Saturday 10th September 2016

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Tracy41
Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:49 pm

Saturday 10th September 2016

Post by Tracy41 »

Was having a look on King Edward Handsworth Girls for open days and in the diary section was the above date for this years test

Does anyone know for sure if Birmingham and Walsall are going to be just the one test this year..........
Penguin Mom
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2015 8:05 pm

Re: Saturday 10th September 2016

Post by Penguin Mom »

Hi Tracy, our DS will be sitting the test this year.

According to the QM (Boys) website and also WGHS website, "the Consortium of Schools for Shropshire, Walsall and Wolverhampton has yet to agree an Entrance Examination date. Further announcements will be made in the Spring Term of 2016."

Watch this space. :)
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Saturday 10th September 2016

Post by Daogroupie »

Saturday 10th September is currently CEM super Saturday at a number of schools all around the country. DG
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Saturday 10th September 2016

Post by um »

I am trying to work out when Eid Al Adha is and various calendars/websites are stating 10, 11, 12 and 13 September :? Not very clear at all!

Birmingham Central Mosque has 13th September as the date for Eid so if the exam is on Saturday 10th hopefully it will not clash.
Nard
Posts: 105
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2014 12:41 pm

Re: Saturday 10th September 2016

Post by Nard »

Has the 10th been confirmed as the date for the test? We have a family wedding on that date would this be a legitimate reason for them to let your child do the test on another date. Nothing like things being made awkward with all the pressure of the test.
Ladymuck
Posts: 1240
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:04 pm

Re: Saturday 10th September 2016

Post by Ladymuck »

I wouldn't expect an exception to be made for a wedding, but you can always ask.

The front page of The Times today is noting that exam boards are discussing how to handle the fact that Ramadan starts a week after GCSE/A levels. It wouldn't surprise me that CEM would be aware of the timing of Eid.
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Saturday 10th September 2016

Post by um »

When ds2 took the exam in November, many years ago (when it was in November!) the original date did clash with Eid.
I wrote a letter to the foundation, they were very good, and the exam date was moved to the following week.

This time, it seems that Eid is more likely to be Monday 12th or Tuesday 13th September so there should be no clash. In fact it will be nice to have it before Eid! Makes for a better celebration :D

Nard, the exam is early in the morning, so assuming the wedding is local and in the afternoon or evening, it should be ok?
Petitpois
Posts: 1440
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 7:44 am

Re: Saturday 10th September 2016

Post by Petitpois »

We had a wedding the week before this years KE and I would say don't do it. Indeed think carefully about what your must and must NOT's are.

I recognise there are all sorts of different views, but I did feel sorry for those children on 1st of July (Walsall) who wished to strictly fast during Ramadan, on what was the hottest day of the year.

I am not scholarly enough to know whether that was necessary or not, but for those kids they must have found the intense exam harder whilst fasting.

So many factors affect the fairness or otherwise
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Saturday 10th September 2016

Post by um »

Children do not need to fast, although many do 'practice fasts' as they grow older.
The Islamic months follow the lunar calendar...so the year falls back by around 10 days for each Gregorian year....meaning that Ramadhan is not always in mid-summer.
When it was in winter it was very easy as the fasts ended at around 4pm. More children are likely to fast when Ramadhan falls outside of summer.
However I would be very surprised if any Year 5 child was fasting on the day of the Walsall exam, when the fast-day was around 19 hours long (no food or water) and the temperature well over 30C. I certainly have not heard of any child who fasted then.
I felt very sorry for the poor parents though, who had to drive them there and back, some even over to Shropshire - especially if they had no AC in the car! :shock:
guest201
Posts: 484
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2009 4:04 pm

Re: Saturday 10th September 2016

Post by guest201 »

Nard, I think a family wedding is a good enough reason to do the exam on another date, I have heard of people doing the exam in November for far more trivial reasons than that. It is certainly worth asking.
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