English practice papers

[2 to go]

Please remember that you do not need fantastic scores on every paper to get into the schools. DD3 is just about to start ChCHS and scored 28/50 in that English paper. Her standardised score was well above the score required to obtain a place. DD1 is also at ChCHS (scored 38/50 in the Bleak House paper), DD2 is at WHSG (25 or 26/50 in the Captain Corelli paper). I remember feeling the same worry when seeing their scores on papers they completed during the summer holidays. Their scores varied hugely from one paper to the next, but remember that other children are experiencing the same thing and that very few will score 90% in the exam.

[Araucana girl]

Please remember that you do not need fantastic scores on every paper to get into the schools. DD3 is just about to start ChCHS and scored 28/50 in that English paper. Her standardised score was well above the score required to obtain a place. DD1 is also at ChCHS (scored 38/50 in the Bleak House paper), DD2 is at WHSG (25 or 26/50 in the Captain Corelli paper). I remember feeling the same worry when seeing their scores on papers they completed during the summer holidays. Their scores varied hugely from one paper to the next, but remember that other children are experiencing the same thing and that very few will score 90% in the exam.

Thank you so much 2 to go. I am beginning to lose the plot here a bit I think. I am just getting so worried about all the vocab that she doesn't seem to know and there is really not much time left to do it in. I am just working on exam technique now and practice and hoping that suffices.

[bravado]

If it is any consolation my dd just did that paper as a mock and only got 25/50 she was doing quite well on english before, completely blew the spellings as well which she is normally good at, think she had a bad day.

Please take solace in the fact that plenty of us have been there as parents and so have the children - they still do well on the day. I think the key thing to cling to at this very stressful time, is your words as follows:
"...which she is normally good at..."

They all have a "floptastic" moment or 6 They will do the most crazy, unpredictable, illogical things on an exam paper about now. Better to do it now and get it all out of the way.