Bucks 11+ test dates 2016 (2017 admission)

[justanothermother]

People who live in Bucks only really have one shot - and at the moment that 'shot' is being severely affected by tourists because we have a qualify/not qualify test. Every 'tourist' adds to the standardisation and, since they are prepping for other areas, they push the raw mark to qualify up.

We don't have comps - fortunately some of the Uppers [Secondary Moderns] are great but not all of them. If it is a choice between an outstanding school and one in 'special measures' or 'requiring improvement' - what would you choose?

I think you've summed up really well how many parents feel about this issue in this part of the forum!

[kittymum]

First Walsall, now Bucks, these are bitter body blows for the 11 plus tourism bus which will remain in the garage unless SW Herts stay with DAO and go for Saturday 3rd September!

Perhaps Milll Hill could go CEM and bring the rest of the UK to their doorstep on Saturday 11th June 2016!

Take note SW Herts if you stick with DAO you will be the only CEM exam with non catchment places before CEM Super Saturday 11th September 2016!!

HBS has not announced yet so it is still possible that the Bucks exam will be before the HBS exam as it was this year. DG

Is this just playing into the hands of the tuition industry and especially the mock testers. We did Walsall and got 360 - which guarantees a place any any consortium grammar. Same CEM 6 weeks later and we just scrape out a result in Birmingham, which we now nervously await allocations days.

Be careful what you wish for . Collapsing this all down to a single highly charged all or nothing day, does no one any good.

But this is about Bucks - we only do 1 test - both my children have been through CEM and neither did mocks in either other counties or tuition centres! What we don't need are tourists taking our exams! (Sorry if blunt!)

[Dollydripmat]

Well said G55 and Kittymum! Echo your words. This a a great result for Bucks!! Dollyxxx

[ToadMum]

Presumably you will still get a few of those looking to uproot their family to wherever their DC get offered a school place, or those whose children are taking the CSSE test, which will probably be on the following Saturday (albeit not CEM), or indie exams, who want just one more 'experience of being in a strange place with lots of other people' (Do these folk never take their kids shopping / to a football match etc?).

With any luck, rather fewer, though.

[scary mum]

Do these folk never take their kids shopping / to a football match etc?)

It's one way of seeing the country, I guess

[Sally-Anne]

It's one way of seeing the country, I guess

Here's a list of applicants' home locations in 2015 from areas that don't adjoin Bucks, or have sensible transport links with the county.

I have charitably excluded a large number of applicants from Ealing, Hillingdon, Brent and Surrey because, as we all know, a two hour journey from the far reaches of any of those to Burnham, Chesham or Wycombe is infinitely do-able every day for 7 years. I have also excluded a handful of overseas applicants.

Barking
Barking
Barnet
Barnet
Barnet
Barnet
Barnet
Barnet
Barnet
Barnet
Barnet
Barnet
Bexley
Bexley
Bristol City
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Camden
Camden
Camden
Camden
Cheshire West and Chester
Coventry
Coventry
Croydon
Croydon
Croydon
Enfield
Enfield
Essex
Essex
Hackney
Hammersmith
Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire
Hants
Hants
Hants
Hants
Hants
Hants
Haringey
Haringey
Haringey
Haringey
Havering
Islington
Islington
Kent
Lambeth
Lancs
Leeds
Leeds
Lewisham
Lincs
Manchester
Merton
Newham
Newham
Newham
Norfolk
Peterborough
RB Kensington & Chelsea
Redbridge
Redbridge
Redbridge
Redbridge
Redbridge
Redbridge
Redbridge
Rutland
Shropshire
Solihull
Somerset
South Gloucestershire
Southwark
Southwark
Suffolk
Sutton
Telford and Wrekin
Thurrock
Thurrock
Tower Hamlets
Trafford
Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Warwickshire
Warwickshire
West Sussex
Westminster
Westminster
Westminster
Wolverhampton

Around half of these 80-odd folk qualified. 7 of those who didn't went to a Review, and 3 were successful.

[trudie]

S-A it's Sunday... don't go setting me off...!

One word: 'Shropshire'

[Tinkers]

My first thought was 'Leeds!?'.

[trudie]

Tinkers
My first thought was 'Leeds!?'.

Perhaps they were banking on the M1 not being as clogged up as the M6?

[Sally-Anne]

My first thought was 'Leeds!?'.

One of the Leeds candidates came close to qualifying, went to a Review and was successful, so they actually wanted a place! I can't say that the same necessarily applies to many of the others, though.

I noted particularly how many of the applicants came from areas with, or near to, grammar schools or sought-after partially selectives ...