11 Plus Exams Forum

I noticed in some regions that they've got threads about warning dps not to post details of the exam content.
So I thought it wise to reiterate the same for our region (plus Warks, as it's the same paper).
Be warned there will be posters moaning (with ulterior motives) why we shouldn't be posting info on the content plus you may have direct pm's from 'interested parties' wanting you to divulge info. We had this ourselves 3 years ago when our dd took the test.
Not providing any info to anyone (including your tutor if you have one) is the wisest thing to do following the test IMHO. There are late sitters as far as next January I believe so keep mum for a while.
I personally will be keeping things under my hat till then.
Feel free to relay any info to our friend KenR after next Jan I would say (although you may want to jot everything down just after the test next week because there's no way anyone will be able to remember what was in the test in 4 or 5 months' time)!
Sorry to sound drastic but your dc's chance of a place in a GS may be at stake!

Out of interest why do they still have people taking the same exam in January?

Firsttimemum wrote:Out of interest why do they still have people taking the same exam in January?

Children who have moved into the area, where it is accepted by the LEA / examining authority that the parents couldn't reasonably have applied on time for them to take the test, one would assume. Plus those who were seriously ill on both the main and back-up dates.

Technically, I think the exam is the same right through the academic year...so anyone moving into the area in, say, June next year could apply, take the test and hope that there were still spaces for starting in September.

I have not heard of this being the case in Birmingham. I believe that could be the case in Warks but not Bham.

There will be a late sitters exam usually the Wednesday after the test; this is for children who, for religious reasons (not taking exams on Saturdays) or through illness, could not attend. In each case there has to be documentation from a religious minister, or if ill, from a doctor, stating the issue.
If a child has a longer term illness and needs to wait longer to take the exam, again this has to be backed up with medical evidence.
The proportion of children taking the exam late is usually tiny.

I absolutely echo the sentiment about not posting information on the forum and being very wary of responding to PMs asking for information.

However posters are welcome to send information to KenR as soon as they wish; he will keep this confidential until January time and will then publish it for the benefit of parents next year.
As for not disclosing information to tutors, I would hope that the vast majority of them would abide by a clear code of ethics and would never pass on that information to a late sitter so I don't fully support that point. It seems reasonable for them, if they have built a relationship with your child, to understand how they found the exam and to take feedback on where their provision could have been improved.

um wrote:I have not heard of this being the case in Birmingham. I believe that could be the case in Warks but not Bham.

There will be a late sitters exam usually the Wednesday after the test; this is for children who, for religious reasons (not taking exams on Saturdays) or through illness, could not attend. In each case there has to be documentation from a religious minister, or if ill, from a doctor, stating the issue.
If a child has a longer term illness and needs to wait longer to take the exam, again this has to be backed up with medical evidence.
The proportion of children taking the exam late is usually tiny.

I absolutely echo the sentiment about not posting information on the forum and being very wary of responding to PMs asking for information.

However posters are welcome to send information to KenR as soon as they wish; he will keep this confidential until January time and will then publish it for the benefit of parents next year.
As for not disclosing information to tutors, I would hope that the vast majority of them would abide by a clear code of ethics and would never pass on that information to a late sitter so I don't fully support that point. It seems reasonable for them, if they have built a relationship with your child, to understand how they found the exam and to take feedback on where their provision could have been improved.

Fair enough about relaying feedback to your own tutor but again I wouldn't recommend it until next January to be on the safe side. Again write down all info just after test then pass it on to your tutor a few months later.
Majority of tutors are scrupulous but it's best to be on the safe side.

Um's already stated this on another thread but I thought I'd reiterate- keep things under your hat- I'm going to.

Bob1892 wrote:Um's already stated this on another thread but I thought I'd reiterate- keep things under your hat- I'm going to.

Yes, keep it to yourself. Some tutors may well pass on content info onto their other students - an obvious conflict on interest. Then again, after the Walsall exam I could not get elicit anything other than general info from my DS, so it would not have been useful to anyone.

Most tutors are honest I'm sure but is it worth taking the chance after all that hard work.
By all means give info to KenR or um in January but sit tight till then.

I've just had my first request about test content- I told them firmly where to get off!!
Anyone else receive any similar pms?