Good luck on Saturday

Eleven Plus (11+) in Wiltshire (Wilts)

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mattsurf
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:44 am

Good luck on Saturday

Post by mattsurf »

Good luck to everyone taking their 11+ on saturday
hopefulmum2
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:22 am
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Good luck on Saturday

Post by hopefulmum2 »

Seems really quiet in this forum this year! My daughter who started at SWGS this year is going to help those that are sitting on Saturday. She felt she would be able to tell them not to worry having done it less than a year ago herself. Will be a very different feeling dropping her off this year compared to last! Good luck all. I can quite clearly remember the breadth of emotions I felt that morning waiting for her to finish.
mattsurf
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:44 am

Re: Good luck on Saturday

Post by mattsurf »

My eldest is at BWS, so we went through this 3 years ago. I think that it is worse second time round! Having the exam 2 months earlier means that DS is much less prepared than my eldest - with him we hit a plateau about 3 weeks before the exam, whereas this year DS is still improving on a daily basis. Youngest DD is in year 4 and we will start to prepare (gently) this year.
hopefulmum2
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:22 am
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Good luck on Saturday

Post by hopefulmum2 »

I get goosebumps just thinking about when I dropped DD off last year!

We also have a child in yr 4 (boy) and so we will be also beginning to introduce the skills he will need - mainly times tables and some spellings for the moment (as unfortunately he is not as strong as his sister was on this). Haven't actually visited Bishops yet - what is your 'summary' of the place - not too academic I hope (odd thing to say I know but my lad is more of a running outdoors type). Seems to be trickier to get into the boys as well - all the girls last year who passed got in but not all the boys (and we are just outside catchment - I was told that only 8 boys out of catchment got in last year so we have 2 hurdles to overcome.)
mattsurf
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:44 am

Re: Good luck on Saturday

Post by mattsurf »

Bishops is a great school, and it is really sporty, especially Rugby, but sport is a really important aspect of the school. BWS is also really good for drama, DS loves it. Accademically, it does achieve really good results, however, it really is not too high presure, homework rarely takes more than 1 hour (normally significantly less) - however, homework must be done otherwise detentions follow.

The other thing that I really like about BWS is the links with the Cathederal and the community - How many other State schools have access to a Cathederal like Salisbury for important school events and concerts - I think that this aspect gives the children real pride in the school

I think that it is a myth that there were only 8 out of catchment kids, in DS year, approx half the children are out of catchment, some from as far away as Basingstoke and Marlborough. I know that there are fewer out of catchment children, but don't think that it is such a big drop. I hope that you overcome the hurdles and you DS gets in 2 years time.

For now really hoping for a good result - looks very touch and go at the moment - if he has a good day, then should pass without problem, however, on a bad day will fall well short of the mark. With first DS marks were much more consistent, however, DS 2 can score anywhere from 90% to 55%
hopefulmum2
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:22 am
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Good luck on Saturday

Post by hopefulmum2 »

How did your lad feel it went? Hope it all went well. I drove a boy to school today who also sat the exam and he said he thought the English was hardest (not sure to be honest what his strengths are). My heart went out to them all when I saw them clutching their see through bags with pencils in them in town.

I am not sure if BWS give out the same statistics as SWGS who tell you who gets in from out of catchment (about 40% normally) but we do know of several boys who live in Andover who passed but didn't get in. Would be handy to know what the likelihood of my lad getting in is if he passed.
mattsurf
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:44 am

Re: Good luck on Saturday

Post by mattsurf »

My son said that the papers were easier than he expected, and he completed all 3 papers - which is a surprise as speed has been his biggest issue. He went into the exam in a really good frame of mind and came out happy - which is also a good sign (my son's performance is really variable, depending on his mood).

Dropping him off was OK, however, the 4 hours he was in there was torture

Yes Bishops do publish stats, I will try to look them up
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