Living in Blackheath or Greenwich

Eleven Plus (11+) in Bexley and Bromley

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madsometimes
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2009 11:15 am

Living in Blackheath or Greenwich

Post by madsometimes »

My daughter is about to go into year 5, and I am looking at secondary options for her. I am a newbie here, and I would like to understand how the 11 plus works for children who live out of area. Is it probable that my daughter should score in the top 180 to gain a grammar school place in Bexley? Does anyone know if a similar scheme operates for the Kent and Bromley schools?

Please take me gently through this, I really do know very little!
Tracy
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:28 am
Location: Bexley

Post by Tracy »

madsometimes - love the name - mine shoud be madallofthetime!

From Greenwich/Blackheath:

Bexley - top 180 passes, then distance.

Bromley - only have Newstead and it's ranked in order of score. Not sure on distance though.

Kent - well there's a story. A Kent bod should be able to give you more details. I guess you'd be interested in Dartford or Wilmington?
Wilmington, with the exception of the top 12 passes, places are allocated on distance. Dartford - long story there but Dartford are trying to change it's entrance criteria which clearly discriminates against girls from neighbouring boroughs. It's going to the Adjudicator so the proposed criteria might be dropped.
Jiff
Posts: 140
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:31 am

Post by Jiff »

Hallo madsometimes

It is certainly feasible to get into the top 180, but it is quite difficult to gauge. Just to give you an idea of the required level from my own personal experience. I have 3 children aged 15, 13 and 11, we live in Lewisham and our only chance of a place at a Bexley grammar school was to get into the top 180. All three got into superselective grammars, but only the 15 year old got in the top 180 of the Bexley tests, the other two missed out by a couple of marks.

As you may know, the current Bexley text comprises two papers - maths and verbal reasoning. Are these subjects that your daughter does well in?! I mention this because when my 13 year old took the test there were also papers in english and non-verbal reasoning, and he did very badly on the non-verbal reasoning so he may have got in the top 180 under the current system. Having said that, I thought maths and VR were my 11 year old's strengths but he still missed out! All of which to say, it is quite difficult to judge so, as I'm sure you will, I would strongly recommend having back up plans.

It might be worth checking with Newstead to see whether they have a distance limit. I have a vague recollection from friends with girls (currently on holiday so I'm sorry I can't check with them) that Newstead introduced a fairly wide limit a couple of years ago, which included parts of Blackheath but not all.

Good luck to you in the months ahead, it can be quite confusing but I'm sure you will get alot of good advice from this site. I have mentioned this before on another thread, but do watch out for registration dates; you need to register for Bexley and Kent in the spring/summer while your daughter is still in year 5.
shalom
Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:34 pm

Options in Greenwich and Blackheath

Post by shalom »

If your child scores in the top 180 you are guaranteed a Bexley grammar school place regardless of where you live. Thereafter, it is by distance not sure how far it goes. If you wish your child to sit the Bexley tests you will need to register by early July (ie first 2 wks) ready to sit the test in the second or third week of September. Contact Bexley Council school admissions.

Newstead Wood - the top 130 scorers are given places and those who score within 5 marks of the cut off are placed on a waiting list. I am not sure how much movement goes on there or how long the list lasts for.
I believe that you need to reside within 7 miles of the school to be eligible to sit the tests or 9 miles if you already have a sister at the school.

Hope that helps you.
Bexley Mum 2
Posts: 851
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:55 pm
Location: Bexley

Post by Bexley Mum 2 »

But please remember that last year over 4.5k children sat the Bexley test and 1294 were deemed selective. So being in the top 180 is no mean feat! I'm not trying to put anyone off, but I think it's important to manage expectations.
Jiff
Posts: 140
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:31 am

Post by Jiff »

Thank you Bexley Mum 2 - that was what I was trying to say in a very round-about way! And missing out by a couple of marks in our situation is, in reality, missing out completely.
madsometimes
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2009 11:15 am

Post by madsometimes »

Thanks everyone. I think that getting in the top 180 would be very unrealistic for my daughter. We are fortunate because our daughter stands a very good chance of getting into St Ursula's.

I think it now seems unlikely that we will even sit the 11 plus. She would probably be able to pass the 11 plus, but it would be quite gutting for her to work hard, pass an exam and find out that she could not secure a place at a school.
bigrob
Posts: 193
Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:42 pm

Post by bigrob »

Madsometimes.

Distance from the schools.

The Bexley schools do it by the shortest walking distance.

So pop your post code & the schools in to Routes & Traffic on the right hand side - half way down the page on http://www.theaa.com
---------------------------------------
Wilmington do it on distance as the crow flies.

I used this site last year to check the distance & it was spot on
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/cgi-bin/inyourarea/dist.pl

Wilmington this year was about 5.6 or 5.8 which is about the top of Eltham High Street.

Hope that helps[/url]
Stripyem
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:41 pm

Re: Living in Blackheath or Greenwich

Post by Stripyem »

I think you should put her in for them if you are keen and think she stands a chance. My daughter took the Bexley last year (and came in the top 180), passed the Kent test and luckily also passed Newstead (our 1st choice), which is where she went this September. They take the top 130 scorers so it is tough and out of 8 girls in her class who took it she was the only one who passed. The website tells you about the distance (7.5 miles I think) - we are in Blackheath and she gets a private coach from the village shared with the boys from St Olaves. Last year a couple of girls we know who took the Bexley and passed but didn't get into the top 180 still got offered a school (Chis & Sid and Townley) although they did not end up taking them in the end. My son is in year 5 so I have to go through it all again for him. The best thing is not to make too much of a big deal about it so they do not feel they have 'failed' if they don't get in - its certainly worth a try in my opinion.
DeAj
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:05 pm

Re: Living in Blackheath or Greenwich

Post by DeAj »

Hello Stripyem

I live in Greenwich and I am looking for a private coach for my son. Would you able to pass on the details of the coach who helped your daughter?

Thanks
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