A well known independent school just OOC is advising all Y4 parents to buy a specified set of 11+ practice books and work through them. The objective is to boost their scores in CAT tests so, should an appeal or review be needed, they have a good set of scores to use as evidence. Presumably a few other parents have cottoned on to this trick as well. It seems so unfair on the other children.

Isn't that what this entire website does, missmarple?

I presume you've contacted Admissions and given them the name of the school and the evidence? If they are a Partner school they could lose their status.

It seems unfair on the children that do it.

Thinking this through, we will have a set of children who have been 'tutored' since Y4 and still don't reach the standard. The next 5 years could be tough for them if they get through on appeal.

Madness.

A lot (if not most?!) of the children around here, start 11plus classes in yr 4, so this is nothing new. Every test taken is deemed important in this rat race, in fact some of the parents in our school, actually complained that the kids hadn’t been helped to prepare for the CATs they took last year. And this year have demanded more notice

No I don't think this website does game the system. It offers advice to parents who can't afford a tutor or private school fees and provides amazing support to parents when the results are disappointing. It is a fantastic free resource available to everyone, and I am extremely grateful to have it.

I agree it's a great resource but if 11+ tests are supposed to test for innate suitability for grammar school, one can argue that any preparation - home DIY, paid-for tutoring, private schools that prep for the tests - is gaming the system. It's not just fiscal affordability, either. There are good numbers of children in families without the cultural or social capital to support their children in the tests which means they don't even get the free preparation others receive. To use your phrase: "It seems so unfair on the other children."

I think it's a fine line between the independent schools doing what you've highlighted and parents using their capital to do the same. It's a conflict of conscience I regularly have on this site. I'm now anti-selection (I wasn't some years ago) yet by advising and supporting parents on here as I do, I am helping to prop up a system I oppose and a forum whose parent site sells tuition and resources, albeit as a non-profit organisation as I understand.

As Guest55 says though, if you have evidence that this school is doing what you claim it's doing, report them to Admissions at BCC.

+1

I don't think it's the private schools that are the issue. It's the OOC children.
Here's the link for some of the statistics.

https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/media/451073 ... h-2018.pdf

5775 children in Bucks took the exam. The total amount of children who took the exam was 10069.

The children in Bucks who got automatic qualification was 26%. The children OOC who got automatic qualification was 47%.

Does this prove that the children in bucks are disadvantaged because no primary school in catchment can teach for the 11+? Or is it because people OOC are more likely to tutor the children to get a qualification where people in catchment are more against the whole system and therefore do not tutor. Either way the OOC children are pushing up the passmark which means less children in Bucks qualify which in turn puts more pressure on the secondary modern schools in our county. If the passmark was lowered to 117 or 118 more local children would qualify and then the only children who wouldn't get a place are the children OOC. This would also ease congestion in secondary schools.

But who am I to question this system?
Just a parent who's DS scored 120.75.........

It's going to be a long 105 days!

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Oh my goodness, that's so close! Fingers crossed that he get through on the selection review. I didn't appreciate the competition for places until I moved to Bucks. And now I am so worried that my daughter will be severely disadvantaged when it's her turn to sit the 11+