11 Plus Exams Forum

I was wondering if anybody had received the email from the 11+ admissions?? We live outside of Kent. I read the letter and I was slightly shocked. It was like they were trying to persuade us not to let our children take the test. Is this a usual thing every year, did everyone receive the email in Kent or just people outside of Kent?

Thwaitsey wrote:I was wondering if anybody had received the email from the 11+ admissions?? We live outside of Kent. I read the letter and I was slightly shocked. It was like they were trying to persuade us not to let our children take the test. Is this a usual thing every year, did everyone receive the email in Kent or just people outside of Kent?

You will probably get a better response if you post in the Kent section, but from memory of posts in that section, I think Kent CC has contacted OOC registrants' parents in the past.To ask them to think as to whether they intend to send their DC to a Kent school / do they understand the admissions criteria, possibly?

ToadMum wrote:You will probably get a better response if you post in the Kent section, but from memory of posts in that section, I think Kent CC has contacted OOC registrants' parents in the past.To ask them to think as to whether they intend to send their DC to a Kent school / do they understand the admissions criteria, possibly?

I suspect you are right.

OP, there are a number of parents who are "11+ tourists", entering their children into tests in areas they have no intention of choosing a school from even if they qualify, using other areas' tests as mocks. Other parents enter multiple regions' tests speculatively and will move depending upon results, often without reading admissions rules beforehand. It raises the administrative costs of the testing process, skews the standardisation of scores and can deprive genuine applicants of a qualifying score they might otherwise had obtained. Kent CC is probably very sensibly trying to deter such parents.

I'll move the post to the Kent section

We live in Bexley and we also received a communication like this last year. other parents I spoke to said kent do this every year.

There was an almost identical thread on the same issue this time last year on the Kent thread, I don’t have time to find it but if you browse back you may we’ll see the same and yes it is to dissuade those who aren’t serious or hadn’t thought about logistics or didn’t realise that passing isn’t always going to guarantee a place.

Of course, legally, Kent CC cannot prevent anyone from sitting their selection test, nor from applying for a place at one of its grammar schools. The Admissions Code is very firm on this and there will always be those who genuinely need to move areas and wish to be able to apply for a full range of schools if their new area happens to be selective. However, this hardly applies when the stated intent is to see where the child passes / see how many areas they pass the 11+ in and then decide where to relocate to. People often say that it's because they care about their education, (it has only just dawned on them that) there are no grammar schools where they live, ergo all the local schools are terrible, etc that they trail their DC around the various.selective areas (I hesitate, if only briefly, to use the phrase, like so many performing seals). Who are we to question their parenting style? The best anyone can do is point out that for a lot of grammar schools, ironically, mainly in the two LEAs where there are lots of them, a pass is not enough.

I very much doubt that the other argument - that every child who takes the test and passes, with zero intention and / or chance of getting an actual place, displaces at least one who should otherwise have qualified and would - cuts much ice, sadly.

I received this email today too, paragraph after paragraph after paragraph! I wondered whether it was a yearly thing or whether it really was oversubscribed this year. It makes me wonder where on earth we'll be sent to take the test!

Kids at Old Bexley took the test at Wilmington boys and girls last year if that helps at all. There are probably an increasing no of takers though as the birth rate went up quite a bit from last years cohort for a couple of years (basing this on the problems we had getting into our local primary, and then putting on a bulge class the following year).

ciaowood wrote:I received this email today too, paragraph after paragraph after paragraph!

I would be interested to see the text of the email if someone would be kind enough to copy and paste it.

***Please be absolutely sure to remove any personal information before doing so!!!***

Bucks CC also sends out an email on this subject every year now; both counties have a very large number of tourists and mock testers who seem to be incapable of understanding admission policies, catchment areas, allocations, etc.

It is all very sad for the children, and deeply frustrating for Admissions teams and others within the system.