Can you buy your way into a grammar school??

[aargh]

I don't particularly like funding our monarchy,

Off topic but.
Funding a monarchy actually works out cheaper than funding a presidency. Surprising I know, but presidencies have all the state function and abode funding of a monarchy plus the cost of elections and run up to elections.

Having an irrelevant head of state actually works in our favour internationally too. Presidents do not work the same tricks on a monarch as they do on each other and it leaves the PM free to concentrate on politics rather than ceremonial and social duties.

[pabrighton0]

I advocate children wanting a Warwickshire place and are OUT OF AREA to take the test late.
If in area, I would advocate taking it on time, unless the child is so unprepared that they are unlikely to pass.

Is the stategy dangerous? NOT AT ALL if you take the test at an appropriate time.
Is is sensible? Of course it is. It worked for many.

So, Sally-Anne, I ask again is 29 offers for late sitters insignificant? Almost 25% of late sitters were awarded a place.
It was not dangerous. It made perfect sense for these 29 people.

Hey Troll,

Being an advocate, do you have an office? It sounds like you are keen to provide this invaluable (and fairly unique) advice for free. And you are so sure of all this. Do you think you can set an office up and charge for your services?



And tutoring can be so expensive, sounds like you are showing the world a much simpler way forward?

By the way, do you also know that people can trace your posts? Perhaps they do not need you to have an office - nor a name - after all!

[pabrighton0]

So, is 29 places insignificant? Is this dangerous nonsense? Let the readers decide!

Sally-Anne, I would politely suggest before posting phrases such as "dangerous nonsense", which some will find rather abusive, you arm yourself with facts. I am sure others would be banned for such postings. I may get banned for this post, but I'm not "trolling", but making a valid point based upon facts.

I think it's absolutely on to discuss facts, assuming you can provide some names, references, etc so we can all verify your claim they would be facts. And when I mean references, I am not talking about new aliases that pop up in the site that strangely back you on these views.

[poiuyt]

I was using it as an example that just because I hate the monarchy system, I still pay my taxes to fund the sponges, just an example to put this thread into context.

[The Troll]

I think it's absolutely on to discuss facts, assuming you can provide some names, references, etc so we can all verify your claim they would be facts. And when I mean references, I am not talking about new aliases that pop up in the site that strangely back you on these views.

To verify facts, I ask the authority. In this case call or email the LEA yourself and you will get the facts. This is what I did.
There is no point believing what I or others post. They may be wrong. Quote reseached data and not what is posted.

[pabrighton0]

Sally-Anne probably has as good a grasp of what happens country-wide as anybody and her advice for, as she pointed out

the vast majority of GS areas,

is sound, general advice. It may be that people who know their own area and its ins and outs particularly well may depart from sound, general advice and take a fully weighed up, calculated risk.

I'd be really interested in general figures in terms of school age population vs grammar places for Hertfordshire - and how it compares with Essex and North London.

[The Troll]

The tutoring debate is an interesting one. I live in Herts and 4 children from our state primary took the bucks 11+ test. We are trying to get our children into the Watford Grammar schools but put Bucks Grammar in second place. The four children all reached the qualifying 121 mark without tutoring and all 4 did much better on the second test than the first. We did the pack at home with our son but nothing else. On the first test he struggled with the timing - hence he did better on the second test when he worked more quickly. The four children are all at the top of the class but by no means remarkable in fact my son is predicted to get high level 4s in his sats not 5s. It does show that tutoring is not necessary for bright children IMHO. Maybe because our local comp. is good we are putting less pressure on our children as it does not matter as much if they reach the magic 121 mark.

With the Bucks test, I agree tutoring is not always required. Children with average intelligence can pass this simple test. Ask the Bucks child to take the 11+ without tuition from an area that tests 6 subject areas: Maths, Data processing, NVR, VR Cloze passages and comprehension. Understand the maths/data processing section tests the whole of year 6 at the begining of year 6. So, assume you have a "bright" child, explain to me how (s)he can answer questions on percentages, fractions, mean, mode, median, surface area, sequences, etc when they may not have not covered these at school? Different schools teach subject area at different times. It's not rocket science, but if you have not been taught it you cannot answer it. Year 4 children can add and multiply fractions if you teach them. It does not mean the are "brighter" than others.

To be prepared you have to cover these areas. This is why tuition, be it by parents or others is often required. Not all areas use the VR Bucks tests which test very little and require minimal preparation. I suggest the Bucks children who are not tutored take some private school tests or Haberdashers' tests and see how they perform. The Bucks test would be like a CSE and Haberdashers' an "O" level. They would be in for a shock. This does not mean that Bucks children are not bright, they just would not have covered the work children in other areas may have been "forced" to cover. Bucks children don't know how lucky they are!

[pabrighton0]

Is this not just the standard demand and supply issue, compounded with the number of sittings children can have in the local area?

Some factors influence demand, others influence supply. Where the two are not matching you see deviation of the local pass level from the average level.