CEM test Trafford

[Fantabulous]

Hi
Thanks for your response.
My dd said it was one section of NVR that she didn't recognise but had a go anyway. It was probably formatted in a different way or something.
I've not asked her about it and am just leaving it to fate. She only took the ****** thing as we live close to one if the grammar schools.
Good luck to all of the children.
If anyone has any other 11+ stories to share that would be wonderful.

[Trafmum82]

My son took the exam 2 years ago, and missed by just a few marks (He got 328 for Sale and 332 for Stretford) He is now really happy at his secondary school, in top set for everything and really thriving so I honestly think that it’s not the end of the world if they don’t get in. If he stays on track as he is now he is predicted 7s and 8s (old A and A*) at GCSEs

If my daughter doesn’t get in she will go to the same school as her brother, and I’ve no doubt she will do just as well.

If a lot of them found the NVR tricky (and I’ve heard a lot did) then I wouldn’t worry too much - I’m trying not to!

Both my children are summer born (my son is 29th Aug so cant get much younger, my daughter is July) and as far as I’ve read their marks are compared to the other children in their birth month. I could be wrong through!

[Panicker]

Hi - I’ve nothing to add about this year’s exam but my children sat it in 2016 and 2018 and I wanted to echo some of the earlier posts. On both occasions they came out saying they had missed out a lot of questions and that parts were harder and different to what they had expected. This was worrying as others were coming out saying they had found it ‘fine’, or even better. My boys both passed with 40/50 marks above the pass mark so please try not to worry (easier said than done I know!) and do not rely on feedback from the day. Good luck to all, it’s truly a horrible process in my opinion!

[Fantabulous]

Thanks for your posts guys.

I know it's not the be all and end all and a child will do well wherever they go if they put their mind to it.
It's a gruelling process for everyone and the results take far to long to arrive lol.
It's really lovely hearing how previous children who took the entrance exams have done -
regardless of their result. It is nice to hear that children seem to have some leeway in the exam and can still pass and have that extra choice of what school they’d like to attend.
How they standardise scores is beyond me and the age thing just blows my mind.

[Panicker]

It definitely isn’t the ‘be all and end all’, although when you are caught up in the process it is sometimes difficult to see that.
Personally I think that some children will actually achieve more and have a better experience at a non Grammar school, for various reasons. But we all try and make the best choice for our own child.
With regards to age standardisation I have previously asked this question (having a child with an August birthday and one in September!) and my understanding now is that each individual’s paper is marked against others with the same birth month.

[Fantabulous]

Panicker I agree with you.
It's just that my dad wanted to go to this school as it's close to us. It just seems that you can't call who gets a place at grammar school and it all is based on that couple of hours.
I've been advised that most children who take the entrance exam that are successful are the ones who answer the questions without guessing any.
I probably should take what other people say with a pinch of salt but it's hard. I've tried to keep out of any conversation about it but it keeps sucking me right in lol.
All of these comments have been very positive so will listen to those iyswim.

[choceyes]

My DS sat it this year and said the NVR was difficult and time pressured, and he just about managed to finish in time. Overall he said he found it easier than expected. He is prone to silly mistakes, especially if it's "easy" so I'm dreading the results really.

[Fantabulous]

Hi

I'm sure your ds will do fine at least he managed to finish it in time.
It's a horrid process and waiting for the results is worse.
It seems that some children found the NVR hard whilst the others didn't. In our case it was one section exam content removed by moderator. There was another NVR section that was deemed as fine.
You just can't call it can you?
Fingers crossed for your ds.
Anyone else out there with an 11+ tale

[choceyes]

Thanks.

Yes the waiting bit is hard and also trying to manage expectations with DS. My DD is meant to be sitting it next year....no rest for me

[Fantabulous]

Wow! As they say no rest for the wicked lol.
Fingers crossed for all of the children who sat the exam and I'm sure plan B will also work out if that's what fate throws us.