missing school for a few days before the exam

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tanner
Posts: 41
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 3:49 pm

missing school for a few days before the exam

Post by tanner »

hi!with the essex exams only 11 days away,i am seriously contemplating about not sending my dd to school 2-3 days prior to the Big day.although part of me wants to keep the whole process as normal and low-key as possible.but with the winter nearly upon us,i dont want her to have a cold just before the exams.also with ds1 and ds2 away at school,i will be able to do more practice papers with my dd during the school hours.do you think calling off sick just before the exams would give HT some sort of clue? also has anyone ever done this before? many thnx.
scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: missing school for a few days before the exam

Post by scarlett »

There was a similar post recently which I think may have got rather heated. :shock: It's all individual, but do you think that keeping to a normal routine might be best ? Perhaps it might be just too much for your child and be counter productive ? I think with my DS I kept him off clubs a couple of days before and just went over any weak spots...he did do a couple of practice papers at school...do your school do that ? I also felt that after all the prep what he didn't know a couple of days before he might never know !

How do you feel your DD generally is ? Maybe keep her off for one day ? Would she want to stay at home ? Cook good meals and have early nights. Sorry, that sounds a bit lame. :)
inmystride
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:25 pm

Re: missing school for a few days before the exam

Post by inmystride »

How to stress out your child: 1. Get them to practice for an exam one? two? three? years before the day. 2. Take them out of school before the test.
Happy House (not Bleak)
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:37 pm

Re: missing school for a few days before the exam

Post by Happy House (not Bleak) »

My daughter is at CCHS I did not think about keeping her off school the week before. However, one girl in her year was kept off school the whole week and sent to their tutor daily for "last minute" preparation. We kept everything normal at home and just made sure she had a happy week with no mention of the eleven plus! I did ensure that DD had early nights for the two weeks before and lots of relaxing. She thoroughly enjoyed the day before at school, as the head invited the few doing the 11 plus into her office for cakes and a little chat about not worrying and how all they could do was their best
The child who was kept off all week did not get a grammar school place...
My DD sat the exam in the afternoon, so we went to town in the morning and then had pasta for lunch (slow release energy - perhaps porridge if doing in morning)
My daughter came out of the exam smiling and told me she had found verbal reasoning very hard and had missed about 6 questions due to the sheer number of code questions. I pretended not to be anxious and she managed to forget all about it till February - I thought about it everyday! Other children who did the test told her that they thought it was easy, yet they didn't get in.
Another interesting fact was that she had never scored below 80% on a Vr paper (normally in excess of 90%), yet in the real thing she dropped to about 65 %! She did manage a near perfect score on maths and a high score in English.
Good luck to you all - my thoughts are with you all. And, you will only get your child stressed out by doing last minute preparation - now is the time to let them relax.
First-timer
Posts: 698
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:47 pm
Location: Essex

Re: missing school for a few days before the exam

Post by First-timer »

My own view is that I'd send DC to school as usual. I think the school will put two and two together if a very bright child is absent just before the exam (although they are unlikely to do anything about it). My own DS attended school in the run up to his exam and I really didn't think a few days' tuition would make a difference. None of his classmates were sitting the exam so it was business as usual.

Your situation could be very different, though. If there are weak areas which could be addressed in that timeframe, then it may be worth it. As far as stress goes, if lots of DC at your Primary School are sitting it then there may be a fair amount of hype in the playground that would be better to avoid. Try discussing it with DC to see what they would prefer to do. My DC would be far more stressed about lying about a sickie than anything else! ;)
Rinette
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2010 6:29 pm
Location: Chelmsford

Re: missing school for a few days before the exam

Post by Rinette »

Yes, I raised the question a few months ago and the replies were interesting ! :D http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 65#p252065" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now, closer to the date, it is clear that having some days off school will not bring anything to my son except unwanted stress and pressure. He has worked regulary and diligently during the year and I do not think squeezing last minute practices will help to significantly change his score on the day. I want a confident, relax but focus boy and, being at home, with nothing to do except thinking and stressing on the exam, will not help and may even be counterproductive.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: missing school for a few days before the exam

Post by Guest55 »

Patricia (Bucks guru and tutor) says NO PASTA!!
scary mum
Posts: 8840
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: missing school for a few days before the exam

Post by scary mum »

But YES to bananas which DS had each morning before the tests :lol:
scary mum
Fran17
Posts: 1440
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:16 pm

Re: missing school for a few days before the exam

Post by Fran17 »

I also agree it would probably be best to send your DC into school and keep everything as normal. I was forced to take middle DS out of school because he had a throat infection and sinusitis. We didn't look at anything to do with the 11+ and just had a relaxing day. My youngest went to school as normal and that seemed to work for him. A couple of my friends took their DSs out of school the day before the exam to have a quiet day rather than do any extra work. It didn't do them any harm. They both got into KEGS. Do what you think is right. Only you can be the judge of what is best for your child. Wishing your DS lots of luck. :D
scary mum wrote:But YES to bananas which DS had each morning before the tests :lol:


My middle DS had mashed bananas for breakfast because his throat was sore and youngest DS had cornflakes and banana! :lol:
tanner
Posts: 41
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 3:49 pm

Re: missing school for a few days before the exam

Post by tanner »

hi !thnx a lot 4 such gr8 replies.i know i am always asking questions at the forum but it really helps me when i am in a panic mode and sort of unsure about someting.can i just say that the advice given by members is always very honest ,sincere and has made the 11+journey less daunting for me.
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