Slough Grammar 11+ exam dates BROUGHT FORWARD

Eleven Plus (11+) in Berkshire (Berks)

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Looking for help
Posts: 3767
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:12 am
Location: Berkshire

Post by Looking for help »

To be perfectly honest I have heard that there has been uproar in Ascot this year as many children in catchment have not got in to Charters.I know people who moved to North Ascot some years ago in order to secure secondary education at Charters and if this year is anything to go by they are very concerned (their oldest is year 5).
I think this has something to do with the number of independents in the area and the credit crunch.
So its not always definite that if you live within catchment you get your catchment school :(
Bewildered
Posts: 1806
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 2:29 pm
Location: Berkshire

Post by Bewildered »

Looking for help wrote:- in many cases children are being intensively coached for over a year.
I expect that unless the parents keep up with intensive tuition throughout their secondary school career, their children will not achieve the kind of results that the grammars are looking for, which is a shame for both the children and the schools.
Rgds,
LFH
LFH, could you clarify what is meant by 'intensively coached' and also what percentage of children you believe will have to 'keep up intensive tuition throughout their secondary school career'.
In my experience, the usual suspects in yr6 are the ones that pass. We had one surprise entrant last year, and this year perhaps the same; both getting in off the waiting list.
If you take a look at Bucks Grammars, where they take the top 25% into their grammars; giving catchment priority, it is interesting to note that these schools are in the recent FT 2009 top 1000 A-Level schools list, the majority of which coming within the top 400. I think this suggests that children don't need to be within the top 10% to achieve well, but the school environment and ethos plays a huge factor in the results achieved.
overpeck
Posts: 147
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:25 pm

Post by overpeck »

Hi LFH Our oldest daughter took Slough Consortium exam in 2004 same as your 3rd child and we approached the exam in the same way with 2nd child. We very calmly did practice at home a few months before exam. I really did not expect the result my 2nd child got as she is equally as bright as our 1st daughter. If I had found this website before 2nd daughter sat exam I would definately have got additional outside help/tutor as I dont think we are playing on an even playing field!!!!!
Looking for help
Posts: 3767
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:12 am
Location: Berkshire

Post by Looking for help »

Hi overpeck, I think things have changed in that time, if only we had known. :(
Bewildered, I make no criticism of people who have gone down this route, I am just unhappy that I was unaware of it. I believe there are tuition centres in Slough who prepare children for 3 hours per week plus nightly homework, which is a lot for a child of that age.
I have no idea of the numbers who approach the 11+ this way, but I imagine that intensive tuition at 10 or 11 will allow children who would otherwise not have achieved a pass to get in to a grammar.
This, I imagine, will lead to difficulties as they progress through the school to GCSE and A Levels.
I have no real idea about what happens in Bucks as we live too deep into Berks to have applied there, but I do recall reading a BBC news article at the end of last year about the amount of money some parents were spending there in order to secure a pass for their grammar option.
Catchment is not an issue for us as we are Catholics and have to travel many miles to get a Catholic scool, which is another issue altogether.
Rgds,
LFH
Drastic Dad
Posts: 138
Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2007 5:14 am
Location: Middlesex

Post by Drastic Dad »

Looking for help wrote:Hi overpeck, I think things have changed in that time, if only we had known. :(
Bewildered, I make no criticism of people who have gone down this route, I am just unhappy that I was unaware of it. I believe there are tuition centres in Slough who prepare children for 3 hours per week plus nightly homework, which is a lot for a child of that age.
I have no idea of the numbers who approach the 11+ this way, but I imagine that intensive tuition at 10 or 11 will allow children who would otherwise not have achieved a pass to get in to a grammar.
This, I imagine, will lead to difficulties as they progress through the school to GCSE and A Levels.
I have no real idea about what happens in Bucks as we live too deep into Berks to have applied there, but I do recall reading a BBC news article at the end of last year about the amount of money some parents were spending there in order to secure a pass for their grammar option.
Catchment is not an issue for us as we are Catholics and have to travel many miles to get a Catholic scool, which is another issue altogether.
Rgds,
LFH
Some parents are going down the tuition route, some are not. We took our son to a very famous tutor in Slough but after a session realized that this was not the way for us and discontinued tuition. In spite of not being tutored, our child passed all three GS exams he sat and all three with very good marks (well above the first round cut-off mark). I still wonder how these heavily tutored kids survive in secondary schools. Grammar schools are still showing very good results and the quality of GS education has not gone down. On the other hand, I do know some heavily tutored kids who could not pass any of the GS exams they sat. It is all quite murky. Maybe the quality of competition has gone up because of the continual decline in the comprehensive system in spite of over a decade of generous funding handed out by successive Labour governments.
overpeck
Posts: 147
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:25 pm

Post by overpeck »

Hi Partygirl and Nayna P hope you are having a good Easter hols trust you have received a letter from SGS about parents eve on 21st April.
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