Lincolnshire Primary schools

[secondtime]

Having 2 boys at Kings, we have taken the decision to move to Lincolnshire
My next one (need to change my ID to third time!!) is at a local primary school. They do nothing 'extra' to prepare the children for the 11+.
This surprises me as I always thought we were at a disadvantage when in Notts.
Why don't the schools get involved? Surely it is part of the local area's education structure. It would seem that only the private schools concentrate great efforts into this which seems wrong.

Interestingly despite a relatively low 11+ score, he has just come top in his class for Year 7 Maths and Science.

[hermanmunster]

because the consortium of GS says:

No special preparation is needed. Whilst encouraging your children to take the tests seriously - they are important! - aim to help them to approach the tests calmly. Too much preparation puts children under pressure and may be counter-productive.

The Practice Tests will have given them the experience of answering similar questions in a timed situation and in each test there are some practice questions to help them settle.

[secondtime]

Noted. However the reality seems to be that so many out of area parents pay for vast amounts of private tution and then get in at the expense of non coached children near to school.

[hermanmunster]

I think you will find that there is a fair bit of tutoring going on on the quiet in Lincs as well as Notts!

[ourmaminhavana]

Noted. However the reality seems to be that so many out of area parents pay for vast amounts of private tution and then get in at the expense of non coached children near to school.

Secondtime, I'm not sure why you're assuming this?

Also, some Lincolnshire primaries provide a better familiarisation exercise than others.

[secondtime]

Personal opinion based on 2 year groups at Kings. Conversation after the admissions tend to yield more honest discussions of how much tutoring kids had, how much it costed etc. I am not saying all areas are the same but that is my personal experience. Don't forget many of the out-of-catchment parents are personal friends from cricket, rugby etc as I was also one too!

Gone are the days where you just turned up and everyone took the test with no/little preparation! This would be a more level playing field but sadly impossible now.

I just have sympathy for a boy I know who passed the 11+ (just), lives around the corner and is naturally bright and motivated. However he has not got a space. Not all parents are on board and this is not the child's fault. If his school had provided more, I have no doubt he would be there now. Personally I just harp back to the days where intelligence got you a place not parents/money. I know this view will not be popular on the board and I am not criticising anyone because I have done the same.

[Stocky]

Quote: "However the reality seems to be that so many out of area parents pay for vast amounts of private tution and then get in at the expense of non coached children near to school". That may be the case for Kings (I don't know) but it wouldn't apply anywhere else in the County (where distance not score matters)and it comes back to the argument of admissions policies and score v distance etc. If i lived round the corner from Kings with a DS who had just passed, I am sure my gripe would be 'those that live further away who got a few marks more etc'. Given the rest of Lincolnshire (except Caistor to a certain extent) pay no attention to score just a straight pass, he would have been fine anywhere else. My gripe was the opposite that my DD with a high score with 1 months prep and no coaching, lost out by a short distance to people nearer the school who scored alot less and would have loved the score admissions policy, but if I lived opposite the school and she had scraped a pass, I would be saying the opposite (like the DS you know). There's winners and losers with all admissions policies and arguments for and against both. I'm in Notts near Lincs and there is definitely nothing to suggest that one county's residents tutor more than the others for the schools which admit on distance not score. I know of 3 DS's at kings all live within 2 miles and they were definitely coached. I also know of Lincs people (whose DC's lose out on a place for whatever reason), who dont think Notts DC's should be allowed to apply for Lincs grammars or should be treated differently. Our grammar is within 2 miles of the county boundary in a town which is the main town for alot of Notts villages and the nearest secondary school. All I'm saying is, when its your DC who loses out due to the systems in place, its natural to find fault with the system.

[secondtime]

I agree with you Stocky. It just frustrates me that here several parents buy the line 'if you are bright enough, no preparation is required'. I did not encounter this attitude in Notts when I lived there. I have heard several parents say this at our primary school. Maybe a fault of the school!!

[ourmaminhavana]

Actually I think that, for some undersubscribed Lincolnshire grammar schools eg Skegness, Alford, (maybe Horncastle?) this may be the case and if one is reasonably bright one could get in with the basic familiarisation provided by the primary schools. However, for others eg King's or Caistor this is less likely to be the case. I still don't agree with the premise though that Lincolnshire parents don't tutor and Nottinghamshire ones do!
I think you're right Stocky, that we all apply whatever the rule is to our general situation! On this basic I think that Caistor's admission policy is brilliant! (I do actually think that it provides quite a fair combination in that if you are in catchment a bare pass will do, after this it goes by mark, but obviously I'm biased!)

[LoobyLoo]

I agree, personal circumstance must influence feelings. My son starts Kings in Sept., we're in Notts, he had tuition to help him understand the question types but his school offered no support. He got a good enough score to get in yet I'm sure I'd have been very upset if he lost out to a lower score if distance came into it. Perhaps the question should be why shouldn't every child have the same opportunities. There were a few other capable children who didn't get a chance because their parents weren't bothered. Unfortunately in Notts we don't have grammar schools hence those of us close to the border jumping ship to the next County! I'm not saying its right or wrong, just when it comes to your own child, you obviously want to offer them the very best you can.