QE Prep 2018

[abhijitc4u]

Report from the ground this morning-kids were called in from 8:10 am, refused entry post 9am.

[ale21279]

Report from the ground this morning-kids were called in from 8:10 am, refused entry post 9am.

I find the 8.10 entry strange as the letter specifically stated "do not arrive before 8.30am"

9am is reasonable as we were asked to "arrive no later than 8.45am"

[Amber]

We got there for 8.54 and there were 5 people checking the children's sliost, including the big man. Now that says something about the school.

What does it say?

I would never dream of using a hospital car park for any other purpose than if I was visiting a patient or a patient myself. Even if I had paid for a ticket or not!

+1. At our local hospital it is really hard to get a space when you go for an appointment or to visit someone. I find it quite shocking that people think it is OK and set this as an example to their children.

(Disclaimer: I am a longstanding member of the forum and do not wish to patronise or put off new members. But I still think it is wrong to park on a hospital car park for an 11+ exam).

[Daogroupie]

I wonder if those refused entry will be offered the option to return tomorrow or on the backup date next week? DG

[kenyancowgirl]

We got there for 8.54 and there were 5 people checking the children's sliost, including the big man. Now that says something about the school.

What does it say?

I would never dream of using a hospital car park for any other purpose than if I was visiting a patient or a patient myself. Even if I had paid for a ticket or not!

+1. At our local hospital it is really hard to get a space when you go for an appointment or to visit someone. I find it quite shocking that people think it is OK and set this as an example to their children.

(Disclaimer: I am a longstanding member of the forum and do not wish to patronise or put off new members. But I still think it is wrong to park on a hospital car park for an 11+ exam).

+1 Amber. And to the person who made that comment, I specifically made mention that it is a stressful time, however, parents have had plenty of time to plan their journey - and should be mindful that the 11+ is just one day - many people accessing the hospital are under stress every single day and deserve that respect.

[ale21279]

For some reason my post disappeared so posting again

All I can say at this stage is: wow - what an experience

We arrived in plenty of time, parked 15 minutes away and walked up. We had planned ahead, shared a car, and were fortunate to have a family member's driveway reserved for us.

I was amazed at the number of parents & children running to the school, 20 minutes after "arrive no later than time", with a look of panic, looking at their phones to find the location. I was wondering what the cut-off time for late arrivals was but abhijitc4u has clarified 9am which I think is reasonable.

The inconsiderate behaviour of some parents astounds me - parking over driveways, on double yellow lines, with no thought for the local community. Several were walking from the direction of the hospital car park.

The queue for entry was huge, but moved quickly and smooth entry. All the boys needed was one piece of paper. Once inside, boys played hangman to put them at ease.

The holding area for collection was chaotic, colours called out but you could barely hear them, parents pushing to the front of the crowd.

Overheard some parents say they didn't realise how congested the roads into Barnet would be, or how much traffic there would be.

Will not discuss content or difficulty level at this stage.

[abhijitc4u]

I agree it is odd to call in before time as much as after time.

To begin with, do they really expect to be able to get all the kids inside the school in 15 minutes?

I am no expert in crowd management but think it is close to impossible if not impossible.

[abhijitc4u]

Actually to be fair, the “before time” might have been an impromptu decision by the headmaster based on his walk at 8am or thereabouts.

[Amber]

Perhaps they were hoping that by making it possible only to access the school in a very short time frame they could get rid of some of the huge number of applicants without even having to mark their papers. 'Entry only between 0847 and 0852'. Next year they could add a dress code (yellow trousers, say) and exclude anyone who doesn't comply. It would make their job a lot easier by the sound of it and give local residents a break too.

[piggys]

To be fair, this is a stressful time for parents and children taking the exams in the current 11+ cycle. I would have brought along extra stationery myself. For all you know, there may not be enough rubbers in the exam room. I might have set off early to avoid jams and hence arrived way before time, and so on.

I wish the more experienced members can be less critical, instead offering real help and sharing your experiences of the exams. I feel some members tend to adopt a judgmental and condescending tone. You are turning off parents who genuinely come here to seek advice and camaraderie in preparing for 11+.

You need to remember that it is very different looking from the perspective of someone who is done with the exams compared to people who are right in the middle of it.

Most of us 'experienced members' DO offer a lot of advice, often very detailed advice according to our knowledge and skills. However, where members park or how capable they are of following a simple set of instructions is nothing whatever to do with "advice and camaraderie". It's about behaving like a responsible and decent member of the community.

Exam tourism has a lot to answer for. If people were late because they undertook stupidly long journeys it's their problem.