HELP! BEXLEY AND NORTH KENT TESTS

Tracy · Post by **Tracy** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 9:49 pm

% will remain roughly the same. The 90% is for the actual Bexley test and not the shop bought nfer ones which are supposed to be slightly harder. Your son is doing very well!

panicattack! · Post by **panicattack!** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:00 pm

Tracy you are a star! Just told DS that some kind soul on this site thinks he is doing v. well and he was thrilled!! I will buy up (if there are any left in the shops) some more NFER papers .... thanks and we will keep plugging on... It sure is scary stuff and glad I only have to do this once!!

Jiff · Post by **Jiff** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:12 pm

Hallo panicattack!

You may find some useful advice on the Bexley thread, particularly under "Living in Blackheath and Greenwich" where there has been some discussion about the top 180. We too live in Lewisham and have been through this three times with my three boys (last time last year) so do feel free to ask. Very good luck to you and your son!

SSM · Post by **SSM** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:51 am

I will buy up (if there are any left in the shops) some more NFER papers

Nfer only publish one set of 4 papers per subject, but they have a tendency to change the picture on the front of the folder, making it seem that they are different papers. So if you already have the pack of 4 NVR papers, you have all the 11+ papers that Nfer publish.

panicattack! · Post by **panicattack!** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:53 pm

Thanks Jiff and SSM. I couldn't find any more NFER papers and so went for the Susan Daughtery papers which are definitely harder! I have read the Walsh papers are good too so will try to get some of them... I want to give DS as much practise of the hardest type of VR poss given the catchment area problems. Jiff did any of your 3 boys get in to the schools in Bexley? It would be so nice to hear from a "top 180" to find out if we stand a chance..!

Jiff · Post by **Jiff** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 10:54 pm

I find the top 180 in Bexley very difficult to judge. All three of my boys got into superselectives out of borough but only the oldest (now going into year 11) got in the top 180, the other two missed out by a couple of marks. As you may know, the Bexley tests have changed in the last couple of years and are now just Verbal Reasoning and Maths. Do have a look at the "Living in Blackheath and Greenwich" on the Bexley thread if you can, as there is more detail there.

It is just possible to get into some Bexley schools from the waiting list, but this very much depends on where in Lewisham you live (I know of a couple but unfortunately not from our area) and requires nerves of steel while you wait it out. There are also possibilities in Kent and St Olave's in Orpington. It is a very stressful time as the options in Lewisham are limited, as you are no doubt aware. But don't despair - it can be done!

panicattack! · Post by **panicattack!** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:30 pm

Jiff thanks for your reply. We are trying Olaves as well and Kent - but I have heard that the Kent practice is extremely daunting with thousands of children all arriving in one centre to sit in unfamiliar surroundings etc... so realistically this may be a shock and DS doesn't do too well... Nearly there - did anyone tell these LEAs that children of 10 shouldn't be doing this much for secondary school!!!

pixiedust101 · Post by **pixiedust101** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:45 pm

Tracy wrote:Nfer for both areas.

Bexley - I have been led to believe that kids should be reaching a minimum of 70% on the nfers to stand a chance of passing. I was told a while back by a HT that the actual pass mark is around 78% (aggregate score) making the Bexley test slightly easier than the nfer papers.

Kent - again 70% should do it although I have heard that the pass mark could be lower. The problem here is that there is no aggregate so there is no tolerance for a weak area. I'm sure someone from Kent will be along soon to give you more info.

Hope someone can help - my brain is refusing to work and demanding a holiday - but what does it mean by aggregate score - are all the papers added together and then divided to reach that 78%?

It is just as well it is not me taking these exams!
LOL

Tracy · Post by **Tracy** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 8:31 pm

Both the vr and maths papers are standardised to give marks out of 140.
Both scores are added together to give a total mark and it's this that detemines whether it's selective or not.

eg, vr 130, maths 125

Total mark in this example is 255 out of a maximum of 280.

Jiff · Post by **Jiff** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:44 am

There are alot of children taking the practice tests but from my experience they do treat the children sympathatically and it helps take the edge of the real thing. I'd certainly recommend going along. There used to be a practice for Bexley too, but that stopped last year when the test was held at an earlier date. It is so early now that it is more of a 10-plus than 11-plus! Where does your DS have to go to take the Kent test?