Move to Catchment or Focus on independent preparation?

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proudad
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2016 3:00 pm

Move to Catchment or Focus on independent preparation?

Post by proudad »

There is no good secondary school in the vicinity, let alone a grammar school. Hence, I know that we will have to move from the area when my son goes to secondary (he is completing Yr 2). Also, our first preference is a good grammar school and we plan to arrange tuition for my son in due course.
However, am debating about when to move. The two options are:
Option 1. Move to a good grammar school catchment when he is completing Yr 3. This seems a reasonable step but am worried if settling into a new school environment will distract him from 11+ preparation.
Option 2. Stay put where I am currently and focus on preparation through home-education and tuition. The hope is that with right tuition and support from us he will be able to crack the 11+ exams for the schools he applies. The primary school, though ranked Excellent, is academically easy for him; but it provides a stable and supporting environment. However I do not know if I am placing too much reliance on tuition and if the primary schools in same catchment as grammar schools have something more to offer than my son's current school.

Does anybody have experience like this? And how did they go about making the decision - to either move or stay put?
Also, perhaps, is there any way for me to assess if my son has a reasonable chance at cracking 11+ (I think he has a natural inclination for numeracy and reasoning and is decent/good in them)?

Thanks for any and all advice.
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Move to Catchment or Focus on independent preparation?

Post by Daogroupie »

If you can find a great tutor with an excellent track record for the school you want to apply to and your and your ds are both motivated then you have a good chance.

I suggest you start asking forum members about the school you are interested in. There is a lot of information available from experienced members in your area. DG
loobylou
Posts: 2032
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:04 pm

Re: Move to Catchment or Focus on independent preparation?

Post by loobylou »

Where are you looking?
My feelings would be that most local primaries do not have anything more to offer re 11+ whether they are in or out of catchment - but that primaries in catchment are more likely to have parents who are aware of the 11+ and be able to help you/give you advice. I am aware on here that there are parents who say that the 11+ talk at their school gate is quite secretive and no one wants to help other people out - but at our school it felt as though people were keen to share their stories and help out with tutors' details etc.
If you are looking in and around London it seems that most people have tutors and therefore there wouldn't seem a particular advantage in a particular primary school. Plus if you are not happy with the fallback options in your current area then you will have to move before year 5 anyway.
Your ds won't be doing 11+ preparation early in year 4 so hopefully he would have a chance to settle in easily to a new school if you felt that was the right thing to do.
In terms of whether your child is the right sort of child to do well? - I think he's just too young at this stage. THere are children who fly when they're very young and turn out to be rather average and many children who start off slowly and then more than catch up. However a good tutor should be able to compare them with the average. I know that our tutor (at the end of year 4) assessed my children and we had a pretty good understanding then of where they came in an average cohort...
Good luck.
Mandy21
Posts: 302
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:27 pm

Re: Move to Catchment or Focus on independent preparation?

Post by Mandy21 »

I agree it depends where you are and that actually, moving at Year 3 is a good time to move - as pp said, there is no 11+ preparation (as such) in Year 4 so your DS will be able to settle, but in my view, the earlier the better.

I do disagree slightly however that schools won't offer anything more if they're in catchment (other than parents being aware of the entrance exams). Where we are, it is an expensive area that people choose to live in simply for the schools. So there is an expectation, from parents and from teachers, that passing the entrance exams is on most parents' agenda. Whilst the schools are not supposed to coach, there is work that is definitely aligned to the types of questions that will be asked in the entrance exams, and most importantly at our school, most (if not all children) are working a school year ahead for maths. So my DC covered a large chunk of the Y6 syllabus for Maths in Y5, so when they took the entrance exams at the beginning of September in Y6, with "stretching" maths questions, they were able to tackle those questions relatively easily.

I would also suggest that if you're moving into a grammar school area and are going to use a private tutor, you need to sort that out well in advance.
scary mum
Posts: 8841
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: Move to Catchment or Focus on independent preparation?

Post by scary mum »

Also, what are the schools like if your DC doesn't pass the 11 plus?
scary mum
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