Change of Rules

Eleven Plus (11+) in Trafford

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1 Confused Mum
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:55 pm

Change of Rules

Post by 1 Confused Mum »

Hi there,

I didn't grow up in the UK and I'm a bit confused with the admissions system for the 11+. Ideally we would like our daughter to be able to get into Alty Girls or Loreto. We are outside of the area. I rang the Trafford Admissions and they said because the rules are changing, I need to ring at the end of April. I don't know how to go about applying for exams on both schools. Do we apply through our own LEA(Stockport)? What if she can't get into either?

Could someone also please tell me what are the exam topics for both schools? I had a look in this website(Trafford page) and the recommended NFER books but then at the bottom of the web page it said these don't apply for Alty Girls or Loreto?

Please help!
TraffordMum
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Trafford

Post by TraffordMum »

Firstly, don't panic!

You are quite right that Trafford is the correct authority for Alty Girls and Loreto but, actually, both these schools operate their own admissions' procedure. If you ring each school and ask them to send you an application form for 2009 entry they will do so, although I am not sure that they have been published yet. However, they would take your details and post out the forms as and when they are ready.

When you are issued the CAF from Stockport LEA (about July time) read what it says very carefully but if it is like past years then you rank on it all the schools you are interested in including those that are out of area. So you would put Alty Girls and Loreto on your CAF along with schools in Stockport.

In terms of the exams themselves I have no experience with Loreto so cannot advise you there. Annoyingly their website seems to be under construction so there's no help from that source either.

For Alty Girls it has historically followed the same format as the Trafford 11+, ie Maths, VR and NVR. NFER sets the papers. The school doesn't provide copies of past papers but does sell the usual NFER packs you can buy in shops. The advice given on this website for the Trafford 11+ therefore, holds true for Alty Girls as well.

Hope that helps a bit.
1 Confused Mum
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:55 pm

Bond/NFER

Post by 1 Confused Mum »

Dear TraffordMum,

Thank you very much for your reply. After looking it up on the internet, I now know something about the CAF and will wait for it in July. I have phoned up both schools last week but I'm yet to receive the information from them. I suppose we have to apply to both schools using their forms and also put Alty Girls & Loreto in the CAF from Stockport LEA.

In the meantime, my daughter has started on some practice papers, most of them second hand Bond practice papers. I'm not sure of the difference between the Bond & Nfer papers. The Bond papers that we have include Maths, VR, NVR and also English.

Thanks again for your help.
TraffordMum
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Trafford

Post by TraffordMum »

Bond is good for NVR and Maths but not as good for VR as it includes some types of questions that aren't tested by NFER. That's not to say don't use it - just be aware. There aren't many NFER materials to use - basically 4 papers in each subject called Tests 11a, 11b, 11c and 11d. Since there aren't many it's often advised to leave doing those papers until later on in the preparation process so as not to peak too soon or frighten your child too soon :wink:

Don't bother with the English as it isn't tested. The children are asked to write a short essay with a given starting sentence, but it's only reviewed if the child is within 5 marks under the pass mark - the review process.
1 Confused Mum
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:55 pm

Loreto

Post by 1 Confused Mum »

Dear TraffordMum,

Thank you very much for your reply. I have managed to get some more practice papers and my daughter has settled into a routine of doing them. She is doing well and gaining confidence every day.

We are going to try for both Loreto & Alty Girls but I couldn't find a lot of information about the Loreto exams. Does anyone know which practice papers would be appropriate? Any info about the Loreto exams will be greatly appreciated
Fairy
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 6:24 pm
Location: Sale, Cheshire

Loreto exam

Post by Fairy »

Sorry about the late response to your post but I haven't been on the website for a while.

Loreto exam is very different to the Alty one - in that Alty has the VR, NVR & Maths (plus the creative writing which is rumoured to be disappearing this year - but who knows!) and Loreto has VR, Maths & English with no NVR.

The English paper may change slightly from year to year (Loreto like to keep us on our toes) but it generally consists of some grammar work (missing words, correcting punctuation, etc.) and a piece of creative writing.

I'm glad to see your daughter has settled happily into the practice papers. In my experience they can be quite fun if approached in the right way. If she seems to be tiring, sometimes it helps to sit down and do one at the same time - they love the competition and also love seeing how hard their parents find the papers!!!!

You may find that your daughter is finding the Bond maths quite hard and indeed I have stopped using them with my pupils as they are of a higher level of difficulty than the exam papers - I found them quite demotivating. The NVR papers are almost the same format as the NFER ones and therefore are great and, as Trafford Mum pointed out, the VR ones need vetting for the content.

Sorry to be so late with this information but I hope it helps. If you wish to clarify any more points then you can send me a personal message as I don't always visit the Forum when on the website.

Fairy
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