11+ versus Birkenhead exam

[CaldyDad2007]

Does anyone happen to know whether the Birkenhead Girls school exam is as difficult as the 11+ for West Kirby Girls Grmmr?

CD2007

[WirralJW]

Not sure if this helps but my son sat the Birkenhead boys test last year and found that the VR questions were about the same difficulty but not multiple choice. Having seen a couple of sample papers we obtained from the school (maybe you can get them for the girls school too?) I would tend to agree with him. The Birkenhead boys test comprised VR, Maths and English. The Maths questions were a similar standard to KS2 SATS questions and the English one comprised a comprehension and essay. Hope that helps.

[Newbie But Stressed]

As a last resort I was tempted to put my daughter in for this test in January... At last minute we decided against it..

I would have been crippled financially doing this and would have had to remortgage.

My neighbour (two doors away) was fortunate to get his child on a Scholarship, without sitting 11+ also. And has no regrets..

If you are in a position to afford it then go for it.... I don't think it's any more difficult,

NBS

[wirral_wombat]

Many people use Birkenhead School or Birkenhead High applications as a kind of "safety net" in case their child doesn't pass the 11+ so the general opinion is that it the entry standard is not quite as high as for the grammar schools - though ability to pay the fees is of course a condition!

My daughter took the Birkenhead High exam a few years ago for just that reason (and in fact is now at Wirral Grammar). The exam is verbal reasoning (not multiple choice), English and maths - unlike Birkenhead School they don't (or at least didn't when we applied) make past papers available though they did give examples of the type and level of questions for the maths. The exam is on a Saturday morning in late January at the school - all the exams are done during the one morning.

I hope this helps.

[NotionPotion]

As a matter of interest did your daughter pass the Birkenhead School exam?

[wirral_wombat]

My daughter did pass the Birkenhead High exam. In fact that year 5 girls and 3 boys from our primary all took the Birkenhead exams and all passed, but none in fact went there - they all went to Wirral Grammar. I do however know of a girl a couple of years before who failed the 11+ for Wirral but passed the Birkenhead High exam and went there.

[NotionPotion]

So when you found out that your daughter had passed for Birkenhead you would not at that time know the outcome of her 11+ exam. I am interested to know what at this stage did you tell Birkenhead? Did you have to accept the place in theory and pay them a deposit or where you upfront to them about waiting for the results of the 11+ before deciding.

I am curious as my daughter will take both exams and not sure what my options would be with Birkenhead if she passed. I would prefer her to go to Wirral Grammar but am interested in your experience.

[wirral_wombat]

My experience of the Birkenhead exams was in 2003, at which time the children did not take the 11+ until January and the results were not known until mid-April (in 2002 it was mid-May!!). The Birkenhead exam results were available by mid-February (couple of weeks after the exams), and we were given only about 2 weeks to make a decision on whether to accept the place, which meant handing over a non-returnable deposit of £250. We accepted the place, very much as an "insurance policy", handed over the £250 and waited until mid-April for 11+ results. When we knew we had passed the 11+ we wrote to Birkenhead withdrawing - I explained the circumstances, which must have been well known to them - I am sure at that time many people were in this situation and the school did keep our £250. I didn't even get an an acknowledgement of my letter which I thought was very poor of the school.

You are in a much better situation since the 11+ results are now known at the beginning of March so I think the Birkenhead schools can no longer get away with setting a cut-off date for accepting their places which is earlier than this. I have no recent knowledge of Birkenhead High but I know someone who took the Birkenhead boys exam this year and when their son passed they had until early March to make a decision i.e after the 11+ results were out. I am sure Birkenhead High must be the same, but the best way to find out is to ask the school.

Good luck with it all.

[NotionPotion]

Thanks Wirral Wombat.
The timing does seem to be more favourable now.
All she has to do now is pass. Working away but who knows!
I'm starting to get panic dreams now usually about me forgeting to give the grammar form in. I wake up in a cold sweat and think about ringing school "just to check" that they definitely got it etc, etc. Thankfully daughter is more laid back than me!