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desperate to get some help for a last push for a newbie.

Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 6:21 pm
by Lily2006
I am new to all of this just moved here from the north and wondering if anyone could help me and recommend who to turn to to help make my child sit the grammer exams this year for Wilson, wallington and Sutton. He is very bright and doing well at his current school. He is however one of the youngest in his school year (born late August) if he were born a few days later he would still have a whole years of preparation which is a bit of a bummer. However I don't think he is that far behind....he is getting in the 70-80's in percentage for his maths practice papers and in his 50-60's in his English practice papers.

I am assuming that he could still have a chance providing we get his head down now and find a good tutor or tuition centre which can be highly recommend and has a very high and guaranteed success rate. Could anyone suggest an amazing tutor or tuition centre who could assess him and let me know how realistic it will be for him to get a shot at these exams?

Do you think the next 3 months providing he works hard is quite bright can make it a possibility? Or am I wasting my time bothering. We have already registered him for the 11+.

Re: desperate to get some help for a last push for a newbie.

Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 7:17 pm
by Turtlegirl
We try to keep the forum as safe as possible - we don't allow tutors or tutoring organisations (other than school/PTA and non-commercial organisations) to be openly recommended, because it attracts posts with fake recommendations ('dodgy' advertising solely designed to solicit business on the internet).
It is also not unknown for unscrupulous competitors to 'plant' negative posts, seeking to denigrate the opposition!

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Always treat recommendations from unknown persons with great caution.
However, we have many long standing members - check carefully the date of joining and number of posts) - who make a very valuable contribution to the forum. If you receive a private recommendation from one of them, it could be worth considering.

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Re: desperate to get some help for a last push for a newbie.

Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 8:30 pm
by Lily2006
Bump!!!!!
Surely those who got their kids into the Surrey grammer scan suggest or recommend somewhere someone????

Re: desperate to get some help for a last push for a newbie.

Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:27 pm
by PurpleDuck
Lily2006 wrote:I am assuming that he could still have a chance providing we get his head down now and find a good tutor or tuition centre which can be highly recommend and has a very high and guaranteed success rate.
Hi Lily,
There is no such thing as a tutor/tuition centre with a guaranteed success rate. Nothing can be guaranteed as far as 11+ goes. Even if you find a list of tutors, they will most likely be fully booked by now. I'm afraid I can't help you with getting a list of tutors as we did 11+ DIY.

Re: desperate to get some help for a last push for a newbie.

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 4:38 pm
by Ladymuck
A few thoughts from someone who has been through this a couple of times:

1) Bear in mind that in general only a couple of children in a primary school will end up at one of the grammars. Most children, and in particular most "top table" children will end up at another school in the area. If you have recently moved then it is worth making sure that you have looked at all of the alternatives, especially as the grammars are not well-funded and may struggle financially over the next few years. It is also worth considering the personality of your son - how would be feel being in one of the lower sets at a grammar v one of the top at a comp?

2) The good news is that the tests cover maths and English, so subjects that will be useful to him throughout year 6 and into secondary school. Any effort he puts in will not be wasted.

3) With that in mind, one of the most crucial questions is how motivated your son is. Even with an "amazing" tutor, someone who isn't motivated will typically underperform. No tutor has a guaranteed success rate unless they are very selective at the start.

4) It is very late in the day to find a tutor. Tutors would typically take time to assess a pupil across both subjects, identify and fill any gaps and then build up exam technique and speed. Good tutors will have their books filled years in advance (we booked 3 years ahead). You may find someone who is willing to work on certain specific areas, but typically tutoring is done on a October to October basis. You may have more luck in looking at intensive courses, but again it is worth considering that these may not fill all of the gaps (as most children will have already attended such courses at Easter and May halfterm). They will cover speed and exam technique though, so would be useful in that.

5) The English score looks low and needs a lot of work. It may in part be explained by his age. What papers has he been doing for English? I take it you were too late for the Sutton/Wallington mocks? How is his written English?

If he is motivated and you can work with him, then there is no reason not to give it a go. But at this stage it is too late to delegate to someone else, and actually in practice, most people that I have seen pass have had parents who have been relatively hands-on. Even if they have used a tutor, they have usually been doing more, or ensuring that everything was being practised etc.