Essex - CSSE - exam tips

[bala1000]

Hi All,

My son is appearing for 2018 Sep CSSE exams. I understand that it would be English and Maths exams on 22 Sep 2018. I would like to understand more on the syllabus of these tests so that I can help my son to prepare in the right track. I heard of GL and CEM, but can some experts in the forum explain better on these?

I have fair understanding of marking schemes. 50% on English and Maths will put him into weighted score of roughly 300. roughly 10 additional % would add 20 to the overall score like 60% would be 320. so 100% would be say 400.

[ToadMum]

Hi All,

My son is appearing for 2018 Sep CSSE exams. I understand that it would be English and Maths exams on 22 Sep 2018. I would like to understand more on the syllabus of these tests so that I can help my son to prepare in the right track. I heard of GL and CEM, but can some experts in the forum explain better on these?

I have fair understanding of marking schemes. 50% on English and Maths will put him into weighted score of roughly 300. roughly 10 additional % would add 20 to the overall score like 60% would be 320. so 100% would be say 400.

The CSSE itself does it pretty well here:

http://csse.org.uk/

http://www.csse.org.uk/?view=mycomp

Perhaps a good place to start is with this ('useful' characteristics of a grammar school candidate - from one of the documents on the website):

curiosity, enjoyment of learning and problem solving

 perseverance and completion of challenging tasks
 understanding of all concepts taught at primary school
 enjoyment of a wide range of literature and/or non-fiction text
 creativity in sustained writing
 ability to make connections between various areas of knowledge
 good memory
 imagination and original ideas
 ability to work at pace and assimilate information quickly
 appreciation of numerical conventions
 ability to apply mathematical concepts

You don't have to go beyond the content in the National Curriculum for the appropriate stage, it's the child's ability to use what they have been taught which is important.

CSSE exam papers are written in-house, not bought in from a commercial supplier.

[bala1000]

Thanks so much Toadmum for your response on a Sunday morning.