10+/11+ private school entrance for year 4 state school girl

[Littlebird]

Hi all,

Our 9 years old is in year 4 in a southwest london primary. Both myself and my husband work long hours in the city and admittedly we are not familiar with London/english selective secondary requirements/test. Ideally we hope she could try at year 6 however our colleague at work mentioned that we could try her for Kingston grammar school reserved place and/or Emmanuel so it will be less pressure later on. The tests are later on this year.

She was exceeding in both maths and English from last year school reports. We have tried to find a tutor however through couple of websites with fees, all teachers with good recommendations are not available. We really dont know where to start. Does she stand a chance? What books did you use? How did you help your child? Can full time working parents be diy with the preparation(English isnt our first language)

I am much appreciated for your advice and sharings.

[Daogroupie]

This is called the 10 plus where you sit the exam in the January of Y5 and join the school in September of Y6.

It means you will get automatically entry into the senior school in Y7 and will not have to go through the eleven plus.

You have nine months to prepare for this exam.

I suggest you look at some examples of 10 plus papers from the websites of schools that do 10 plus.

Emmanuel, Whitgift, Trinity, Old Palace, Bishops Storkford and City boys are some examples.

Some of these are boys schools but it is the standard you are looking at.

Coming from a state school will not hold her back but perhaps exceeding in Maths and English at her school will as this may indicated she is not being challenged enough.

Are you looking at state selectives as well or only private? DG

[Guest55]

Coming from a state school will not hold her back but perhaps exceeding in Maths and English at her school will as this may indicated she is not being challenged enough.

Sorry, that is complete rubbish DG - this is the new ways of assessing without levels. 'Exceeding' means that the child has mastered the curriculum for that Year group - it is the highest you can get.

[Daogroupie]

I know that but it was a very unfortunate choice of word by the Department of Education.

Exceeding does not mean mastered, it means better than, greater than, surpassing, going beyond.

"Mr Kipling makes exceedingly good cakes." This does not mean he has mastered the art of cake making. It means he has gone beyond the art of cake making, he has surpassed the level, gone beyond his peers.

Are they saying students have met the expected levels or are they saying students have gone beyond the expected levels?

And if they are saying students have gone beyond the expected levels how can they know this if they are not testing them beyond the expected levels?

But in reference to the OP it is not helping them understand what level their dd is currently working at and how how much work will be required to sit 10 plus in January 2018.

I realise this is not the job of the school to tell them, but using a word other than met or mastered is giving the impression that they have been tested beyond the expected levels.

OP, the ten plus papers will help you assess the required levels in English and Maths for the exams in January. DG

[Guest55]

In the context of assessment without levels then 'exceeding' is what schools are choosing to use. 'Mastery' is the way the curriculum is designed ie no acceleration.

Moderation is carried out between schools to make sure there is a common understanding of where children are.

It is quite a concern for me if tutors don't understand the design of the new Primary curriculum; how can you advise parents correctly?

[Littlebird]

She wishes to be given/pushed further in her academic, her school is a lovely on our door step outstanding primary according to Ofsted however has never been challenging. She doesnt want to try Tiffins as she wants to have a better support in extra curriculums too. If top table means anything then she has been there since she started. To be honest, it could be alot for me as I dont know the curriculums, really dont know where she is, her nanny helps to check that she finishes her homework(she wont be able to do anymore). She is a book worms and we always pump our library room with variety of types of books.

I will search for the above schools past papers as per your asvice for her to try one to see where we are. Few of her friends joined the local prep last year. I didnt know there are prep schools otherwise we would have sent her there. When we moved to London due to work reallocation years ago we just sent her to the nearest school for the easiest option. hopefully we are not too late.

Her above exceeding was 139 points for English and something more for maths, really I dont know what do they mean. They dont have homework and I dont think there has ever been a test(which we need to prepare her for) so I dont know how they came to the conclusion. The praise we heard from her teachers were overwhelming (we think its the English culture that praise alot and very suportive)

[Littlebird]

I mean her nanny wont be able to help us preparing for the test.

[FAC51]

Primaries, and even preps, rarely stretch the most able DCs. "Top table" doesn't mean much when it comes to selective school entrance exams (whether state or independent), as the competition to get in is fierce.

So 10+ is a good way of avoiding the 11+ madness, but you end up restricting yourself to a handful of schools.

Don't select a senior school just because it offers 10+ entry. Research all senior school options, come up with a list of preferences, and then prepare for the relevant entrance exams.

If you decide that you want to target an 11+ school, the local prep would probably be happy to take your DD into year 5. But don't expect to sit back and let the prep take care of 11+. There'll still need to be effort at home!

[sleeplessmum]

Hi little bird,

My daughter is currently in Year 5 and sat the 10+ this January and gained a place for Year 7 for 2018. We had the same thought- try for the grammar schools but if it doesn't work out at least she has a backup. Also we found this good practice. Only try for the school you think you are likely to send her to, if she doesn't get in. Visit the schools.

The only downside is that if your child gets a place she may relax a bit for the grammars- which is currently happening to us. We did the same approach for our son. He didn't get a place for 10+ a few years ago but he was then even more determined to get the grammars, which he did.

It's a hard call. Good luck- we spent a lot of time in WH Smith looking for the right books.

[Littlebird]

Thanks so much for your advice!
We only have Tiffins for girl near by and I dont think she could have a place. We really dont think we could give her the similar of support she needs for the test. We also think she is more suitable for private secondary as she is aldo sport(ish) and does well in music(her strength). I could only merely see her 1hour a day and we need this 1 hour to tell each other what happened in the day. We have time at weekends so I could use weekends for practice/revision.
I will visit a WH smith this weekend, is there any particular book you could recommend for 10+. We will also get her to try 1 past paper recommended earlier this weekend(hopefully there are answers to see where she is. What would normally a pass for 10+ please?
Its a shame there are only 2 schools do 10+. I wish there are more. If we fail then we will try again for 11+. If we pass then we will take the place.

My problem is our nanny has been helping her with homework for years and I really dont know where she is in either maths or English(except from school reports). I was told by her teacher that she sits in the top table for both maths and english and she had full mark in all her maths tests(she loves numbers and has good memory).