Back again :-)

Eleven Plus (11+) in Lincolnshire (Lincs)

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wanderinglight
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 2:39 am

Back again :-)

Post by wanderinglight »

Hi All, well we are back again for round 2.
Just to refresh our story I am adding a link to what happened 2 years ago ( http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 25#p411325 ) so I dont have to bore you all again with it.
We are now considering our second daughter taking the 11+ after I vowed I would never go through it again. How quickly time passes!
With help from Alex (mod here) we did indeed appeal and won our case for her to go to GS. It was well worth it because since september she has I think done very well at GS level.
I didnt like the appeal process at all, it was very hard, but then I suppose, it has to be. I wont lightly undertake it again thats for sure.
When they did the CATs at the start of the year, her year group teacher said she would just be in the middle, nothing spectacular or excel at the school, a good all rounder. At the time I was a but taken aback by that, but having had time to think about it, I am ok with that because it means she can now work to the best of her ability in an environment that suits her rather than being at the top the whole time and getting stressed out because she found others taking the top spot which was what was happening at primary level, only now there is room for her to grow and expand if she is capable of it. GS has given her all that I hoped for and more, her confidence in herself and her work has really flourished since she started, it has been a good move for her.
The only bad point has been that all of her friends went to different schools and there really have been times when we wonder if we did the wrong thing by allowing her to get into GS. She is,however now starting to settle in and gets on well with her tutor group peers, and her teachers and I think has now realized that she can still see her friends and email them and that the world doesn't stop turning.
The reason for my return is because our second daughter has now come up to the age of doing the 11+ and again her school are hinting strongly that she should be given the opportunity for the simple reason that the structure and routine of a GS would suit her more than mainstream secondary academy would do. She is mildly autistic (aspergers') and struggles with mainstream education and prefers quiet solitude and structured lessons. She is now in y5 and loves that the kids arent allowed to mess around anymore, and that everyone has to work quietly in class. Her school have a wonderful grasp on what she needs and they have a good solid SENCO from which they operate. However, academically, I know its not ok to just say she needs the structure and routine of a GS, I know they need more than that academically from the children that go on to GS. I have no idea if she would pass an 11+ yet, but now that I know more of how it all works, I am getting lots of practice papers for her to have a go at. Academically she is 3a(23) writing, 3a+(24) with reading and a 3b(21) for maths. (I have no idea what our GS dd was at the same age as this is from her senco paperwork) I ahve a feeling its not near enough for 11+, but we'll give it a go anyway :-) The primary school my children go to are very aware of all the other local schools and what they can offer our children, and a couple of teachers have said, that for this dd, I really need to consider the GS as well. I have no idea if a child with a IEP would be at a disadvantage in a GS or not, but now I have seen how well dd1 is getting on, I am going to give it a go for dd2.
That is all really that I came to say. :-)
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