Nonsuch comprehension

[Tulip]

Hi,

Nonsuch school is going to have comprehension for the first time
this year, so if anyone know more information about this please
explain what type of comprehension it will come for the exam.
Thank you.

[QUEENMA]

Thanks for raising this topic Tulip - I logged on to ask the same question and saw your post ! Probably the school will say a little more during the open day ? But I really worried about being the first batch !
Queenma

[Tulip]

Thanks QUEENMA for your reply. I sent a email to Nonsuch school regarding the comprehension format,
but they replied me saying that they won't put any sample papers in their school website. My dd is being doing Bond English and GL English, but Bond papers are very difficult and so much to read. I too really worried about the Nonsuch exam. Anyway all the best to everyone who is going to face the same situation.

[QUEENMA]

Hi Tulip

Yes, we are doing the Bond comprehension as well.But worried as it asks to identify Parts of Speech - prepositions and conjunctions.All that my daughter has done in school is Nouns,verbs,adjectives - even these not very robustly !
What level of grammar is expected from them ?

Queenma

[huntlie]

Finally, Nonsuch have twigged that the reason for so many girls not coping there, is that a lot of them can barely speak or read or write English when they come in at Year 7. They are tutored up to the eyeballs, answer the test like machines, and then can't write a coherent paragraph when they get there. How do I know this? I am one of those who pick up the pieces via the intensive tutoring required.

I just hope that they have the sense to make the comprehension something for which you cannot be crammed, which is how it used to be when I and my brothers went to GS. Too bad their about turn came too late for my granddaughter, who would have walked any comprehension.

[DIY Mum3]

Wonder if anyone is able to share feedback on the English Comprehension at Nonsuch. Was it as expected in terms of difficulty or did girls find it easier/harder? Was the text particularly challenging? Did parents find that those scoring highly in VR were fine with the English paper also? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[jeannie]

The school have already used a comprehension in last year's entrance test, so all the info that they will release about it is what is on the website I would imagine. It is multiple choice, unless they change it this year which again, it should say on the website. Sorry, that's not that helpful, but I very much doubt you'll get any more information than that. The girls also need to pass each part of the exam ie. VR, NVR and English in order to be deemed selective ability, so even if they score way over the pass mark, if they have failed one part of the exam, that's a no! For what it's worth, my daughter found it quite easy and scored her highest mark on that paper. At the end of year 5 she was working at around a high 4/low 5.

Huntlie, I do feel your views are harsh - I'm sure there are girls there who struggle with English, just as there are also girls there who struggle with Maths/Science/Modern Languages. I'm sure the intensive tutoring to get in that some of them receive does not help. But these girls are in the minority, and students at Nonsuch always gain at least a C in GCSE English so their written and spoken English can't be that bad, and they have the ability to improve.

[tiffinboys]

I thinks that either Huntlie's expectations are too high or she is referring to the need for the tests to be more level playing as VR/NVR is not taught in state primaries.

The children who get into grammars have atleast level 4A or above by the end of year 5, so I don't agree that they can not read or write and only do reasoning papers well, for which intensive practice could be done. Also many children from independent preps are entering grammars - their level is usually around 5 or better; so again I would disagree with Huntlie's observation.

As far as the method of testing goes, there is a room for putting more emphasis on core subjects, which many schools are already doing.

Tiffin Girls Sch has now added English/Maths to their VR/NVR tests - making it most extensive entrance test in the country.
Wilson's Sch have dropped VR/NVR and test only in English & Maths.
Sutton Grammar Sch tests English and Maths in 2 stages (with one reasoning paper).
Wallington Boys Sch tests English and Maths (with VR).
Wallington Girls Sch has dropped NVR and tests in Maths (and VR);
Nonsuch Sch tests in English (and VR/NVR).

Seems most schools reducing the reasoning papers and going for more of core subjects. I feel that this approach is gaining ground in other grammars as well (QE/HBS, for example).

[laretta]

diy mum

my dd sat last year. The text was about a dormouse - so nothing too demanding. Also there were some sentences which needed correcting for spelling and punctuating.
Out of the three papers she sat, this was her lowest score which was expected as comprehension is not her favourite! She felt that the paper was easier than what we had practiced at home.
The pass mark was set at 96 out of 140 which is a percentile rank of top 60% - should be achievable for most on high level 4 or 5

In previous years the pass mark to actually gain a place in catchment was 212 which consisted of VR and NVR in theory that meant that a child could score top marks in one element 140 and just 72 marks in the other element (very low on the percentile ranking)

This new system means that every child must score at least 315 combined with a minimum of... 100 VR, 90 NVR, 96 English - less likely to struggle in any one area. (scores may vary year on year)
That said, as Jeannie pointed out, no one has achieved less than a C in GCSE English, therefore even the girls who have struggled have been sufficiently bright to be able to learn what is required.

In response to your question re girls scoring highly in VR being fine in English I think it all depends on the child. In my opinion a bright child without great English could be tutored to learn the vocab necessary to pass the vr however I think comprehension requires more of a real understanding of English in order to be able to 'read between the lines'

[modernista]

Totally agree with laretta, excellence in comprehension requires years of reading, max potential in VR can be achieved in under a year. When my DD was doing practice papers her scores in Eng Comp were low compared to VR and NVR till the end and it was difficult to motivate her but in the actual test she did very well in Comp and VR and OK in NVR.

Strangely enough, she did very well in one mock test in English. All I am saying is do not get disappointed by low results in practice papers in Comprehension, it is the comparative score that matters.