distraction during exam

sisterofgloucestermum · Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:09 pm

Thats great that your DS has been offered such a good alternative

I am sure he will do very well there. In Southend if you are not successful at gaining a GS place the alternatives are very poor. Why are you putting youself through the stress of appealing?

Appeal Mum · Post by **Appeal Mum** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:44 pm

Sisterofgloucestermum,

Because as a parent you feel you must do everything within your power to find a school that you believe your child will excel in.
If that is a different school to what you have been allocated, it really only leaves one option: Appeal.

However high or low your chance at appeal is, is irrelevant if you feel your child would thrive there.
As parentâ€™s we all have to do what is right for our child. If thatâ€™s appealing against a decision made for your child by the LEA then so be it.
Iâ€™m sure not many parents are put off by the â€œstressâ€

Guest55 · Post by **Guest55** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:50 pm

I can only agree with Appeal Mum - sometimes the 11+ gets it wrong and it is only right to allow that to be 'corrected'.

Go for it mumg - what have you to lose?

sisterofgloucestermum · Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:16 pm

I was just asking.....

Appeal Mum · Post by **Appeal Mum** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:21 pm

Asking is good..

AM

Bexley Mum 2 · Post by **Bexley Mum 2** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:39 pm

It does seem to me that it's better to sit the 11+ in areas like Bexley where every child does the 11+ in their own schools than in areas where only certain children are entered and have to travel to test centres. My eldest two children both sat their 11+ exams in their own school hall surrounded by familiar faces. Yes, they had to cope with the odd child breaking down in tears during the exams or being sick immediately before the exams, but doing them in a familiar setting must be an enormous benefit. My middle son did the Kent test as well in January and, although he went with a friend, I think he found the whole thing an awful ordeal because he didn't know the school and I bet, if anything had disturbed him, because he didn't know the teachers invigilating, he wouldn't have dared say anything. Fortunately for him he knew he was doing the Kent test as a back up plan so he was fairly relaxed. He did say to me that he and his friend chatted during most of the writing test which I found very alarming and which I can't imagine would have been allowed in his own school.

banksy1 · Post by **banksy1** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:06 pm

I would like to say i think people are being abit harsh on sisterofgloucestermum this site is also about seeing all peoples opinions on the subject and I also feel if you if have been offered such a good school if a child is bright he/she will do well anywhere if they want to learn. You have got to weigh up if you are appealing because you as a parent want to or it is for the benefit of the child, in Kent I know alot of people are appealing when they know there are NO places as they have been told children have passed the 11+ haven't been offered a place let alone the ones that are just under. So is this not just giving a child false hope??? I also think the system which Kent is under not knowing your score before completing your application is absurd what a waste of time!! But this is just my opinion .x

mumg · Post by **mumg** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:34 am

thank you appeal mum and guest 55,

you must have been reading my mind.

capers123 · Post by **capers123** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:28 am

Bexley Mum 2 wrote:It does seem to me that it's better to sit the 11+ in areas like Bexley where every child does the 11+ in their own schools than in areas where only certain children are entered and have to travel to test centres.

Back in my day the whole class sat the 11+, irrespective of likelyhood of passing. I'm not sure if the other class in the primary school sat it (I think we were streamed by that stage). There were, of course, no SATS in those days for the teachers to concentrate on.

magwich · Post by **magwich** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:05 am

The trouble with sitting the exam in their own schools in warwickshire was all the accusations of cheating. There were accusations that all the private schools did nothing except cheat - fiercely denied by all the private schools!
This was followed by a number of counter accusations that the state primaries were also cheating by allowing extra time or helping children with the answers.
There was never any real evidence for any of the rumours flying around.
Then there were the accusations that tutors had copies of all the papers which got recycled each year by the shambolic collection of jobsworths AKA warwickshire education department.
It was especially irksome at DD's prep school when it came to the essay testand the state schools were permitted to hold this and the private schools wre not, lending credence to the rumours that the private schools wre the ones who were doing the cheating.
We had not had any tutoring and so were just glad that it seemed to be a level playing field for the first time!( if they had not changed the format this year then of course we would have paid a tutor)
2 points I would like to make here:
*my daughters private school normally get 45 -55% of children through the 11+; this year it was more like 75% - coincidence? Maybe.
Could it be that it wasn't the PRIVATE schools doing the dishonest thing?!!
* I remember speaking to the spouse of a teacher at elder DD's grammar school who said it was a staffroom joke that some children appeared to have been tutored and woudn't have passed for the school otherwise!
Ithink we have all got good reason to thank the "Stratford Herald" for getting things changed in warwickshire.