kendrick exam

[stevew61]

Am I being too pedantic , Am I asking for too much?
Comments welcome
Kendrick mum?

I have been chasing this info. for about one year, I don't need it untill 2012 by which time it will probably be out of date. I have been told, but not reliably informed that VR is one hundred questions in the sixty minutes. Be prepared.

[Terri]

Kendrick Mum and Stevew61,

I honestly don't have any more info about the 2006 exam than is already shared on this thread, and I don't know if the exam varies year on year, I guess you would need a tutor to come forward with their experience/observations over several years to establish a pattern.I don't want to state the obvious, but the following would have helped me when I started looking into this :

NVR is a section based exam and you can see what you are up against in the NFER pack in terms of difficulty and time.You can go further ahead by buying some of the harder papers with a view to either improving weak areas or compensating for weaknesses by ensuring good areas are really strong.
VR is about vocabulary and you can build this up perhaps by looking at papers and writing down every unusual (for a 10 year old) usually 4 letter word you find eg 'changing gear' can mean changing levels but it can also mean changing clothes- this just stunned my daughter. There are lots of tips on this site so do keep checking it , we used Patricia's word list which can be found on this site, which was really helpful and then added more ourselves.

This is a question for Stevew61, which Maths practice papers would you recommend for Reading boys ? I have a son who will be facing this next year and I'm not sure a) how comprehensively we need to cover maths subjects and b) what level we should be aiming for.


Best Wishes

[stevew61]

This is a question for Stevew61, which Maths practice papers would you recommend for Reading boys ? I have a son who will be facing this next year and I'm not sure a) how comprehensively we need to cover maths subjects and b) what level we should be aiming for.

We overdid the maths assuming it would be a tough paper as described in other areas. It is Readings' own paper at about NFER/KS2 standard. So you need to complete KS2 by end of year five? We looked at algebra but it did not come up. DS completed maths paper in twenty minutes, checked it twice and then decided to leave well alone. Look at Reading GCSE results they have no problems getting 123 out of 124 boys to A/A* standard so I feel they do not select on maths ability. The English and VR/NVR are the deal breaker and having to sit four exams in one day ( if you include the essay ) make it a real endurance test.

Which papers? NFER and NFER type e-papers from this site, tuition for you, although not multi choice were good for us.

Within first two weeks at Reading we had maths problems as "the top set aim to complete GCSE course by end of year nine" so my KS3 CGP book was not advanced enough!

Any more questions happy to help. Son 2 ( year 3 ) will probably sit exam in 2010 so I will be taking an interest for the next few years.

Hopefully we will get a positive result and some feedback from Bewildered from this years exam.



stevew61

[kendrick mum?]

To Terri, kendrick mum and Stevew61
Thanks for your inputs, its really appreciated!

Guess dd and I will continue to do sample questions and build up on speed, will also look at the word list you mentioned and do what we can before the exam. Then it's fingers crossed till march.( Isn't it an awful long wait- I've heard slough schools tell you if your child is eligible for a place in December -far more civilised). Any other tips to increase dd's chances greatly received.


kendrick mum?

[stevew61]

Terri,

Asked DS about Reading exam and maths. After the exam he did not want to talk much but I did post some sample questions on an earlier thread. He now says basic algebra did come up, bit of an unreliable witness . He described a pie chart where you had to calculate percentages. He said there were some harder questions towards the end of the paper. He also gave more details on the several short comprehensions on the English paper that he found challenging one was a piece called Rainbow Gutter that dealt with racism and he remembers the phrases "black baboon" and "white ape". Bearing in mind they had several short comprehensions looks tough.

Hope this helps give you an idea of the exam, be prepared for the unexpected.


stevew61

PS If you register............

[Guest121]

Hi Steve61

Going back to the comprehensions in the English Paper at Reading Boys School, do you have any idea how many comp pssages there were, roughly how long they were (ie a paragraph or longer), and how many questions per passage.

[stevew61]

Hi Steve61

Going back to the comprehensions in the English Paper at Reading Boys School, do you have any idea how many comp pssages there were, roughly how long they were (ie a paragraph or longer), and how many questions per passage.

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... php?t=1687

English, NFER paper four (?) short comprehensions ( a bit like KS2 paper but half the time ! but it is multiple choice ) plus three sections spot spelling mistake, spot grammar error, best word? 65 questions a bit of a shock

Recently saw a bond paper that had four short pieces to read followed by about nine questions on each. Have heard of in previous years exercises involving alphabetical orderings and looking at a bibliography? you had to decide where the maps came from, the cartographer. So be prepared dor some change of format.


stevew61

[stevew61]

This is a question for Stevew61, which Maths practice papers would you recommend for Reading boys ?

Hi Terri,

Over the weekend opened my elevenplus box file most relevant Maths papers were IPS - D and IPS daily book 1 or similar. The Bond papers are at a higher level I feel we spent to much time on these

stevew61

[Terri]

Stevew61,
Thanks that's really helpful.Sorry not to thankyou sooner , have been away for a few days at Grandma's.
Terri