Cut off mark for NGHS

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Fairandsquare
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:28 pm

Cut off mark for NGHS

Post by Fairandsquare »

Hi all I'm new to this site.

Does anyone know what the exact cut-off mark was for NGHS?
I'm really puzzled that we have received 3 differently worded letters from QMHS, WGHS and NGHS! Is it possible that one school might strongly recommend you to list their school for your daughter on the preference form, whilst another school in the consortium says the opposite?!! How can that be possible with the same standardised score, or am I missing something? Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give.
Buckbeak
Posts: 145
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:50 pm

Re: Cut off mark for NGHS

Post by Buckbeak »

Fairandsquare wrote:Hi all I'm new to this site.

Does anyone know what the exact cut-off mark was for NGHS?
I'm really puzzled that we have received 3 differently worded letters from QMHS, WGHS and NGHS! Is it possible that one school might strongly recommend you to list their school for your daughter on the preference form, whilst another school in the consortium says the opposite?!! How can that be possible with the same standardised score, or am I missing something? Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give.
Hi Fairandsquare,

We had this chat on another thread a few weeks ago...

Here is the link.....

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 11&t=39043" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is our first time in this game, so we arent sure either, however I did quote what the three letters for my DD said. I hope the link works, and I hope it helps! :-)
Twinsmummy2003
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Feb 26, 2014 11:25 pm

Re: Cut off mark for NGHS

Post by Twinsmummy2003 »

Hello

I'm afraid I don't know QMGS at all, so can't help you there, I think last year's cut off was around 313? For NGHS, I know of a girl (IN CATCHMENT) who got in at 313 and one that didn't at 312 so that seems to be the cut off. Out of catchment entrance no-one will know the exact lowest admitted number for sure until March, your DD would need a very decent score to be comfortable of a place. WGHS don't have the catchment area so all girls have an equal chance of getting in, they just go for the highest scores. My niece (in catchment) got a refusal letter from NGHS at 302 but had an invitation to attend WGHS open evening so I guess she stands a chance there, although when I visited with my daughter it was packed, they cannot possibly let that many girls in? WGHS lowest admittance number last year was low I believe, under 300, but that may be an anomaly?

Hope that helps a little!
quasimodo
Posts: 3854
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 2:47 pm

Re: Cut off mark for NGHS

Post by quasimodo »

Dear T,
I think the previous reference was to the girls school in Walsall namely QMHS.The boys school is QMGS.In respect to the girls school you will see from the thread that is highlighted the offer score last year was 316 and girls got in from the waiting list with 309.For WGHS the score for 2013 was 297 for the last girl from the waiting list and for 2014 was 318 on offer day and girls got in from the waiting list with 316.WGHS write their offer letters to enourage girls to go there.The whole purpose of their recent open evening was to encourage demand which would push up the offer marks.It is my view and I could be very wrong the position for WGHS is likely to be similar to 2014.For your niece I hope I am wrong.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

Abraham Lincoln
Twinsmummy2003
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Feb 26, 2014 11:25 pm

Re: Cut off mark for NGHS

Post by Twinsmummy2003 »

Dear Quasimodo

Apologies, as I mentioned I don't know anything about the Queen Mary grammars - to the extent I don't know their names apparently!

I should have restricted my answer to the OP's question about NGHS, the only one I really know about and for that I'm sorry.

My daughter got a decent score on the entrance exam, 355, so we are reasonably sure of a place at WGHS but the chaos of the open evening put me off (plus the location and travelling time), so it has gone second on our LEA form after NGHS, but we are out of catchment so will have to wait until March with everyone else!

Thank you for your help.
Fairandsquare
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:28 pm

Re: Cut off mark for NGHS

Post by Fairandsquare »

Thanks to all for your replies, in particular Buckbeak for sharing that information. However I'm still puzzled by the discrepancies in our letters and with the deadline of 31st Oct fast approaching a decision needs making...

Our dd scored low 300s and we received differently worded letters from WGHS, QMHS and NGHS. How is this possible when the schools are part of a 'consortium'?!!

The letters in summary were:

WGHS - letter stated that they strongly encourage us to include WGHS on the preference form, and an invitation to the open evening was included.

QMHS - letter stated that they strongly recommend us to put QMHS on the list of preferences, however she may struggle to cope with the content, level and pace.

NGHS - letter states 'we would not be offering an admission place at NGHS'


I don't know if anyone can shed any light on my situation, I have a few unanswered question...
How can NGHS send a letter with such definitive wording as that when the offer day is not until 1st march? Are they saying that our dd would not be offered a place there even from a reserve list, in which case there is no point in even listing NGHS on the form at all.
How can one school say that your child is of grammar school ability when another says she is not, when the schools are part of the same 'consortium'! It seems contradictory to me. Is there anyone else in this situation?

I understand that the cut-off mark varies from school to school by a few marks and is dependant on factors such as the highest/lowest scores in the tests, the lowest score to be offered a place in previous years and the number of places available at that particular school. Therefore I think the cut off mark for the types of letters sent out by each school probably varies by about 10-20 marks (this is my opinion, not fact!). My continuing discontentment and frustration is at the inconsistencies between the schools regarding what is supposed to be a 'standardised' score within schools which are part of a 'consortium'.
I would love to know who is responsible for the consortium, surely there must be some sort of communication between the schools and 'consortium administration' of some sort, but I've been unable to find any information at all.

Any information or advice would be much appreciated given the fast approaching application deadline.

As our dd is a 5a/6 in both maths and English, we feel that her borderline score doesn't reflect her ability. We would love to hear from any other parents in a similar situation or from anyone with any constructive advice. If you have a daughter who is currently working at level 5a/6, how did she score in the test? This would be really useful to know, in order to ascertain whether our daughter's low score is accurately representative of her academic ability.

If you have a child who scored between 300-315, how were your letters worded from each of the schools?

Thank you!!!
Fairandsquare
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:28 pm

Re: Cut off mark for NGHS

Post by Fairandsquare »

Dear KenR/moderator team,

Would my last post in the thread I started be better suited in another thread? I was wondering if some of my questions regarding standardised scores, differences in letters, and consortium administration might possibly be answered by other consortium areas other than the West Midlands consortium. If so how do I go about this? Do I start a new thread or is the post transferred? Many thanks.
Buckbeak
Posts: 145
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:50 pm

Re: Cut off mark for NGHS

Post by Buckbeak »

Fairandsquare wrote:Dear KenR/moderator team,

Would my last post in the thread I started be better suited in another thread? I was wondering if some of my questions regarding standardised scores, differences in letters, and consortium administration might possibly be answered by other consortium areas other than the West Midlands consortium. If so how do I go about this? Do I start a new thread or is the post transferred? Many thanks.
Hi Fair... It might be better to PM KenR with a link to this thread ....I know time is running out to finish off allocations.

As I understand it - and this is our first time - these schools are part of the Walsall Consortium, but that is only for the purposes of a coordinated 11+ examination approach. Timings and costs for the process are shared by them . Durham University is the recipient of these joint payments for their examination process services.

Otherwise, these are all separate schools, each with their own ethos, budgets and requirements . They may share stats with one another and perhaps have other partnerships for this and that, but they are not part of the same school.

That is why they have their own letters sent out and their own promotions, open days...etc...

I am not sure whether NGHS saying 'you will not be offered a place' means that you won't get on a waiting list if you apply anyway . Perhaps others with previous experience can help here....

Best of luck ....we will hopefully be sending off our allocations form tomorrow morning...
Fairandsquare
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:28 pm

Re: Cut off mark for NGHS

Post by Fairandsquare »

Thanks for your reply buckbeak, really helpful as difficult to find any info on consortium. Yes I have already sent a pm to moderator KenR yesterday but still waiting for reply. I've read on other threads that you can request the raw scores directly from the consortium. Do you know how to go about this? I would be grateful for any advice:)

I've been through this process a few years ago when results were in rank order and not known before application. The new system is supposed to be easier and fairer... For me personally, it seemed a lot easier and less stressful back then!! No prepping, no tutoring whatsoever, out of catchment... it was straight forward with no stress! Now we also have the age adjusted scores which people will obviously be in favour of, or not, depending on when your own child's birthday falls! For an early born child ie September, their score would be significantly adjusted and therefore lowering their final score. Personally it raises questions for me, considering all the children would have received the same number of years of education (except for a term or two in nursery.... 8 years ago!..... hmmm) I suspect this is a debate for another forum!

Good luck with your application, I will hold off a couple more days as still undecided on the order of preference!

Would love any info from anyone who knows a little bit of how the reserve list system works for NGHS.
Buckbeak
Posts: 145
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:50 pm

Re: Cut off mark for NGHS

Post by Buckbeak »

Fairandsquare wrote:Thanks for your reply buckbeak, really helpful as difficult to find any info on consortium. Yes I have already sent a pm to moderator KenR yesterday but still waiting for reply. I've read on other threads that you can request the raw scores directly from the consortium. Do you know how to go about this? I would be grateful for any advice:)

I've been through this process a few years ago when results were in rank order and not known before application. The new system is supposed to be easier and fairer... For me personally, it seemed a lot easier and less stressful back then!! No prepping, no tutoring whatsoever, out of catchment... it was straight forward with no stress! Now we also have the age adjusted scores which people will obviously be in favour of, or not, depending on when your own child's birthday falls! For an early born child ie September, their score would be significantly adjusted and therefore lowering their final score. Personally it raises questions for me, considering all the children would have received the same number of years of education (except for a term or two in nursery.... 8 years ago!..... hmmm) I suspect this is a debate for another forum!

Good luck with your application, I will hold off a couple more days as still undecided on the order of preference!

Would love any info from anyone who knows a little bit of how the reserve list system works for NGHS.
As it happens, I am going to ask the Foundatio Office for Birmingham for the RAW score ( My DD took Walsall and Birmingham) . Someone on this forum said you can just phone and ask for it... Worth a try..
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