Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

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crashtestdummy
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Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:12 pm

Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

Post by crashtestdummy »

Recent news story/investigation into the 11 plus. You can get the gist of it without having to register for the full story but Bucks CC basically threatening schools that offer coaching for the 11 plus. Should teachers/schools be punished for helping kids?
http://www.exaronews.com/articles/4975/ ... s-coaching" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
yoyo123
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Location: East Kent

Re: Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

Post by yoyo123 »

as state schools are not allowed to offer coaching , then maybe it will make it a level(ler) playing field?

(My personal opinion, others are available)
crashtestdummy
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:12 pm

Re: Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

Post by crashtestdummy »

Fair comment yoyo. It seems inherently unjust that some children should lose out on places because their parents or single parent cannot afford extra tuition. Another view might be that if all schools offered 11 plus tuition to all children, then the inequalities would be removed. I don't personally believe it is possible to create an "uncoachable" 11 plus test.
scary mum
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Re: Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

Post by scary mum »

I thought the Bucks primary heads had to sign something to say that they wouldn't provide coaching. I think knuckles have been rapped before. Private schools can do as they like, of course.
scary mum
yoyo123
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Location: East Kent

Re: Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

Post by yoyo123 »

Yes, scary mum. It's the same with heads here in Kent
Sally-Anne
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Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

Post by Sally-Anne »

scary mum wrote:I thought the Bucks primary heads had to sign something to say that they wouldn't provide coaching. I think knuckles have been rapped before. Private schools can do as they like, of course.
All Heads, including those of Partner Schools within and outside of the County have to sign the same declaration, and have had to for years. The same potential threat has always been in place, so I am not sure why this is news? BCC has just reiterated it's policy on the matter.

Given that the new test will be centred on the English and maths curricula, "tutoring" within schools will not exist as such anyway. The smaller NVR element is far more resistant to tutoring than VR ever was.
scary mum
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Re: Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

Post by scary mum »

True, S-A, that, after all, is the whole point of the new test. I just had a quick look at the beginning of the article and it is private schools it is referring to. I'm not quite sure how they plan to do that. Maybe they will also be asking EPE not to help students to prepare for the test? :lol:

ETA: they talk about private schools, then partner schools. Can private schools be partner schools or are they confused (or am I?).
scary mum
mystery
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Re: Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

Post by mystery »

In Kent a partner school is a private school where the pupils are allowed to sit the Kent 11plus on the school premises rather than go to an 11plus test centre with the out of county pupils. It sounds as though Bucks CC is saying that they will remove this status.

It's hardly much of a punishment. And how can you stop any school preparing for a new exam which is supposed to be based more closely on the national curriculum?

Sounds like Bucks CC is mad if this article really is accurate. Of course I have only read the summary.

I can't understand why people who work in education frequently sound so devoid of sense.

Of course, the real issue is that whenever these tests are sat in schools (state or private ones) invigilators read the papers - and at best remember the questions and at worst photocopy the paper.

Over the years this can then be then used in private tuition. Unscrupulous tutors from both sectors do this I am sure. However, even with the best will in the world it must be very hard to invigilate an exam and not be tempted to read the paper, and then to completely ignore what you have read in your future teaching.

I understand that Kent is stipulating in its tender document that if a bank of old questions is developed over the years from which real test paper questions are drawn, that the real exam should never include questions from a neighbouring authority. I'm really not clear why this would help.

It is very hard, without great expense, to protect papers so that tuition would not become helpful over the years. Tutoring is helpful for GCSE and A level, and people have plenty of old questions from which they can develop teaching which is appropriate to the kind of way the pupil is likely to be tested.

Everyone is knitting fog in this testing world it would seem. Hopefully these new tests from CEM will not cost authorities more than before. I can see that at some point we'll come full circle and people will go "it was much fairer when people could just beg, steal or borrow those practice papers from GL assessment in maths, vr, and nvr, and do some practice before the exam".
Last edited by mystery on Fri May 24, 2013 10:53 am, edited 2 times in total.
Sally-Anne
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Re: Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

Post by Sally-Anne »

scary mum wrote:ETA: they talk about private schools, then partner schools. Can private schools be partner schools or are they confused (or am I?).
Within Bucks a Partner school will be a private school. Out of county it could be either state or private.
monsoon
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Re: Bucks CC threatens schools that offer 11 plus coaching

Post by monsoon »

If they are to control private school coaching, how are they planning to stop private tutoring?

I don’t think they can ever stop tutoring of any forms. I don’t see why anyone or any school should not support their students. Personally, I think the amount of tutoring have increased vastly from just :lol: VR to math, English in the Bucks area. (even though I am still looking for tutors :lol: )
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