Consultation for AGSB to join Trafford Consortium exam

[PercyMum]

I can see why one less place to spread viruses might be good for exam takers in 2021, however, many of the people taking that exam will have been preparing for years! A consultation to change the exam from 2023 intake would surely be more palatable?

But surely the point of the entrance exam is to work out which children are academically-suited to the school, rather than select those who can only gain entry by "preparing for years"? Over-prepped children who wouldn't have passed without years of exam preparation are more likely to struggle when they enter selective schools. Why would any parent want to put their child in that position?

[Trafford19]

I can see why one less place to spread viruses might be good for exam takers in 2021, however, many of the people taking that exam will have been preparing for years! A consultation to change the exam from 2023 intake would surely be more palatable?

Over-prepped children who wouldn't have passed without years of exam preparation are more likely to struggle when they enter selective schools. Why would any parent want to put their child in that position?

I think the jury is undecided on this. Comments in some of the busier regional forums query whether this is true and suggest this is hearsay.

There are children from prep schools who will sit these exams -would these children be viewed as over-prepped?

[PercyMum]

There are children from prep schools who will sit these exams -would these children be viewed as over-prepped?[/quote]

Well, definitely - some of them at least. Prep schools...prep. They literally exist to prepare pupils to sit entrance exams, with a curriculum that includes NVR and VR and cloze procedures etc from Year 3. State schools don't have entrance exam preparation on their syllabus. Add in all the before-school, after-school and Easter and Summer holiday practice sessions that prep schools offer, and that is an awful lot of prepping for a state school entrance exam. Especially as the state grammars (which include all the consortium schools) have said they don't want pupils to be tutored for their entrance exams. The CEM was (optimistically) designed to be tutor-proof for that very reason.

If a child can't pass the entrance exam without all that preparation, then they'll struggle in the fast pace of a grammar school. How will they keep up with pupils who have passed with minimal prep, and without attending a school whose main purpose is to prepare children for an entrance exam?

Obviously there are some prep school pupils who would have passed the exam without all the years of prepping, and obviously there are some state school pupils who have only passed due to years of relentless after-school tutoring and pressure. All over-prepping is counter-productive if the child then struggles once in the grammar school.

A year's notice to change the format of a state school entrance exam is more than enough. If a child needs more preparation than this, then maybe a grammar's not the right school for them.

[Trafford19]

There are children from prep schools who will sit these exams -would these children be viewed as over-prepped?

Well, definitely - some of them at least. Prep schools...prep. They literally exist to prepare pupils to sit entrance exams, with a curriculum that includes NVR and VR and cloze procedures etc from Year 3. State schools don't have entrance exam preparation on their syllabus. Add in all the before-school, after-school and Easter and Summer holiday practice sessions that prep schools offer, and that is an awful lot of prepping for a state school entrance exam. Especially as the state grammars (which include all the consortium schools) have said they don't want pupils to be tutored for their entrance exams. The CEM was (optimistically) designed to be tutor-proof for that very reason.

If a child can't pass the entrance exam without all that preparation, then they'll struggle in the fast pace of a grammar school. How will they keep up with pupils who have passed with minimal prep, and without attending a school whose main purpose is to prepare children for an entrance exam?

Obviously there are some prep school pupils who would have passed the exam without all the years of prepping, and obviously there are some state school pupils who have only passed due to years of relentless after-school tutoring and pressure. All over-prepping is counter-productive if the child then struggles once in the grammar school.

A year's notice to change the format of a state school entrance exam is more than enough. If a child needs more preparation than this, then maybe a grammar's not the right school for them.

Thank you

[KaB£H1s3]

My DS will be sitting the entrance exam in 2021 for 2022 entry.
I was worried at first by the change, but after some thought, I think changing from GL to CEM Consortium helps to level the playing field.
Boys and girls in Trafford will only prepare for and sit one test (except for those trying at the faith schools as well as Trafford Consortium).
I'm wondering if I should write in to support the change.

[EmmaF]

My DS will be sitting the entrance exam in 2021 for 2022 entry.
I was worried at first by the change, but after some thought, I think changing from GL to CEM Consortium helps to level the playing field.
Boys and girls in Trafford will only prepare for and sit one test (except for those trying at the faith schools as well as Trafford Consortium).
I'm wondering if I should write in to support the change.

i dont think it helps.

11+ is the first formal exam/challenge to the kids. the experience is new and the pressure is enormous! if they wrap all the tests in one, and the boy doesn't perform very well that day that time...nervous, panic... they are going to lose the opportunities of all those excellent schools.

even testing twice sounds exhausting, it gave the boys a second chance and parents a back-up plan.

[KaB£H1s3]

I was hoping we would get the final document before Christmas. Does anyone know when it is usually up on the website?
I noticed a date in Feb was the limit from a post above.

[EmmaF]

I ve checked their webpage. yes, next year (2021 Entrance Exam) their examination providers are CEM.

[KaB£H1s3]

I ve checked their webpage. yes, next year (2021 Entrance Exam) their examination providers are CEM.

Thanks for the update. I had totally forgotten about it