Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Eleven Plus (11+) in Gloucestershire (Glos)

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72purples
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:10 pm

Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Post by 72purples »

Hi all,
I am new to this site (and indeed the whole secondary school process)
My daughter is sitting the 11 plus exam in Gloucestershire next weekend. I am aware that we will receive her results a week later. Can you tell me if we will know by her score whether she will be accepted?
I see some of the other forums talking of a score of 210 .... can someone please advise me where this number comes from.
Thanks from a very confused mum :o
ToadMum
Posts: 11945
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Post by ToadMum »

Hi,

You would do better posting your query in the Gloucestershire section :) ***now moved by moderator***

Not in your area, but my understanding of the system in Glos is that when you apply for your child to take the 11+, you nominate the school at which you want him / her to sit the exam, and also the schools with which you wish their result to be shared. When the results are released, each of those schools will tell you how your child has done according to their treatment of the raw scores s/he obtained. Each school has a different cut-off.

So if your DD is, say, sitting the exam at Ribston Hall, you may also have asked for her marks to be shared with Pate's and SHS, and each of these will give her a standardised score. You can then name on your CAF any of the schools for which she has a score on or above the cut-off.

Hope I have got this right :)
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
72purples
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Post by 72purples »

Thank you for your reply.
Will I know if she has scored enough for either HSFG or Ribston?
My worry is that if she doesn't, then, our third option would not be high enough to get her into that school?
Does that make sense?
DC17C
Posts: 1197
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:34 pm

Re: Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Post by DC17C »

You will get a letter or email about a week after the test from each school you have shared results with, You will be told if you have a qualifying score for the school you want. It is likely to scores for different school is quite different. My dd scored 212 for HSFG ( QS 210) 224 for Ribston (QS 210) and 223 for SHS (qs216) 2 years ago. We ended up putting Ribston as first choice as it was dd's favourite and she got a place.

The important thing is to put all the schools you want your dd to be considered for on the CAF in the order you prefer. If your dd does not get allocated her first choice due to being too low in the ranking then her second school becomes first choice- it would then go to the third choice if needed. Each time your dd is put inot the list for a particular school she is ranked down to the admission criteria of the school without them knowing where they are in the preference order. If your dd does not get a qualifying score for a particular school but you think you may want to appeal to the school- it needs to be on the CAF. You have to remember that the girls may get a score for all the schools but can only go to one school so once the first school is allocated then the chance of getting the second school is much better.
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Post by Amber »

Hi there.
You will receive a score for each of the schools you asked to share results with. These scores are done differently for each school so that 210 for HSFG is not the same as the 210 required for Ribston. But you will be told if it is a 'qualifying score'. Getting a qualifying score does not automatically mean your child gets a place, unless you are told that she is in the top 120 for Pates or SHS, in which case you are guaranteed a place if you choose to put them first on the CAF.

The 210 is an arbitrary number which is arrived at by looking at the spread of marks for a school and deciding how many children should 'pass'. It isn't a 'real' score in any true sense - if you want more detail try looking up 'norm referencing' on your search engine; then contrast it with 'criterion referencing' to see how it could be done in another world. I did try to explain it on this thread
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 58&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The closer the score is to 210, the more likely you are to end up in what is known on this forum as the 'twilight zone' - ie your child has qualified but you don't know until March if they will have a place. For example, 2 years ago, anyone who scored 210 or over for STRS got a place; last year I understand it was nearer to 216, because more people chose the school over others they had qualified for. The admissions officers play a kind of predicition game to try and make a pass score closely equate to the numbers who will opt to go there, but of course people are unpredictable and you don't know for sure until the written offer comes in March.

Hope this helps. Best wishes - it is horrible.
Okanagan
Posts: 1706
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:20 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Post by Okanagan »

DC17C wrote:The important thing is to put all the schools you want your dd to be considered for on the CAF in the order you prefer. If your dd does not get allocated her first choice due to being too low in the ranking then her second school becomes first choice- it would then go to the third choice if needed.
Also bear in mind what would happen if you didn't get any of the schools you put down - what would your reaction be to being offered a place at the nearest school to you which is usually undersubscribed? If you don't put down a safe choice you are sure you'll get somewhere on your application form (I think that effectively means 4th in Gloucestershire) you risk being allocated any school - usually the nearest one - which has spare places.
72purples
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Post by 72purples »

Thank you for your replies.
That is my concern, if in the twilight zone, and I have only put the comp school we preferred as 3rd option, she probably won't get in ??
Okanagan
Posts: 1706
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:20 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Post by Okanagan »

If you would have got in if you'd placed it first, you'll still get in if you place it third.

If you don't get your first choice, your application passes to your second choice - where it will be considered in exactly the same way is if you'd placed it first. You wouldn't be treated as behind anyone who had actually placed it first. So if the exam mark was higher (if it's a selective school), or (depending upon the admissions policy) if you lived nearer for the comp, you would slot in at the appropriate place.

If you don't get the second choice either then your application moves on to the third choice, again exactly as if you had placed it first.

The only danger is if you don't put down any school you are likely to get (e.g. your catchment area school) on your form. If you named 4 schools which were all either selective (and you didn't get the marks needed) or a long way from home and oversubscribed (so that people nearer would have priority over you) then you could end up getting none of your choices. If that happens then places are filled for everyone who can get one of their choices, and you would get whatever is nearest which happens to have places left - of if you were lucky you might be told which schools still have places and be allowed to choose from these. So if you want your local comp as the fallback option make sure it's on your form, even if it is your last choice.
capers123
Posts: 1865
Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 9:03 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Post by capers123 »

Hi,

Anotherw ay of putting it is 'If the County can't give you your first choice, that choice disappears and the next choice magically becomes your first choice'.

Years ago some schools insisted that you put them in first place if you wanted to be in with a chance, but that is now against the law, and certainly doesn't happen in Gloucestershire.

Always, always make use of all your choices, and make sure that there's a school you are sure of getting on the list even if it's your bottom choice.
Capers
Mum66
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:45 pm

Re: Filling out the admissions form for secondary

Post by Mum66 »

Please remember that you do not need to put a school on the CAF if you want to appeal for a place. You can appeal for any school regardless of whether it is on your CAF or not. Unless you have qualified for that GS, it could be a waste of one of your choices.
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