Summer Holiday Plans?....

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Aethel
Posts: 1190
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 6:24 pm

Summer Holiday Plans?....

Post by Aethel »

Now we're into the summer holidays, how are you planning to keep your DC happy and rested while keeping them positive for any September exams?


My child's friend announced she is having "four days off" over the summer but will be doing lots of practice other than that.... This sounds like too much to me, I think my DD will get put off if we don't get a proper break! Is it normal to spend the whole holiday preparing? Please tell me it's not...
Tinkers
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Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 2:05 pm
Location: Reading

Re: Summer Holiday Plans?....

Post by Tinkers »

Do what you think is right.
We managed one paper a week due to Work, holidays and visits to grandparents etc. Couldn't have done much more. One DD at her primary came back in year 6 complaining she had had to do a paper every day.

Both got in.
quasimodo
Posts: 3854
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 2:47 pm

Re: Summer Holiday Plans?....

Post by quasimodo »

You have been given good advice.You know your own child best "do what you think is right".You and your child do need a holiday.

My younger brother in law who has been preparing his daughter a border line candidate and in my opinion in overkill with his preparation up until now has his daughter doing about an hour a day and will be booking up to 2 weeks on a holiday.This will be a holiday.His daughter is lucky as her school have also been preparing her for the exams and her form will go in a few days early in this process.

Sometimes you have to take a step back. Will a grammar school be right for her if she gets in and then struggles ? Only time will tell. As a parent you can only do what you think is best.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

Abraham Lincoln
Amber
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Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Summer Holiday Plans?....

Post by Amber »

Aethel wrote: Is it normal to spend the whole holiday preparing? Please tell me it's not...
It's not.
Your instincts are right. Everyone needs a proper break - enjoy yours with your child. :D
ToadMum
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Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Summer Holiday Plans?....

Post by ToadMum »

For the child's sake, I hope the parents are just panicking re her capabilities, she falls into the 'will pass completely independently of being prepped to death' category and at grammar school will soon be doing just fine completing her homework in the lunchbreak before it's due in with the best of them (and forgiving her parents eventually for ruining her hard-earned holidays :lol: ). And not that they are right and she only stands a chance at all by being prepped to death during her every waking hour :( .
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
CestMoi
Posts: 221
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 10:01 pm

Re: Summer Holiday Plans?....

Post by CestMoi »

Are you in a grammar area (e.g. Kent) or aiming for the so-called super selectives?

I ask because I think the prep among the cohort will be different for each group. There are only the latter where I live and we know of children doing intensive tutorial courses over the holidays. The tutors who work over summer are doing very well! We know many parents taking off the summer to focus on this.

My life is not set up to do this due to work and caring responsibilities, so we will be adopting a much lighter regime than anything I've mentioned here. We are aiming for 4 hrs a week. We will do nothing at all in the final week.
Carolestress
Posts: 62
Joined: Sun May 08, 2016 10:08 am

Re: Summer Holiday Plans?....

Post by Carolestress »

Do what you think is best for your child; what is child's tolerance level for studying when others aren't. A bit of sacrifice now can go a long way.
Daogroupie
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Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Summer Holiday Plans?....

Post by Daogroupie »

How much you do over the holiday will depend on how much you have done already and how stiff the competition is for the school you are interested in.

I don't know anyone who has ever felt they did too much but I know many parents who bitterly regret not doing enough. Some had no idea just how much other parents were doing.

In our first past the post system how much other parents sign their students up for will directly impact your chances of success.

The mark that gets you in will be dictated by the levels of the other students. DG
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Summer Holiday Plans?....

Post by Guest55 »

Daogroupie wrote:In our first past the post system how much other parents sign their students up for will directly impact your chances of success.
DG - not all 11+ tests are first past the post - Bucks has a qualification score and then it's distance from the school.

Everyone needs a break and children are no different.
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Summer Holiday Plans?....

Post by Daogroupie »

That is why I used the word "our" to indicate that this may not be the case for the OP's region. DG
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