11+ Procedure mindboggling--Please Advice

[Newbiee]

Is this true that if you put NGHS as your first choice and WGHS as 2nd on the application. If you don’t get a place in NGHS you won’t be offered a place in WGHS because this is not your first choice?

Please advice

Thanks

You MUST fill your Common Application Form (CAF) with your TRUE ORDER OF PREFERENCE.

Take this example: You like Blue School best but must score over 92 to get in there. You like Red School next best but must score over 84 to get there. And Yellow School is your local catchment comprehensive school.

You fill your form in:
1) Blue School
2) Red School
3) Yellow School.

Results come out and you have scored 90....You haven't scored enough to be offered your first listed choice, so you get offered Red School by your LEA. This is because it is your next highest choice that you have listed AND you meet the entry requirements for it. (You are put on the waiting list for Blue School as the LEA realises this is the school you really want). You are removed from Yellow School's list because you have been offered a school (Red) that you listed as a higher preference than Yellow.

In the situation above, you must accept Red School. You might get offered your proper first choice (Blue School) from the waiting list - but you might not. If you do not get your first choice school (in this case Blue School) the LEA will look at your next choice AS IF IT WAS YOUR FIRST CHOICE - if you don't meet the entry criteria for that one, they look at your third choice as if it was your first choice and so on. You must always have one school that you are guaranteed acceptance to (for example your local catchment comprehensive school) - (this would usually be listed as a lower preference to any Grammar Schools) - otherwise, if you do not meet the entry criteria for any of your listed schools, the LEA has to allocate you one, which could be miles away.

Thank you so much..It is so very well explained It is so much clearer now.

[Newbiee]

Hi newbie

The 11+ is complicated but you've found this forum so you are halfway there.

Read the 'stickies' the first few discussions with a kind of splat symbol at the start of the Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wrekin region. The test specific content and the CEM preparation discussions are worth a careful read and occasional re-reads.

If it is all new and you're finding people difficult to talk to Bond does a lovely book called The Parents Guide to the 11+ - which explains a lot and has assessment tests for your child to help gauge if they're 11+ material.

I can't speak for everywhere in this region but in Birmingham tutoring is big business and some parents throw a lot of money at the 11+ campaign. We went DIY with 10 minute bonds (progressively working through age levels 9-10/ 10-11/ 11-12 in all 4 areas - VR/ English/NVR/ Maths, CGP CEM practice papers and 11+ essentials Cloze tests with my small fry from around March 2015 in run up to test sept 2015. Everyone seems to agree that reading quality fiction really helps - since vocabulary is key to success - good list of books here http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/advice ... ading-list

My genuine advice is that the time and money you can spend on your 11+ campaign is along the lines of 'How long is a piece of string?' So best to do some real soul searching about your aspirations, your commitment to support this and will it be worth it if the result isn't enough to get in.

If you can talk to friends who,have been there and done that.

I had my eldest not succeed to get in for sept 2014 entry and small fry has just scraped it into CHG this year. So I've got a mixed track record - but I think if you embark on this as an education improvement initiative rather than an all out battle to get into X grammar school, it does seem to help keep things in perspective.

Whatever else there's no preparing you for the worry of results or offer day. Nor any consolation when it's a near miss. So have a deep search of your feelings before jumping into this - it isn't easy, it can be frustrating but also it can be very rewarding. Reading and working with my girls has been a real pleasure and I know it's going to take some adjusting now I'm retired.

Thank you OldTrout..Great advice. I have started a routine with my DD. DIY with 10 minute bonds (progressively working through age levels 9-10/ 10-11/ 11-12 in all 4 areas - VR/ English/NVR/ Maths, CGP CEM.
Thank you for the great advice

[Newbiee]

Thank you all so much. I am now less anxious about things surrounding 11+.

I agree with you inspired.I have known few ppl who are willing to travel miles for tuitions/lessons... lot of ppl who are investing so much on tuitions, group lessons, mocks which is never ending. I strongly believe that doing some DIY with the child will really help. I can see the difference already.
I have had to change the tutor for same reasons..

[Newbiee]

Do we actually know what the paper breakdown will be? And if these are individually timed sections..(45 mins break and 45mins) Will each timed session cover all the 4 areas(VR,NVR,Maths,English).
My DD seems to be doing ok in VR...Areas she is struggling are antonyms, synonyms and missing letters. I am struggling to help her in these areas. I am getting her to do lot of reading and she is writing down new words etc but when it comes to doing those practice papers she is really struggling..please advice me on this

[OldTrout]

Hi Newbie:

Again - I think you need to read the 'sticky' about B/Ham KE Exam Content 2005-2014: http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 11&t=14423

I know you're interested in other schools outside Birmingham KE grammars - Wolverhampton/ NHGS - but I am afraid I don't know about these exams - perhaps someone else can come along and help.

Visit CEM Exam preparation: http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 11&t=30114

In general the two KE state grammar CEM style exam papers are a mix of short sections on English comprehension/ VR (antonym or synonym sections/ Cloze), NVR & Maths.

My impression - from both girls - is each year something 'new' crops up. So for little fish - a sequences of patterns (shifting 90 degrees) with two gaps (most Bond have just one gap) - she did not indicate which answer was for which gap I think - and thus by failing to COMPREHEND the instructions - she did poorly on that section - and I suspect that's why she missed CHG by 6 pts. October birthday didn't help matters either perhaps - at least no adjusting score for age.

The difference for me between little fish (2014 entry) and small fry (2016 entry) - was I knew a few things:

1) Be prepared for thousands of people on test day (this can be really off putting for kids)

2) Know that the timings are ridiculously tight. It's normal not to finish sections.

3) READ the directions - I can't stress enough how important it is to study the sample question for each section and ensure you answer in exactly the same way.

3) Box clever - unless otherwise indicated all questions are same weight - do the easier questions (define word/ straightforward maths calculation) first and then go back to more time consuming questions. So for example in comprehension section, after reading the text, it may be easier to go to the define meaning of words questions (usually at end) and then come back to answering questions about comprehension which may require reading the text.

4) Be prepared that the 'break' half way through the test can involve 'gamemanship' - both my DDs reported girls showing off alarmingly

5) There will be a section which will feel hard/ impossible. Don't let a bad section bother you - you've no way of knowing whether everybody found that section a nightmare too.

6) Arrive early day of test (as 1. you'll see less people and 2. it usually ensures you're in a classroom with ~ 30 kids and not a big hall with hundreds of kids & 3. it ensures you can park.).

Now Newbie I know that the 11+ can seem like a massive hill to climb but it's a marathon - so pace yourself.

My main advice is that spending time talking through the wrong answers and making sure they understand why and learn what to do better next time is time well spent.

Good luck

[rimjhimm100]

Hi Newbie:

Again - I think you need to read the 'sticky' about B/Ham KE Exam Content 2005-2014: http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 11&t=14423

I know you're interested in other schools outside Birmingham KE grammars - Wolverhampton/ NHGS - but I am afraid I don't know about these exams - perhaps someone else can come along and help.

Visit CEM Exam preparation: http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 11&t=30114

In general the two KE state grammar CEM style exam papers are a mix of short sections on English comprehension/ VR (antonym or synonym sections/ Cloze), NVR & Maths.

My impression - from both girls - is each year something 'new' crops up. So for little fish - a sequences of patterns (shifting 90 degrees) with two gaps (most Bond have just one gap) - she did not indicate which answer was for which gap I think - and thus by failing to COMPREHEND the instructions - she did poorly on that section - and I suspect that's why she missed CHG by 6 pts. October birthday didn't help matters either perhaps - at least no adjusting score for age.

The difference for me between little fish (2014 entry) and small fry (2016 entry) - was I knew a few things:

1) Be prepared for thousands of people on test day (this can be really off putting for kids)

2) Know that the timings are ridiculously tight. It's normal not to finish sections.

3) READ the directions - I can't stress enough how important it is to study the sample question for each section and ensure you answer in exactly the same way.

3) Box clever - unless otherwise indicated all questions are same weight - do the easier questions (define word/ straightforward maths calculation) first and then go back to more time consuming questions. So for example in comprehension section, after reading the text, it may be easier to go to the define meaning of words questions (usually at end) and then come back to answering questions about comprehension which may require reading the text.

4) Be prepared that the 'break' half way through the test can involve 'gamemanship' - both my DDs reported girls showing off alarmingly

5) There will be a section which will feel hard/ impossible. Don't let a bad section bother you - you've no way of knowing whether everybody found that section a nightmare too.

6) Arrive early day of test (as 1. you'll see less people and 2. it usually ensures you're in a classroom with ~ 30 kids and not a big hall with hundreds of kids & 3. it ensures you can park.).

Now Newbie I know that the 11+ can seem like a massive hill to climb but it's a marathon - so pace yourself.

My main advice is that spending time talking through the wrong answers and making sure they understand why and learn what to do better next time is time well spent.

Good luck

Great advice, Old Trout....
Juts to add Newbie, don't get into the trap of having a go at the papers early on in the prep stage - we did that only to find it was the wrong thing to do. We abandoned the papers and started building on the knowledge bank and started the papers in the summer when DS was ready to tackle them. They are a great help if done at the right time. You will know yourself when your child is ready. Majority of our 11+ prep was at home but we started tuition about 4 months prior to the exam so as to provide him some exam technique plus group challenge. Parents at our school are quite secretive and therefore you get no guidance/support at all though the school is very helpful. Sadly, I hadn't discovered the forum yet! We moved from Stoke-on-Trent where 11+ is unheard of!
The tutoring was very useful in the last few months but I wouldn't have started it any earlier than when we did. In hindsight, I wouldn't change what we did. We also took a few mock exams and that helped immensely. When it was time for the 'real' exam, DS felt it was like just another mock! It also gets them in the habit of tackling the timed sections.

Old Trout is spot on about the thousands of people you will see at the exam centres. It came as a shock to us when we had to queue nearly a mile for the QMS exam but the experience was very useful and when DS went for Birmingham Consortium exam, he was unfazed by the crowds.

Good luck

[Penguin Mom]

Can I ask which mock exam providers you found helped you rimjhimm100?

We are looking to book our DS onto at least one mock exam this summer (he will be sitting both Birmingham and Wolves exams). There seem to be so many around and I guess some are closer to the 'real thing' than others. Would appreciate feedback of your experiences. Thanks.

[quasimodo]

There are some on this forum.
https://mocks.elevenplusexams.co.uk/boo ... ock_exams/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We have never bothered with mocks getting sufficient practice from the tutor in the styles of the exam.I was surprised when I discovered my brother in law had done some mock exams for his son last year.

[Penguin Mom]

We intend to go the DIY route with our DS this year, as we did with DD 3 years ago and happily she was offered her first choice GS on offers day. She did not sit any mocks as we were less clued-up with the whole 11+ thing back then.

Our two are about equal in academic ability however DS is a less confident child and is likely to be anxious on exam day, so after reading others experiences we think if we tutor him ourselves then a mock or two might be a good idea to ease his nerves.

[Jackdaw1]

Hello joining the forum as DD will be sitting the exams this year. We too are diy-ing but have signed up for a couple of mocks later on to give DD a feel of the real thing