11+ review

[Parmjit123]

Hi all, I was wondering if there is anyone whose children sat the 11+ exam in 2013 out there. What was it like? Was it hard and what was the pass rate for Eastern Warwickshire Grammar schools (Ashlawn Selective and LSS) Also what was it out of?

Thanks
Parmjit

[JamesDean]

Always love the question, was the exam hard? Answer: no if you knew the answers, yes if you didn't!

Sorry, Parmjit, that's not much help, but there really isn't an answer I'm afraid. Time is the biggest problem - there simply isn't enough, so all the children who sat with my DS came out looking slightly shell-shocked.

As for historic AQSs, have a look at this thread - http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 37&t=30269" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. There are other very useful stickys at the top of the Warwickshire forum giving all sorts of other info as well.

JD

[Parmjit123]

Hi JD,
Thanks and did your DS pass? If so which school. I'm just super worried about this exam!

[Brum Mum]

As JD said, there's no real answer to that question and its a very time pressured situation.

The 'pass rate' is called an Automatic Qualifying Score (AQS) and that is determined each year.

Also as JD said, there is an awful lot of information in the stickies at the top of the forum and years of useful information to have a look through.

[JamesDean]

Hi JD,
Thanks and did your DS pass? If so which school. I'm just super worried about this exam!

He's going to KES in Stratford in Sept.

Please don't stress, you'll only stress your DS in turn. Keep reading and making practice fun, and make sure you have an alternative school you (and more importantly your DS) is happy with.

Good luck,

JD

[ginx]

If you are considering Ashlawn, the children in the grammar stream are mixed with children who got good SATS results but didn't pass the 11+, and children can be in the grammar stream for their strongest subject, but not for other subjects. It's flexible and I think it works well. Very pleased with the school. My son did not pass the 11+ and didn't even realise he was in the grammar stream, where he has stayed for all his subjects except English, his weaker subject.
My daughter sat the 11+ in 2012 and passed, she did pretty badly in her SATS, and has done surprisingly well at RHS and most importantly, is happy.
I think if you have the choice of Ashlawn and LSS, both are good schools and I wouldn't get too stressed about it.
The 11+ is difficult, children have to be quick and accurate to pass, I feel. I'm afraid I can't remember the precise pass mark for 2012 and it changed for 2013 so I can't really help. Good luck and don't worry too much.

[Parmjit123]

Thanks Ginx,
My elder son is currently in Ashlawn Selective so I want my younger son to attend the school too. Like you said, the school is fantastic and the grammar stream is believed to be better than LSS and RHS. The school is Outstanding in every category (Ofsted 2013) too with a great reputation. My only question is, when do Warwickshire council decide the pass mark? Do they take an average of all the students' scores and go from there or do they decide the pass rate in advance. Ashlawn Selective is our first option too then Ashlawn non Selective and then LSS.

[Fatnorville]

There are purportedly two AQS's for Warwickshire, an outer and inner score, with the inner score being historocally lower the outer, but the two values are generally moving closer together over time. I don't think the figures for 2013 have been published (at least not for the outer score).

Warwickshire CC publish details of the inner / outer areas and the selection criteria. I think a number of posters on this forum have found the selection criteria difficult to understand, particularly with out of catchment applications. I am included in that confused group of posters.

The AQS is decided retrospectively after the scores are collated.

I don't pretend to understand the selection rules. Better people than I no doubt will explain it better detail.

Don't think of this as having to pass a selection score. Your DS just needs to prepare well, and do his best.

Don't get too worked up about this. There are some posters (not necessarily in the Warks folder) who talk about having to get 95% in practice exams to stand a chance blah blah blah. There is a thread on here somewhere which quoted raw score one year to meet the AQS. They were a lot lower than you would imagine...

[Parmjit123]

Thanks Fatnorville. However this doesn't reduce my stress. I live in Eastern Warwickshire. We have three grammar schools: Ashlawn Selective, Lawrence Sheriff and Rugby High. My elder son is in Ashlawn through his SATs. We live around 8 miles from Ashlawn and Ashlawn is not our nearest qualifying school (Bilton School is). Therefore we have to pay £660 a year for a bus pass for my elder son which we just about manage. Now if my younger DS fails, we will have 2 choices: 1) He will go to Bilton School and get a free bus pass or 2) attend one of the UK'S highest performing schools: Ashlawn. Obviously, we will choose Ashlawn and his brother is there so he us likely to gain a place. If he goes to the non-selective part of Ashlawn, we will have to pay more than £1200 a year for bus passes which we cannot afford. So in conclusion, he has to pass his 11+ and that is why I'm so stressed.

[southbucks3]

Bus travel is expensive, but I think your area is one of the very last to provide free transport to the nearest grammar, it has been stripped right back to the government's bare minimum requirement in most local authorities, that being to the nearest school. They state that a grammar child could be educated at a normal school, therefore they are providing transport to the nearest suitable school as required, even in two tier education areas, where the majority of chikdren are tested.

I know it is a horrible situation, but please, please do not put pressure on yourself or your boy in regard to free transport that could be withdrawn at any time soon.