Just have a read if you are worried about 11+ failure at all

[quasimodo]

I wasn't going to post an update on my son, as I worried it sounded boastful, but my husband said I must, in order to say to people whose children did not pass 11+ exams, that academic achievement is not outwith their grasp.

So here I am, the proud mother of a boy whose story is in this thread, and who has now received his IB results and with it his confirmed place at Oxford university this autumn.

We always knew the 11+ result was wrong, but I have to say that this time last year when he was beginning the application process to university I said, please don't go for this, as I was so afraid that this would result in failure again. But lol, here we are.

I am equally proud of all of my four children, three of whom went to grammar but were not Oxbridge material, but tonight I am super excited for my youngest who has just done so well.

I'd say to all of you whose poor children have missed by a couple of marks, just help them as best you can and let them flourish, the world really is their oyster.

And thank you to all of the Eleven Plus Forum, who listened to my whingeing over the years, lately I have been very quiet, but I have had so much help, especially when I felt like I was banging my head on a wall, Etienne and Sally Anne in particular, but many others including Guest 55, Amber, Scary and others.

Its lovely to read this.

When I was reading the beginning of your thread I was thinking to myself from reading the GCSE grades from a contextual point of view that those were Oxbridge grades.Your son will not be alone in his experience at 11, I remember reading a resume a little while back about one of the principals of one of the Oxford Colleges who had failed his 11 plus.No one exam or one school can ever limit a child.You haven't told us the subject your brilliant son will be studying ?

[RomfordDad]

It takes a special kind of talent to want to try and spoil a success story with spiky remarks.

Pointing out when someone is contradicting themselves = want to try and spoil sussess story? I'm trying to stay as factual as possible, calling a spade a spade.

It doesn't take a sligtest bit of her son's success!

[Looking for help]

Thank you, everyone. it is Biomedical sciences.

Mystery - I often fell like writing to Mrs May, might get on that one.

Romforddad - it was me going mad not him, so you got that wrong.

[KB]

It takes a special kind of talent to want to try and spoil a success story with spiky remarks.

Pointing out when someone is contradicting themselves = want to try and spoil sussess story? I'm trying to stay as factual as possible, calling a spade a spade.
It doesn't take a sligtest bit of her son's success!

But sometimes it's just not necessary to ' point things out' and ' calling a spade a spade' is not always appropriate. In a serious situation where someone is in need of help then it might be justified but in this case maybe better to just let LFH enjoy the moment...

[tiffinboys]

Heartiest congrats to LFH and her DC. Well done.

[Surferfish]

Congratulations to your son on his success LFH.

Although we appealed, we failed that too. It was an awful time for the whole family.

Anyway we had a halfway decent back up plan, but it broke my heart that he couldn't go to the same school as his brother and sisters.

You mentioned in your original post that you had a "back up plan". Are you able to explain what this was in case it might be useful for other parents in a similar situation?

[Looking for help]

Thanks, all.

Surferfish - it was a halfway decent comprehensive, not our catchment school though, which was awful at the time. It was also 15 miles in the opposite direction from the grammar that he'd have gone to with his siblings, so it was very difficult to manage both schools, but we did. We were happy enough to have it as our back up, never thinking in a million years he'd be needing to use it.

As it turned out, it was pretty good, he did really well there, stayed up until y12, when we moved abroad, hence why he ended up doing the IB rather than complete A Levels and ended up a year behind his peers. But it has all worked out really well, so I couldn't be happier for him. The Oxford thing is really just a huge bonus.

[Guest55]

Such brilliant news - well done from me!

I hope he has a brilliant time I will PM you.

[Surferfish]

Surferfish - it was a halfway decent comprehensive, not our catchment school though, which was awful at the time. It was also 15 miles in the opposite direction from the grammar that he'd have gone to with his siblings, so it was very difficult to manage both schools, but we did. We were happy enough to have it as our back up, never thinking in a million years he'd be needing to use it.

Yes it can't have been easy them going to different schools so far apart but it sounds like it was worth all the effort in the end.

One of the good things about your story (in addition to your son's personal success), is that it helps disprove the argument that we need grammar schools to enable "bright" children to achieve their potential.

[tiffinboys]

One of the good things about your story (in addition to your son's personal success), is that it helps disprove the argument that we need grammar schools to enable "bright" children to achieve their potential.

Any rule will also state exceptions to the rules.

Please let us enjoy LFH success and dont start some arguments as clearly there are two sides to the grammar debate.