11+ mock exam costs gone bonkers
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11+ mock exam costs gone bonkers
In the run up to the exam, its not unusual to get weekly emails from 11+ centres promoting mock exams. One particular provider usually charges £60 an exam but, shockingly this price has shot up to £75 
for their latest exam sitting. For promotion these centres use effective language like
Repetition, doing it again and again
improve a students knowledge
feel the pressure
While I know parents spend money freely on endless courses and mocks, these centres are preying on parents fears and insecurities.
.
for their latest exam sitting. For promotion these centres use effective language like Repetition, doing it again and again
improve a students knowledge
feel the pressure
While I know parents spend money freely on endless courses and mocks, these centres are preying on parents fears and insecurities.
.
Re: 11+ mock exam costs gone bonkers
I'm sure someone will tell you that this is an essential part of your child's journey to success, but personally, I would just add each organisation to my spam list.sky111 wrote:In the run up to the exam, its not unusual to get weekly emails from 11+ centres promoting mock exams. One particular provider usually charges £60 an exam but, shockingly this price has shot up to £75
Repetition, doing it again and again
improve a students knowledge
feel the pressure
While I know parents spend money freely on endless courses and mocks, these centres are preying on parents fears and insecurities.
.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Re: 11+ mock exam costs gone bonkers
And here I am, just on cue, ToadMum 
I have used them every two months or so since January with DS3 (5 in total) and I think they have been effective to measure progress and weaknesses objectively for us as we are not using any other external agency for tuition etc. HOWEVER, my reasons for using them so regularly have been very much due to DS3's personality and my worries about whether he could handle having to deal with the whole exam environment.
I was more confident with DS2 so only used them twice at £45 each. I think the more you are insecure, the more you feel DC needs it - and the mock providers target this insecurity when they advertise. I have seen some for over £100 too
They are useful but I would not say they are necessary. You can buy CEM style practice papers now for £10 (which you couldn't do when DS1 and DS2 sat the exam) and produce similar results if you are strict with timings. This way, you even get to go through the actual paper too. The biggest drawback with the mock centre I used is that you don't even get to see the paper - although you can pay another £15 for the privilege of knowing which areas they were stronger/weaker in.
I have used them every two months or so since January with DS3 (5 in total) and I think they have been effective to measure progress and weaknesses objectively for us as we are not using any other external agency for tuition etc. HOWEVER, my reasons for using them so regularly have been very much due to DS3's personality and my worries about whether he could handle having to deal with the whole exam environment.
I was more confident with DS2 so only used them twice at £45 each. I think the more you are insecure, the more you feel DC needs it - and the mock providers target this insecurity when they advertise. I have seen some for over £100 too
They are useful but I would not say they are necessary. You can buy CEM style practice papers now for £10 (which you couldn't do when DS1 and DS2 sat the exam) and produce similar results if you are strict with timings. This way, you even get to go through the actual paper too. The biggest drawback with the mock centre I used is that you don't even get to see the paper - although you can pay another £15 for the privilege of knowing which areas they were stronger/weaker in.
UmSusu
Re: 11+ mock exam costs gone bonkers
I think you might be referring to K**L in Shirley. It was £45 couple of years back, if I remember correctly. And an additional £15 for detailed report. This particular one do get close to 600 children sitting some of their mocks and that amounts to more than 10% of the actual Birmingham cohort. Our primary motive for sitting this mock was to get a clear idea as to where our son stood against a larger cross section rather than the small numbers you get with private tutors. Quite often you will find some tutors having exceptional candidates in a group, while others no so good, and this can give some parents the false sense of security.
600 x 70 = £42,000 - Not bad at all for couple of days work. And to top it some centers use the same paper as otherwise they won't be able to historically compare the score with previous years
600 x 70 = £42,000
- Not bad at all for couple of days work. And to top it some centers use the same paper as otherwise they won't be able to historically compare the score with previous years