level of difficulty for Kent maths paper in Sept

Eleven Plus (11+) in Kent

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kentish maid
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:53 am
Location: kent

level of difficulty for Kent maths paper in Sept

Post by kentish maid »

Does anyone have a feel for whether the maths paper will be easier if the exam is in Sept. Will there still be algebra questions and other maths not normally covered by state primary schools?
perplexed
Posts: 490
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 1:18 pm
Location: kent

Post by perplexed »

Don't think you can count on it being any different, and really it doesn't matter as they are looking for the top 25% so how "difficult" or "easy" the paper is makes no difference to your child's chance of passing.

Good luck!
kentish maid
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:53 am
Location: kent

Post by kentish maid »

I agree that the top 25% are likely to be the same whether the paper is easy or hard but i am trying to establish if my daughter would make this cut off. I am attempting to gauge how much work i need to do with her at home to make up for the lack of maths teaching at school. It strikes me that if the level remains about the same, which i will assume will be the case, then she and her classmates are being disadvantaged as they are not covering the curriculum for yr 5 let alone yr 6. :cry: The school is not interested in and denies there is any problem. Other parents who are having their children tutored are reporting that the tutors are commenting on gaps in Yr 5 knowledge. i know we are only part way through the year but this is worrying.
Guest55
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Post by Guest55 »

I will PM you the link to past SATs papers which will help you see if there are gaps!
perplexed
Posts: 490
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 1:18 pm
Location: kent

Post by perplexed »

You definitely need to get going now with some extremely thorough preparation for the Kent maths paper.

You need to cover all the KS2 maths stuff, and better still, the extras that come up in the NFER maths practice papers (there are three of these).

Which grammar are you aiming for? If you are going for one of the super-selectives (e.g. Tonbridge Grammar for Girls) then you need an extremely high score, so you need to cover all topics in the NFER papers really well.

If you just require a pass in the maths paper for a Kent grammar school that just requires a pass, then you can probably get away with missing out some of the more advanced topics (e.g. the more difficult algebra). Then your daughter needs to be trained to not spend much time on questions that she cannot do, just to put down a multiple-choice guess, and be as accurate as possible on the question she can do.

I know you must feel frustrated that your school might be covering the KS2 syllabus slower than some, but this could in some way work in your favour. Your daughter may be happier doing new stuff at home with you, rather than feeling you are just going over and over what she has already covered at school.

Is your daughter young or old for her year?

Good luck.
kentish maid
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:53 am
Location: kent

Post by kentish maid »

She is old for her year.

She is interested in a grammar that just requires a pass, although we do live in west Kent and it is possible that geographically she could miss out on a place there , leaving only the super selective as her other grammar choice. I am not sure whether she is capable of getting the high scores required for TGS.

Thanks for your helpful replies
perplexed
Posts: 490
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 1:18 pm
Location: kent

Post by perplexed »

Well at least this year the September 11+ makes it easier for your CAF choices than in previous years. You will be able to have an educated guess as to whether there is some chance of your daughter getting into TOGS before you decide whether or not to put it down onto your CAF.

Obviously you will be guessing what this year's cut-off will be, but it's still better than not even knowing whether your child has passed the 11+ or not when you complete the CAF.

If I were you I would behave as though preparing for TOGS. Children can pull some amazing stunts, and none of the CAT stuff etc you get from Kent primary schools seems to predict the 11+ score particularly well.

Also remember that although the superselectives have a really high cut-off score for their first lot of offers on 1 March, by the time you get to scores of those who got in off waiting lists and by appeal the scores can much lower than you might think.

Good luck.
Paddy
Posts: 30
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:28 am

Question for perplexed about topics covered by the 11 plus

Post by Paddy »

Perplexed,

You said:

"You need to cover all the KS2 maths stuff, and better still, the extras that come up in the NFER maths practice papers (there are three of these)."

This is very helpful. What subjects areas are you thinking about that come up in the 11 plus but are not covered by the KS2 coursework?

I appreciate your help.

Paddy
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