is clearly a very bright lad backed by supportive parents so the sky's the limit

My DD is working at 5A level for maths and reading but 5C for writing - must be her indecipherable scrawl letting her down ! She's doing her level 6 sats soon too. She went 4 for 4 in GS exams

I do disagree slightly with sentiments often expressed on here pouring a modicum of scorn on the Grammar school exam system. How better could they identify the brighter kids ? Continual assessment of primary school work would of course only work under the assumption that all primary school children were receiving the same level of teaching. 11 is young but not that young to face such a pressure cooker situation - it's a big bad world out there with plenty of stressful situations awaiting them so why not find out who handles stress capably - Sharapova won Wimbledon at 17, kids play Premier League football at 16 - an exam is a reference point which everybody knows the date of and everybody knows the content of ergo it's a level playing field.

I hate this "overtutored" theory. It basically thumbs it's nose at hard work. A hero of mine as a young man, Jim Courier ( a tennis champ noted for his work ethic rather than outstanding talent) once said that the ability to work hard is a talent in itself. I'm not for one minute suggesting that every child who failed the exams didn't work hard but the overtutored line is an easy one to trot out as sour grapes tumble from frustrated parents' mouths. My DD started tutoring at the end of Jan once a week until the exams with an extra lesson in between each exam. She worked hard for 7 months with 2 weeks off for our summer holiday. If she'd spent a similar amount of time doing gymnastics with a private trainer people would say how marvellous she is at it and predict a bright future not denounce her as an overtrained monkey who'd soon be exposed as such.

In academia as in life you reap what you sow

[Pumpkin Pie]

I hate this "overtutored" theory. It basically thumbs it's nose at hard work.

The way I interpret 'overtutored' is some DC who has been tutored to pass the exam and who has worked hard. However, once the tutoring is over and the child is at GS, the DC may find it difficult to keep up and maintain the high standard of work. Of course, this does not apply to all tutored DC.

[CarpeDiem]

How better could they identify the brighter kids ?

By not requiring the children to put all their eggs in one basket so to speak.
It would be much better if all children got to take the tests within their own primary schools on the same day at the same time which was how the 11+ was conducted in my day. Much less stressful. This combined with a short reference per pupil regarding their academic perfomance at school would allow a fairer selection. Some incredibly bright children do not perform well under pressure and some not so bright children do a lot better than expected when under pressure.

overtutored line is an easy one to trot out as sour grapes tumble from frustrated parents' mouth

Yes it is but it is a far from level playing field as not everyone has the time or money to invest in tutoring their child. If everyone had the option of a years free tutoring one session per week in the run up to the exams I would not have any problem with anyone overtutoring but they don't and that is where it is unfair. With the current system the better off time/money wise gain an advantage.

In academia as in life you reap what you sow

Totally agree. The ethos of working hard does gain results. However everyone has to have the same opportunities for the playing field to be level. To go back to your sports reference you would not think it fair if the gymnastics beam was an inch thinner for one person than another!

[countrymum]

I think many children are indeed 'over' tutored, I know many prep and state children being tutored from yr 3/4 to pass an exam. Really, that is not over tutoring???? That documentary horrified me, what the parent said to their child after dropping them off at the exam was so To be frank I think so much of this is a parent thing. Infact a forum like this should be set up just for the DC's to tell us how it really is.

Familiarisation is fine, I just don't agree with children being tutored from such an early age. What if you really can't afford tutoring. Perhaps is indeed 'sour grapes' on my part, perhaps I should have gone down this one to one tutor route. Perhaps she would have made up those points on an exam for a school she wanted if we'd looked into the preparation for all this much earlier than Easter last year. Yes we were late starters. Many many what if's in our case, but 3 out of 4 ain't bad, so have no reason at all for sour grapes. After 5 hours kip and probably what equates to one/two questions wrong she did good The system is a perfect one indeed. Though of course for those that passed and got allocated. Tutored or not.

Some actually are just 10 at the time of an exam, and I think maturity can vary greatly, the pressure for some is fine, some however do not cope with it. I don't have aspirations for my child to be the next champion of the world in a particular field anyway. Health and happiness before anything!!

Edited: Reason to delete some of the 100's of emoticons I seemed to have included.

[Paprika]

Fair interpretation.

My DD did app 5 hours per week homework set by her tutor. Now I've no idea if that puts her into the overtutored category or not but on the basis that Loreto say that 2hrs HW per night is the norm for a year 7 child then surely a child who has experienced a fairly tough schedule in preparation for the exams is thus better equipped to cope with the demands of grammar school homework assuming some level of academic ability.

And apologies for being so vulgar as to talk money but unless you're on the breadline a tutor isn't beyond the means of a normal family. I paid £18/week plus the occasional textbook on top of that.

[countrymum]

I think Loreto homework in yr 7 is a wee bit less that that, I shall check my facts though.

We certainly didn't do 5 hours homework per week, but I would say we were under-prepped perhaps. She did go to practice paper familiarisation group sessions for a little while after Easter at 1hr 30 mins but she said she wasn't really learning anything. So she left and we went it alone at home. Mostly drank tea and had cake but we ( kind of ) had fun

There shall always be differing views on this tutor thing, and perhaps the ones most passionate are the ones whose DC's have slipped through the wayside for whatever reason but doing remarkably well at school. It sounds like your DD is doing really well Paprika, did you mention shes doing the level 6's. Now then are you doing any homework for those over Easter I know my DD has been set some, whether she shall do it is another thing!

[Paprika]

I think Loreto homework in yr 7 is a wee bit less that that, I shall check my facts though.

We certainly didn't do 5 hours homework per week, but I would say we were under-prepped perhaps. She did go to practice paper familiarisation group sessions for a little while after Easter at 1hr 30 mins but she said she wasn't really learning anything. So she left and we went it alone at home. Mostly drank tea and had cake but we ( kind of ) had fun

There shall always be differing views on this tutor thing, and perhaps the ones most passionate are the ones whose DC's have slipped through the wayside for whatever reason but doing remarkably well at school. It sounds like your DD is doing really well Paprika, did you mention shes doing the level 6's. Now then are you doing any homework for those over Easter I know my DD has been set some, whether she shall do it is another thing!

No countrymum we aren't gonna do any extra work for level 6, too many eggs to eat ! I absolutely endorse your sentiment of health and happiness before anything. I'm a pragmatist and I explained to DD that a few months extra work for the 11 plus could be rewarded by 5 years in a school that would greatly improve her chances of being anything she wants to be in life. I think this level 6 business is more about the school bigging themselves up rather than benefitting the kids who're doing it.