Is the pass mark as high as 11+?
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PrettyWoman
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distraction therapy is all!-
WomanofFAITH
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Hi....my DD is 6 marks short of the cut off for the 11+. Now we have to consider going private as our local comp is not an option. She just got off the sen programme.
my question is: how is the common entrance?
Do we need to get a tutor?
I don't think she can handle it if she doesn't pass. i don't think can either... Like most parents i just want whats best for her...
How do we study??
Where do we get study materials...She's in a state pry school now! We are in Buckinghamshire.
Please Help
Thanks .........
my question is: how is the common entrance?
Do we need to get a tutor?
I don't think she can handle it if she doesn't pass. i don't think can either... Like most parents i just want whats best for her...
How do we study??
Where do we get study materials...She's in a state pry school now! We are in Buckinghamshire.
Please Help
Thanks .........
WomanofFAITH
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PrettyWoman
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- Location: Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
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I don't know about your area but this is what we did.
We had been in the indie sector before so were familiar with the senior schools. We looked at fee's first to rule out the ones we knew we couldn't possibly afford. We then had a shortlist within our budget.
We did the Open days in October and really liked the school in Worcester. Located just 2 mins from OH office so no logistical problems with transport.
Filled in the application form and DS1 was invited for a taster day last Thursday. He brought smple papers for maths and English home with him. Maths is very straighforward - 45 mins. English is comprehension and an essay - 60 mins. There is also a VR paper and having just been through 11+ we know what we're doing there.
The exams are the 1st Saturday in Feb, the 6th I think. Offers are sent out to be received by parents the following Friday. Offers have to be accepted by 1st March which is the same day that state schools are allocated.
Interestingly DS1 brought certificate home on Thurs for 'completing' his taster day which I thought was a nice touch and on the bottom it said they looked forward to welcoming him in September 2010. Does make me wonder whether the school is over-subscribed as they claim as think its a bit naughty to put a statement like that on something that is not a foregone conclusion.
Anyway there has been no mention of an interview so wonder whether that is all done by observation at taster day and on exam day. He got on fine and headmaster knew who he was when he shook his hand at the end of the dat so fingers are now crossed for good result in Feb.
Hope this helps
We had been in the indie sector before so were familiar with the senior schools. We looked at fee's first to rule out the ones we knew we couldn't possibly afford. We then had a shortlist within our budget.
We did the Open days in October and really liked the school in Worcester. Located just 2 mins from OH office so no logistical problems with transport.
Filled in the application form and DS1 was invited for a taster day last Thursday. He brought smple papers for maths and English home with him. Maths is very straighforward - 45 mins. English is comprehension and an essay - 60 mins. There is also a VR paper and having just been through 11+ we know what we're doing there.
The exams are the 1st Saturday in Feb, the 6th I think. Offers are sent out to be received by parents the following Friday. Offers have to be accepted by 1st March which is the same day that state schools are allocated.
Interestingly DS1 brought certificate home on Thurs for 'completing' his taster day which I thought was a nice touch and on the bottom it said they looked forward to welcoming him in September 2010. Does make me wonder whether the school is over-subscribed as they claim as think its a bit naughty to put a statement like that on something that is not a foregone conclusion.
Anyway there has been no mention of an interview so wonder whether that is all done by observation at taster day and on exam day. He got on fine and headmaster knew who he was when he shook his hand at the end of the dat so fingers are now crossed for good result in Feb.
Hope this helps
I used to be plain, but when I married Mr Pretty I became PrettyWoman and now have 2 Pretty children!
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hermanmunster
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Hi Prettywoman - plenty of schools undersubscribed but none letting on!
Your plan to find a school sounds just right - no good going for ones where the fees turn you prematurely grey. Sounds like you have made a good choice there..
Thinking back when we applied to one indie, we had a similar sort of letter ... "looking forward to welcoming x in 2005" ... no mention of "if he passes the exam"
WoF - re the entrance to indies - they are all different, some (a few) are harder than 11 plus and many are easier. The comon entrance is used mainly at 13, at 11 the schools set there own tests and they tend to be a combination of VR NVR, english and maths.
When my daughter was at a prep the girls went to GSs and indies and all worked together, the areas were as above and that covered all bases with nothing else specific being done.
Your plan to find a school sounds just right - no good going for ones where the fees turn you prematurely grey. Sounds like you have made a good choice there..
Thinking back when we applied to one indie, we had a similar sort of letter ... "looking forward to welcoming x in 2005" ... no mention of "if he passes the exam"
WoF - re the entrance to indies - they are all different, some (a few) are harder than 11 plus and many are easier. The comon entrance is used mainly at 13, at 11 the schools set there own tests and they tend to be a combination of VR NVR, english and maths.
When my daughter was at a prep the girls went to GSs and indies and all worked together, the areas were as above and that covered all bases with nothing else specific being done.
I think it does vary very much from school to school but the Indies that are taking in at 11 are generally not as selective as the super-selective grammars.
If you have prepared for 11+ then VR should be fine and English tends to be more NC based (certainly than the Essex 11+).
Sometimes the Maths papers can be testing further ahead on NC than the State school have got to (but am guessing 11+ prep will have covered this as well).
Limited experience is that they are looking more for potential than performance so actual marks are not as important (eg. if the essay isn't finished but shows good language, imagination, thought process). Worth getting them to show working for Maths so even if answer not correct they demonstrate ability to think problem through etc.
Agan from limited experience, only potential scholarship pupils (after tests assessed) are formally interviewed.
If you have prepared for 11+ then VR should be fine and English tends to be more NC based (certainly than the Essex 11+).
Sometimes the Maths papers can be testing further ahead on NC than the State school have got to (but am guessing 11+ prep will have covered this as well).
Limited experience is that they are looking more for potential than performance so actual marks are not as important (eg. if the essay isn't finished but shows good language, imagination, thought process). Worth getting them to show working for Maths so even if answer not correct they demonstrate ability to think problem through etc.
Agan from limited experience, only potential scholarship pupils (after tests assessed) are formally interviewed.
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PrettyWoman
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Thanks - that's reassuring news, for me if not the schoolshermanmunster wrote:Hi Prettywoman - plenty of schools undersubscribed but none letting on!
Like all parents on here, just want whats best really and having seen the difference coming out of prep 11 months ago to a state primary I really, really, really need to get DS1 back into indie.
He had hearing loss when he was 4 so his literacy is not great. He was on school action at his prep school and I was assured he would be put straight on to school action at the state school. 11 months on and I have now been told that he is not 'bad' enough for school action. The acceptable standard in a state school is lower therefore he's allowed to make no progess in literacy and its all OK!
I now know why so many children start senior school unable to read and write properly and I don't want my child to be one of those. The older they are the harder it is to catch up. Anyway we'll do lots of work on his English skills between now and Feb, tweak his maths which has always been fine and practice some more VR
I used to be plain, but when I married Mr Pretty I became PrettyWoman and now have 2 Pretty children!
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Sassie'sDad
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I was not allowed to go to an Indy as my mother ( a state school teacher) was dead against boarding. I was bright but lazy (bored) and only go to go to boarding school (my choice) after my mother died in my early teens. I loved it and the school was infinitely superior to my siblings' grammar schools. It is a much more rounded experience both socially and academically. You have one shot at this as does your son. Take the indy route.
Another predictable comment from me but just to reassure anyone who might be reading this and worrying about state vs independent and thinking Bad Things will happen if your child ends up in the state sector:
We chose to move our younger 2 children from indie to state when we moved house. It was the very best decision we ever made and the children have not in any way been disadvantaged - quite the reverse, they have gained tremendously. This is no leafy suburb, by the way, but a school with a very mixed catchment and a good deal of social and economic deprivation. The teachers are the most devoted and hardworking bunch I ever came across (including in a long career as a teacher) and the curriculum exciting and creative. I suppose if one is after academic drills and lots of tests, it would be a let down, but my 2, who are both bright kids, have been stretched and challenged in ways which just did not happen at indie. Because the state sector lives and dies by its results, staff are very highly motivated to bring out the best in children, and remember, there are teachers who will not on principle teach in the indie sector, and it absolutely does not follow that the best staff go into the private sector. So to anyone who cannot afford private, please, please do not assume this means that your child will be festering in the gutter - it just is not so.
And to balance my argument and answer detractors who feel I have an axe to grind about indies - my eldest child is at one and blossoming. Horses for courses!
We chose to move our younger 2 children from indie to state when we moved house. It was the very best decision we ever made and the children have not in any way been disadvantaged - quite the reverse, they have gained tremendously. This is no leafy suburb, by the way, but a school with a very mixed catchment and a good deal of social and economic deprivation. The teachers are the most devoted and hardworking bunch I ever came across (including in a long career as a teacher) and the curriculum exciting and creative. I suppose if one is after academic drills and lots of tests, it would be a let down, but my 2, who are both bright kids, have been stretched and challenged in ways which just did not happen at indie. Because the state sector lives and dies by its results, staff are very highly motivated to bring out the best in children, and remember, there are teachers who will not on principle teach in the indie sector, and it absolutely does not follow that the best staff go into the private sector. So to anyone who cannot afford private, please, please do not assume this means that your child will be festering in the gutter - it just is not so.
And to balance my argument and answer detractors who feel I have an axe to grind about indies - my eldest child is at one and blossoming. Horses for courses!
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T.i.p.s.y
Hi Prettywoman,
Just read your post. If you are still looking at inde's then Dean Close are very generous with their scholarships and bursaries - more so than most who only offer a token 5-10% discount. It may be worth looking at because although it is expensive a good bursary/scholarship may be available. My son starts there is April and it was always one I had discounted for a variety of reasons but since my first contact through to visit and now him joining they have been fabulous. It is not a school that rests on it's laurels because the competition in Cheltenham is so fierce. Anyway, it may be worth a look and I think the entrance and scholarship exams are around the end of January.
Just read your post. If you are still looking at inde's then Dean Close are very generous with their scholarships and bursaries - more so than most who only offer a token 5-10% discount. It may be worth looking at because although it is expensive a good bursary/scholarship may be available. My son starts there is April and it was always one I had discounted for a variety of reasons but since my first contact through to visit and now him joining they have been fabulous. It is not a school that rests on it's laurels because the competition in Cheltenham is so fierce. Anyway, it may be worth a look and I think the entrance and scholarship exams are around the end of January.