11+ Study Leave

[fluffygirl_27]

Hi, have't been on the forum for a long time. My daughter has passed the 11+ exam (thank god!) and this time round my son is doing the 11+ exam.

I was wondering:

Do primary schools grant study leave to Year 6 students to study for the 11+? I haven't seen it written that they do not give study leave but I do not think anyone has tried. It's worth a shot, I guess because at the primary school they do not revise for 11+.

Regards.

[Tinkers]

I seriously doubt any primary school would authorise ‘11+ leave’. It will me marked as an unauthorised absence.

[yoyo123]

I agree. Why should they?

[bridge]

I agree. Why should they?

To give state school children a fighting chance?

[ToadMum]

I agree. Why should they?

To give state school children a fighting chance?

What are they going to do now, that they haven't had all summer to do? And who is going to be helping them with it?

Rather better to be in school actually being taught.

There's nothing to stop you keeping your DC off school, though; you can either be honest and say that it's for last minute coaching for the exam and deal with any consequences of unauthorised absence, or say they're ill or something which gets the absence noted as authorised.

'Study leave' is only going to 'give a fighting chance' to the kind of state school pupil who has a more than equal chance in the first place.

[yoyo123]

I agree. Why should they?

To give state school children a fighting chance?

But (LA run) state schools are not allowed to promote or tutor for eleven plus, it would have to be counted as unauthorised absence, they would not be allowed to put it down under other code. Study leave for eleven plus would mean that they missed curriculum work. They would then have to catch up, year 6 is gearing up for SATs.

I also think it might be counterproductive, being with their friends and routine will be beneficial. It’s the first few days of term and they are now the ‘big kids’-first time on the benches for assembly etc.

There’s quite a long discussion about it here https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum ... tudy+leave" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/foru" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[EssexMum2019]

My child sat the 11+ on a Saturday in November 2020 (Essex CSSE exam was originally planned for Sept but moved to Nov). I offered her the day off school on Friday as a chance to mentally relax before the exam but she declined the offer as Fridays are her favourite day at school! I wouldn't hesitate to allow them a day off school. Several others at our school took the Friday off. Several others sat the exam on Monday and therefore had to miss school to do so. It would be unfair for school to mark that as an unauthorised absence, however even if they did I would still not hesitate in allowing my child a day of rest before the exam.

[bridge]

I agree. Why should they?

To give state school children a fighting chance?

What are they going to do now, that they haven't had all summer to do? And who is going to be helping them with it?

Rather better to be in school actually being taught.

There's nothing to stop you keeping your DC off school, though; you can either be honest and say that it's for last minute coaching for the exam and deal with any consequences of unauthorised absence, or say they're ill or something which gets the absence noted as authorised.

'Study leave' is only going to 'give a fighting chance' to the kind of state school pupil who has a more than equal chance in the first place.

I assume study leave before GCSEs and A Levels is there for a reason. I doubt schools would be happy if you were doing things not relevant to those exams in that time.

In my experience, the run up to the exam is very important. It's why there are so many intensive courses around this time. This was particularly pertinent for my daughter who is a summer birth - it literally came together at the end. For my son whose birthday is in September we used a different strategy towards the end. In the summer holiday it's impossible to focus on the 11+ as all our children are at home, there's just too much distraction.

Finally, if you live in an area where everyone sits the 11+ - perhaps the exam is easier, perhaps the schools do some prep. Where we live there are a handful of Super Selectives - and the primary schools do no prep. As places are won/lost on the margin it's very important that all the plates are spinning as fast as they can. So while some might not wish to have time off prior to the exam it's always nice to have the option. Particularly as some schools are focussing solely on the 11+.

[Aethel]

“some schools are focussing purely on the eleven plus”…..

okay, name them please….. or is this conjecture?

I think you’ll find it’s more likely that some PARENTS are focussing entirely on the eleven plus…. and it’s like any exam. the children who are capable and practiced will do well in most cases. If your child is so borderline that they can’t do normal activities around the time of the exam to keep their routine feeling normal, how will they cope in a grammar school when high performance and speed is expected all the time?

Remember that excess pressure can be counterproductive for a child, especially if they think all you care about is that 11 plus pass. The self esteem loss can be awful if a child is unlucky or has an underperforming day and feels they have failed you rather than the exam…

[Tinkers]

The difference between 11+ and GCSEs/A levels, is theres a much greater amount of content, and greater number of exams. DD had something like 25 gcse exams and would have had 8 for A level and they not been cancelled.

Also everyone is taking them, not just a few. They should have finished the syllabus at that point.