Sutton Mock Tests - Anyone else there this weekend?

[atestingtime]

They begin today so just wondered if anyone else was heading Sutton way?

Its such a lovely day I can't quite believe I am taking DS3 to spend 2 hours on tests instead of out with the new cricket bat!

What we do for this grammar school journey..............

[sherry_d]

Yes my DD was on the 1:30 one. Which group were you in maybe I may have seen you?

DD said she found the NVR very easy, VR okish and Maths was really difficult and just 17 questions. She told me some of the maths questions and they were pretty hard and being 17 means there isnt much of a leeway. I asked her if she got half but she really isnt sure so we are not holding our horses. It was really a great exprience for her. She said she was suprised by the number of people there and she started having butterflies before getting in. All in all I think a good exprience to get the exam room nerves out of the way.

On another matter, I had a horrible time. I parked in the school hall entrance in Manor Lane and after picking DD went to KFC only to come back and find the gate locked with my car in. Tried ringing around everywhere but couldnt get hold of the caretaker so ended up spending £46 and jumped on the train to London and connected from there to Maidstone arriving at 7:30pm. Tommorrow I am back there to hopefully pick up my car, I noticed there is a church at 10:30 so I am hoping the gate will be open.

By the way my DD really enjoyed the trip back home, she found it really cool being on the train and she hasnt beem in London in ages so being in Victoria for a few minutes seemed to have worked some magic. It made the trip back a bit bearable with a child fascinated by London architecture and graffiti.

[surreymum]

Oh poor you what a long, difficult day For anyone else driving to the mock tests or the exam itself later in the year- parking is very difficult near the school but there are plenty of car parks in walking distance. I would suggest the Gibson road car park on the other side of the town centre as only a short walk and never usually any queuing to get in. Another good option is the B&Q car park at the top of the one way system which is even closer to the school. Not sure how they are operating their parking now as. The ticket machines don't seem to work any more but certainly fine for walking down to deliver to the school.

[abr]

My DD did her test on Saturday morning session. She found Maths OK , VR easy but NVR not that good. Anyway, we started NVR practice in the last 2 months only. So, we now know where we need to work more in the next few months.
Regarding the experience, seeing all the crowd DD became a bit nervous. So, I am happy she had this experience so she knows what to expect in her real test.

[bugsbunny]

DS took the morning session of the mock test tpday. He told us that Maths is easy and NVR/VR ok. Though we mentioned to him that NVR is not part of his future exams come September. That first hand experience does it all really. when asked how many took the test...he mentioned...loads...

[sherry_d]

I know the results arent really a measure of how they will perform but I am curious to find out if her scores are in line with how she rated the test.

[whathappened]

Hi, we are doing the test soon.from the feedback your children gave,do the maths questions seem to be in line with the harder practise papers? i am not worried about our dds score really after the experience but we do some test papers from tutor and dd copes well and then every so often we get hit with a real tough one which i struggle to know some of the answers to.as we dont know anything about past tests it is hard to know how far to go without doing maths she will not be expected to know.as a first timer i am finding this a bit stressful but luckily my dd is very calm and taking it in her stride.look forward to talking to you all in the next few weeks,it is such a help.

[atestingtime]

Hope you have got your car back sherry_d - what a really horrid end to a stressful day, you seem to have coped amazingly by turning that enforced train journey into such a positive experience. Ever considered Pollyanna as a nick name?!

Those mock tests certainly have a wide catchment area and seem a great fund raiser for the PTA, you don't even take an NVR test to get into Sutton! Not complaining though as doing organised tests in the hall of large school like that was really worth it for my DS. Brings a sense of realism to practising at home.

He said Maths was really hard, did not finish it and yet he's just got 97% in Y5 school end of year exams. So I will be fascinated to see a comparison result. Reckoned NVR & VR very similiar to the Tiffin practice papers we do.

Will have to remember a book when we return for the real thing as I can't take another 2 hours in Next!

[scoobydoo]

My DS sat mock test on Sunday morning, his verdict? VR - easy; NVR - easy; Maths - bit tricky, didn't finish last two questions. We shall see how 'easy' the tests were at the beginning of August Luckily he doesn't need maths for his school.

[sherry_d]

Just wondering how everyone did and if their DC's predictions were right?

My DD was wrong because she scored the lowest in NVR yet she thought it was very easy. I am wondering if perhaps she didnt read some of the instructions properly assuming she knew what they asked.

In a suprise twist she scored highly in VR. Infact propotionately high compared to the other 2 yet she has never perfomed this way in the practice at home.

For us the results shows we certainly need a bit of work . The results are a bit uncomfortable and I am taking Surreymum's advise and not tell her what she got. We were the first group and she has been improving since and I cant afford anything that will knock her confidence now.

I see a busy summer holiday ahead of us as our exams here are mid September.

Goodness some kids got amazing scores on there even 100% . It kind of brings self doubt if my DD is really cut for grammar and how she will cope with some superclever kids like that. Ah well she only has to do the best and we take a day at a time. My consolation is ours are Z list grammars and therefore about 55% will get them in so hopefully there would be more "normal" kids.