Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Eleven Plus (11+) in Buckinghamshire (Bucks)

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

11 Plus Mocks - Practise the real exam experience - Book Now
tropicmama
Posts: 78
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 3:20 pm

Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Post by tropicmama »

I have read numerous useful advice on this forum and one thing that I distinctly remember is the advice to stick to routine leading up to the test date. I can totally appreciate this as my DCs thrive on routine, however, they normally have numerous activities after school during the week. In particular, my DS who will be sitting the test on Thursday has football until evening (7pm) on Wednesdays. I am inclined to let him miss it this week but was wondering if this teeny change might throw him off and make him nervous. At the moment, he appears to be taking it in stride, although Thursday morning might be different story! I was therefore wondering what others did/plan to do :D
ToadMum
Posts: 11944
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Post by ToadMum »

tropicmama wrote:I have read numerous useful advice on this forum and one thing that I distinctly remember is the advice to stick to routine leading up to the test date. I can totally appreciate this as my DCs thrive on routine, however, they normally have numerous activities after school during the week. In particular, my DS who will be sitting the test on Thursday has football until evening (7pm) on Wednesdays. I am inclined to let him miss it this week but was wondering if this teeny change might throw him off and make him nervous. At the moment, he appears to be taking it in stride, although Thursday morning might be different story! I was therefore wondering what others did/plan to do :D
All three of ours carried on with everything completely as normal - taking the 11+ was just something we had to remember to get up on time for on the Saturday morning. They certainly didn't expect it to affect their activities and nor did we.

So personally, I would just carry on regardless. You could ask him what he wants to do, although if others are relying on him being at the session, perhaps now rather than on the day, so that you can let people know if he says that he would rather give it a miss. (None of ours is keen on football, so would probably jump at the chance of missing it :lol:, but I know that they would have been quite unhappy had I suggested that they should miss a swimming lesson the night before the 11+).
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Ricky74
Posts: 732
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2016 1:55 pm

Re: Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Post by Ricky74 »

Mine (twins) took their test last Sat. It was a strange week as they went back to school on Weds. We did cut out after school activities - but mainly as a friend's DC fractured her arm just before her 11+ and we didn't want to take any chances at football etc!
tropicmama
Posts: 78
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 3:20 pm

Re: Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Post by tropicmama »

We have opted to let DS go to football academy tomorrow as normal (keeping my fingers crossed nothing too "exciting" happens) as he likes his routine and indicated that he is excited to get back to football after the summer break. We are also hoping it would keep his mind off things. My DS has missed a total of 0.5 day in school due to sickness since he started Reception - it would be typical if he came down with something now :( To be on the safe side, whilst he has a very healthy diet and active lifestyle, I have actually placed him on multivitamins and vitamin C since about a month ago. I know, I know, paranoid mum! I got scared as I read somewhere that even a cold/runny nose has the potential to adversely affect their performance during test day :shock:
Aethel
Posts: 1190
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 6:24 pm

Re: Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Post by Aethel »

We're keeping things the same as normal....within reason as we're OOC so have to pull out of school to go to a test centre today)

(i'm sat in a coffee shop while DD does the "practice test".... And is gutted that of the 12 or so kids from her school who have also come here to sit the transfer practice, 10 are in home-clothes and their parents are taking them home afterwards (and on the day of the test) whereas she amd one friend are in school uniform and going back to school this afternoon! What I did find a bit annoying was that two of the dads who dropped them off were gloating about how "clever" they were to refuse to take them back to school because pah, what did the primary know... Why get so obsessive about the importance of education (by going for eleven plus) and then swank that your "special" status lets you keep the kids home when you feel like it? )
loobylou
Posts: 2032
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:04 pm

Re: Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Post by loobylou »

Aethel wrote:We're keeping things the same as normal....within reason as we're OOC so have to pull out of school to go to a test centre today)

(i'm sat in a coffee shop while DD does the "practice test".... And is gutted that of the 12 or so kids from her school who have also come here to sit the transfer practice, 10 are in home-clothes and their parents are taking them home afterwards (and on the day of the test) whereas she amd one friend are in school uniform and going back to school this afternoon! What I did find a bit annoying was that two of the dads who dropped them off were gloating about how "clever" they were to refuse to take them back to school because pah, what did the primary know... Why get so obsessive about the importance of education (by going for eleven plus) and then swank that your "special" status lets you keep the kids home when you feel like it? )
Locally schools ask you to attend the test in school uniform. Much better although then you have to run the gauntlet of prep school prefects with millions of badges!
tropicmama
Posts: 78
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 3:20 pm

Re: Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Post by tropicmama »

How did your DCs find the practice test? I won't get feedback from DS until later when I come home from work but I normally just get the usual "s'okay" or "s'alright" anyway - for anything and everything! I understand it is much shorter (20 minutes per paper?) and (misleadingly) easier than the real thing.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Post by Guest55 »

It's never been 'advertised' as the same standard - it's to practise listening to the CD, filling in a separate sheet and all the 'admin' aspects of the test.

For OOC it's the opportunity to sit in a strange hall amongst strangers ...
buzzybee
Posts: 163
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:29 am

Re: Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Post by buzzybee »

I work just around the corner from two local Grammar Schools and there were very few children who were coming out after the test in school uniform. Judging by Tesco's car park, all the parents had parked there, pretty busy!

My youngest takes the test this week. After dd's 'journey' back in 2012 with not passing, review, appeal and then success at 12 plus, it's a very different household with dd no 2! Going with the flow this time, what will be, will be :)
tropicmama
Posts: 78
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 3:20 pm

Re: Just a few days now - strictly stick to usual routine?

Post by tropicmama »

My DS has been mostly laid back until the first day of school when some kids apparently told him that he will "surely pass" as he had some tutoring over the summer. I enrolled him on a week-long half day summer preparation course (three hours a day) to keep his mind working over the summer bust mostly because I needed to be at work. He was very upset about the comments as he is a naturally hard working boy who I've never seen work as hard as he has the last few months. So now he said he is feeling pressured to pass, my heart broke when I saw his little face coming out of school that day :(
Post Reply
11 Plus Mocks - Practise the real exam experience - Book Now