250 more passes this year
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250 more passes this year
Did anyone else see that on a Kent advice website it stated that 250 more children passed the Kent 11+ this year compared to last year. This is a worry for us because we live in Bromley and may have to rely on our son getting in after the children who live nearer. In past years boys in our area got into Wilmington Grammar but will that be the case this year?
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- Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:55 pm
- Location: Bexley
I don't understand this. In Bexley (where admittedly everything operates on a much smaller scale as we only have four grammar schools plus one bilateral) the pass mark is not known until the results are published. This is because Bexley adjusts the pass mark in an attempt to match roughly the number of passes to the number of GS places. This must be a bit of a hit and miss affair as lots of children will pass the Bexley test but then take up non-selective places in Bexley or places in Kent, Bromley etc.
I've never been able to understand how, in Kent, the pass mark remains fairly static from year to year and is set before the test results are known. I'd assumed that there was perhaps some manipulation when standardising the scores so that lots of children weren't passing when there wasn't a GS place for them. But if they've ended up with 250 more passes this year, that can't be the case. It seems odd to me that Kent doesn't change the pass mark from year to year to try and roughly match places available to the number of passes.
I've never been able to understand how, in Kent, the pass mark remains fairly static from year to year and is set before the test results are known. I'd assumed that there was perhaps some manipulation when standardising the scores so that lots of children weren't passing when there wasn't a GS place for them. But if they've ended up with 250 more passes this year, that can't be the case. It seems odd to me that Kent doesn't change the pass mark from year to year to try and roughly match places available to the number of passes.
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- Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:24 am
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- Posts: 96
- Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:24 am
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- Posts: 96
- Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:24 am
Yes, you are correct. I did think that as a "grammar school" it required a pass at 11 plus as well as success in their own entry exams - but reading through the admission criteria again I see that in fact it looks like you can just do their exams and don't need the 11 plus pass in addition.Billie wrote:Just to clarify - St Olave's is in Bromley area so has nothing to do with the Kent tests. It carries out its own tests. However, boys going there will often have done the Bexley/ Kent tests first (and be high scorers).
I should have focused more closely since my son is doing the test there in two days' time (along with about 800 other boys)! But as West Kent residents we entered him for the 11+ anyway.