11 Plus Exams Forum

Hello all:

absolute newbie here. Child#1 sitting KE exam in September. We've been doing a lot of reading and bond books at home and meet with friends once a week to do a bit of home spun DIY tutoring since start Y5.

All was ticking along nicely until I went to KEFW Open evening and started to also hear about huge numbers taking the test this September (and I guess huge numbers taking the test at QM in July from what I've seen here).

We know we shouldn't let things worry us - but it seems like the pressure just suddenly ratcheted up a notch or two.

For those of you who have been here before - is this normal? Is this the point where what we're trying to do here sinks in and from here on out it is nerves until the day of the test & then nerves until the result?

Oldtrout. You are perfectly normal. Many on this forum feel the same way as you. Don't worry about anyone else, just concentrate on your DC. The biggest frighteners for me before my two DSs took the exam were the open days and seeing the number of people at the schools and the second was this forum. Although I have since learnt that members are extremely helpful, my first few encounters and reading all the comments frightened me to death. My DC seemed very average and ordinary in comparison to everyone else's DC which made me doubt what I was doing.

So, focus on your DC, forget the sheer numbers and continue with what you are doing. The stickies at the top of the Birmingham section which have some detail about content are useful and if you are interested in a particular school, you can search and read some of the comments from hundreds of threads. I found many of the old threads interesting to read.

Good luck in your journey. It can feel very fraught at times. Back in the old days, the end of Feb was the worst time - waiting for results and feeling that the whole world will know if your child has passed or failed. We told very few people we were going for exams but saw children from DC school on exam day. So most people knew my two DC taking exam. Waiting for two results for two children = stress.

Thanks Koala:

I'm glad to know that others out there find this a bit intimidated by all this.

Thanks for advice!

glad I'm not trying two at once - I agree that has to = stress Koala.

I diy'ed tutoring. Stress levels were very high. I bought a table tennis set from John Lewis, about £10. Converted our dining table into a table tennis table. In between lessons we played table tennis. Best of 3 sets unto 21 points. It was a welcome distraction from the studies. My child still remembers those 'dark' days but recalls with fondness the table tennis. It really does help.

Thanks sbarnes

That's a brilliant idea and one I hope you don't mind we borrow.

DD1 will definitely respond better to things if I say - after that we'll have a ping pong match!

most welcome; it can be anything really but a complete opposite to Maths/VR/NVR etc..ping pong was just one idea. Still kept us engaged but not unfocused had we turned on the tv for instance. We still play bit now at the local leisure centre.
Good luck,