1 day to go .....

Eleven Plus (11+) in Warwickshire

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JamesDean
Posts: 1537
Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:03 pm

1 day to go .....

Post by JamesDean »

..... and how's everyone doing?

DS is so calm, its great. He's been sat on a table at school with 3 friends who are also taking it on Saturday, so I think there has been much discussion between them. He says 2 are quite stressed, and have done a lot of practice over the holidays. I asked DS if he minded if he didn't get a high enough score to get into KES and he said he was quite happy to go to our local comp (which I am happy with too).

So its win win here really. However, I do realise we are in a very fortunate position and not everyone's plan B is as acceptable as ours. We'll see what tomorrow brings ...

Good luck everyone, hope it goes well for all the children :)

JD
Okanagan
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Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:20 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: 1 day to go .....

Post by Okanagan »

In ways you're in a best of both worlds situation being in Central Warwickshire. In area for the Stratford Grammars (and I agree with you about Alcester - we looked at it last year and the logistics from here were impossible) but with the local comps not actually losing many children from the top end of the ability range, so there are still some good options.

ds1 for example, who would have qualified for any of the Warwickshire schools last year, except for KES which location-wise was the only viable option for us, is now at a Central Warwickshire comp where he's in a maths class of children who all got level 6's at KS2 SATs. And with it being close enough to cycle to rather than relying on buses he's got a lot more out of school options, and enough time saved on travelling every day to maintain all his (extensive!) extracurricular sporting activities as well as doing his homework. As an overall package it's different, certainly, but not necessarily worse.
JamesDean
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Re: 1 day to go .....

Post by JamesDean »

We sound very similar, Okanagan :) There is nothing 'wrong' with our local school, and as you say, it has the advantage of being walkable (I wonder if its the same school???). Its results are good and I know they push the top sets - had a long conversation with Head of Maths when DS and his friends went there for a maths challenge event in July. Most of the children from our primary go there (including those who achieve level 6s in their SATS) and tbh, we would probably never have gone down the 11+ route had DS not asked to do it.

My only reservation is the sheer size of the place and the number of children per year group (although I know they have a good system to deal with this). Having been a pupil at AGS myself, when the intake was 60 per year, this school reminds me more of my university than a secondary school! :lol:

Oh well, its all academic at the moment - hopefully things will become clearer (?!) when the results come out ...

How is your DS getting on?

JD
Brum Mum
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Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 6:27 pm

Re: 1 day to go .....

Post by Brum Mum »

I've been really quite calm - but today I've woken a bit nervous on DS's behalf.

DS is excited about it all - not nervous and a bit bouncy (but he likes doing tests anyway).

We'd prefer AGS over KES as both DS and DH think its better to go to a mixed school, although I think if he got a high enough score I think he'd love KES. Our fall back position is a really good school too, which a lot of his friend will also go to - so again, win win for us.

We've not done much work at all this week although various parents seem to be working the kids right to the last minute...there's now almost a third of his class taking the test!

I have to say though, if I hear another parent in the playground mention the word 'fail' in respect of the test I shall be biting my tongue almost off! :lol:
JamesDean
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Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:03 pm

Re: 1 day to go .....

Post by JamesDean »

Oh the 'F' word - annoys me too, Brum Mum :x I keep telling DS its about finding the right school for him, and not about passing or failing! Grrrrrrrr. I've even told him you don't get a mark (!), just a ranking, as I know there are some hugely competitive children (parents) at school and I don't want to get into the whole 'who got more' nonsense - although whether I can stick to that after the results come out, I'm not sure ...

And I would love him to go to AGS - DH went to an all boys school and he's v uncertain about KES! Anyway, it'll all come out in the wash, I hope!

JD
Brum Mum
Posts: 604
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 6:27 pm

Re: 1 day to go .....

Post by Brum Mum »

JamesDean wrote:Oh the 'F' word - annoys me too, Brum Mum :x I keep telling DS its about finding the right school for him, and not about passing or failing! Grrrrrrrr. I've even told him you don't get a mark (!), just a ranking, as I know there are some hugely competitive children (parents) at school and I don't want to get into the whole 'who got more' nonsense - although whether I can stick to that after the results come out, I'm not sure ...

And I would love him to go to AGS - DH went to an all boys school and he's v uncertain about KES! Anyway, it'll all come out in the wash, I hope!

JD
Nice to hear that you feel the same about the flippin 'F' word :)

I've said to mine that I don't care what score he gets, just that he does his best and that the score will only offer him more choices (although the final choice will be ours - but I'm not broadcasting that fact to him) :lol:

I think there will be lots of "what did yours get?" in the playground on results day - we are in a tricky spot as DS is seen as 'the clever one' in the class - something I've tried to get away from for some time.

...and yes - it will all come out soon enough I guess.
ginx
Posts: 2151
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:47 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: 1 day to go .....

Post by ginx »

Good luck, everyone. I'm invigilating. I remember the relief when it was all over last year for my dd2.

As Okanagan says, going to a school that isn't a gs is not the end of the world, and may well have advantages over a gs in some ways. I hope dc tomorrow aren't terrified or too stressed. I haven't done this before, I've only done GCSE's/A levels/mocks, so will be interested to see what it's like. I just hope the children are ok.

My dd2 has just started at gs, is very tired but seems happy, her friends who went to the excellent comp are happy too. Amongst her friends, there have been a few tears, worries over transport, tiredness, but it sounds like most dc are settling in wherever they are.I want to hear everyone is happy.

Think of the relief when it's all over. Not long now.

Good luck to everyone.
Okanagan
Posts: 1706
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:20 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: 1 day to go .....

Post by Okanagan »

Can we just remind everbody that there will still be some candidates who are sitting the exam on a later date, so please DON'T post details of the content after the test tomorrow. General impressions, or this section was tough, or that section was very tight for time are ok, but no more than that at this stage please.

If your children remember some of the content - even if just generally which types of questions appeared - and you'd like to make a note of it now so that we can help those with children going through the process in future years to gain an idea of what to expect, then do please feel free to PM it to me once all the exams are over, and we can compile this it and add it to the site later.
JamesDean
Posts: 1537
Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:03 pm

Re: 1 day to go .....

Post by JamesDean »

No problem, Okanagan - although chances of getting any info out of my DS are always slim!

JD
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