All over except the waiting...
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All over except the waiting...
Edward has come out of the test this afternoon absolutely worn out! Although, admittedly, he was exhausted from nerves when he went in. I would definitely have preferred him to have had the morning session rather than the afternoon one. Oh well...
He hasn't wanted to discuss it very much. He found the second test more difficult than the practise tests he has done. He answered all of the questions and had enough time to check the answers (so he tells me anyway!!!). He found himself with 25 mins to go on one of the tests and then found he had missed both sides of a page out. Phew, narrow escape!!!
He is upstairs now with a nice cup of tea thrashing his father on the Play Station. we are going out later for a meal to celebrate the occasion. If you see an hysterical family in Frankie and Benny's, it may well be us!
He hasn't wanted to discuss it very much. He found the second test more difficult than the practise tests he has done. He answered all of the questions and had enough time to check the answers (so he tells me anyway!!!). He found himself with 25 mins to go on one of the tests and then found he had missed both sides of a page out. Phew, narrow escape!!!
He is upstairs now with a nice cup of tea thrashing his father on the Play Station. we are going out later for a meal to celebrate the occasion. If you see an hysterical family in Frankie and Benny's, it may well be us!
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Guest
well done to you all!! My son had a morning exam at Alcester Grammar and I have to say the organisation of it was pretty poor - having been told to arrive for 9am, we found ourselves still queuing outside at 9.50am whilst one teacher was responsible for booking 200 students in - thankfully it wasn't raining, and my son and I were the lucky ones in that we had to wait outside, thus getting a bit more fresh air...the people who had been at the front of the queue presumably spent most of their hour and a bit wait in the exam room which wasn't particularly comfortable.
In spite of this, my son came out of the exam with a smile on his face declaring that it had been "fun" and not as hard as he thought - I have no idea whether he has come anywhere near the passmark, but I am very relieved that he didn't come out upset, convinced he'd failed - erroneous optimism is much better as we have to wait so many months for the result!
In spite of this, my son came out of the exam with a smile on his face declaring that it had been "fun" and not as hard as he thought - I have no idea whether he has come anywhere near the passmark, but I am very relieved that he didn't come out upset, convinced he'd failed - erroneous optimism is much better as we have to wait so many months for the result!
Oh dear. What a long time to wait. We queued for 35 minutes and that felt long enough! It seems like your son had a good experience today though, and his confidence sounds hopeful. I hope it works out well for you.
As the day has passed Edward has started to become more worried, realising the 'implications' of not being accepted into his school of choice. Whilst I am in favour of selective schools sometimes it does concern me that it all depends on 100 minutes of testing. I am sure that some children who have always been above average, on the top table at school etc etc do not receive the result that they deserve. Not trying to be contentious but I wonder if there could be a different way of testing...??
As the day has passed Edward has started to become more worried, realising the 'implications' of not being accepted into his school of choice. Whilst I am in favour of selective schools sometimes it does concern me that it all depends on 100 minutes of testing. I am sure that some children who have always been above average, on the top table at school etc etc do not receive the result that they deserve. Not trying to be contentious but I wonder if there could be a different way of testing...??
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Warks mum
We went to KES on Saturday afternoon. We all arrived very early, ready for the start of the exam at 13.00. Fortunately, they had several desks and you chose the right one according to surname (managed to go to the right desk second time....!) so we were ready inside at 12.50.
No-one told us anything, until 13.30, when eventually the lady at the front said, "Sorry, the one o'clock start was meant to be the start of registration, but we realise you didn't know this."
It all seemed rather cruel to keep the children waiting so long. Some looked very nervous indeed!
Apart from this, my daughter seems very happy. So we are OK about it too!
No-one told us anything, until 13.30, when eventually the lady at the front said, "Sorry, the one o'clock start was meant to be the start of registration, but we realise you didn't know this."
It all seemed rather cruel to keep the children waiting so long. Some looked very nervous indeed!
Apart from this, my daughter seems very happy. So we are OK about it too!
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Guest
As the day has passed Edward has started to become more worried, realising the 'implications' of not being accepted into his school of choice.
For this very reason, we haven't even taken our son around the grammar schools - if he should pass, we'll make an appointment to view them, but as far as we're concerned, the grammar schools only become relevant if and when he passes the exam.
Whilst I am in favour of selective schools sometimes it does concern me that it all depends on 100 minutes of testing. I am sure that some children who have always been above average, on the top table at school etc etc do not receive the result that they deserve. Not trying to be contentious but I wonder if there could be a different way of testing...??[/quote]
We agree wholeheartedly with this - if you can pass your GCSEs by the submission of coursework (which is then returned to you with tips for improvement by your teachers), why can't your place at grammar school be secured by recommendations from primary school teachers who actually know you, rather than a hit and miss system of how you perform on one particular day? Seems like the 11+ needs to move into the modern day and age.
For this very reason, we haven't even taken our son around the grammar schools - if he should pass, we'll make an appointment to view them, but as far as we're concerned, the grammar schools only become relevant if and when he passes the exam.
Whilst I am in favour of selective schools sometimes it does concern me that it all depends on 100 minutes of testing. I am sure that some children who have always been above average, on the top table at school etc etc do not receive the result that they deserve. Not trying to be contentious but I wonder if there could be a different way of testing...??[/quote]
We agree wholeheartedly with this - if you can pass your GCSEs by the submission of coursework (which is then returned to you with tips for improvement by your teachers), why can't your place at grammar school be secured by recommendations from primary school teachers who actually know you, rather than a hit and miss system of how you perform on one particular day? Seems like the 11+ needs to move into the modern day and age.
Very wise not to take your son around the grammar if he is the sort of child who doesn't need to see what he is working towards! Unfortunately, Edward is the sort who needed to be tempted into realising where he would like to go. The day before the grammar school open evening he had decided he just wanted to go to the local comprehensive and it definitely isn't the right school for him, although it does get good results. The DIFFERENCE in the behaviour of the children of the comprehensive and the grammar school was huge and this was what made edward change his mind - the facilities were much better also.
