11+ is taking over my life!!!

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kxangel
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:17 pm

HELP 11+ is taking over our lives!!!

Post by kxangel »

Help,

Has anyone out the been through the 11+ for Reading School? The schools advice is not to tutor your children. My son's Head & his current teachers have said the same dont tutor him. But I am glad I have given him some practice papers, as VR & NRV papers were totally alien to him. He reached a level 5 at the end of year 5 in maths & english, his teacher has said he is at Level 5B. Is this really good enough? The competition for Reading is extemly hard. I have only been going through papers with him for the last few weeks. Its his choice to go for the 11+. His teachers have told us to go for it!. How else can I help him?
sunflowergoldie

Post by sunflowergoldie »

This is not a piece of cake for me eithier. THe exams ohh horrible all i can do is wish you luck sorry no other advise . Hope they pass.
C :D heers Sunflowergoldie + Goodluck You'll see my daughter there. :)
Guest

Post by Guest »

Hi kxangel

Try posting on the Berks forum, further down on the forum front page. There is a thread on Reading School, and lots of active members.

Please ignore the "advice" from the Head - they have to toe the party line on all this. Most Heads will not condone coaching on the surface, although they know perfectly well that everyone does it.

For more information on how else to help him, take a look at the Tutors CDs thread and the many threads on VR and NVR.

Good luck
Sally-Anne
sunflowergoldie

Post by sunflowergoldie »

Kxangel,
I've dug in facts for you they are competitive but they want children who pass and up to their standards first ask your son does he really want to go through this process is he really the type of boy reading school is looking for then please follow my next step. now it's half-term so study with him for 3 hrs once in the morning maybe aroung 8 - 9 once in the afternoon 3-4 and once in the evening 6-7 work with him through every subject forget about the head what does she know. nothing
hopes this helps you
Sunflowergoldie
Guest

Post by Guest »

Thank you for your support, My Son had his first day today with a Tutor(I normally tutor him) and it ended with him in tears. I wanted to give up but later on this evening I asked him to show me how to do NVR and he was in his element 'teaching me' and his results ended with a 10% increase - so my sneakyness worked lol. Now he thinks he is teaching me his confidence is back, Yeah!!!
Louise

tutoring

Post by Louise »

Hi Kxangel

Tutor him! I didn't and am living to regret it. My son didn't pass by 6 marks - the change in our system from 2 VR to 1 VR and 1NVR paper made it really difficult for me to do it all. I could identify the areas my son was having trouble with but as I'm not a teacher didn't know how to deal with them effectively. All i could do was practise, practise, practise. i agree don't over tutor but let's face it, schools aren't perfect, through your sons time at primary school he may have had one or two years naff teaching and a bit of one to one could really help. the head and teachers at my son's school also don't advise tutoring but they are teachers they probably know how to help their children more.

I wished I'd done what some friends did, taken the strain off myself and had him tutored. you do have to believe as does your child that a grammar school is the best place for him.

Good luck - it isn't a fair system.
Guest19

Post by Guest19 »

Dear kxangel

This thread about the coaching kids early may interest you.

most of the schools and local authorities will state that coaching is not necessary. However fact of the matter is the majority are being coaching heavily and if you don't your child will be at a distinct disadvantage.

Average children who are coached can to better than an excepttionaly bright children who has not has not had sufficient practice.

alot of parents start coaching 1 -2 years in advance but if you have a few weeks left this is fine , you can still give more intensive coaching and make significant progress . This is provided you make it fun and not pressurise your child - try the CDS as an alternative to practice papers - this worked in my friends case. Her daughter had done well in tests in in the summer getting around 80% but her results had deteriorated because her daughter was literally fed up of doing the tests. When she tried the CDs her daughter became more motivated and it was due to her own motivation that her daughter consistently improved. She is now very confident that her daugther will get through.
AMDREW THE POET

Post by AMDREW THE POET »

I'd just like to agree with the above postings, re tutoring!
Unless your child is exceptionally bright he/she will always need at least some form of formal preparation for the 11+. So, ALWAYS ignore the protestations of the 'experts' who suggest otherwise. My son took his 11+ in Lincs this year & we started looking at the syllabus in late June. June/July marks were around 50 - 62%. By September we had managed to push this towards the magic 80% area.
We did 2 - 3 hours a day during weekends and for 3 weeks in school hols
We used the IPS 10-minute papers extensively.
We bought all the CD material - I would sit with him and discuss approaches to questions.
We did TABLES every day! Number questions require children to work with a 'nearest-fit' strategy: question might be to work-out the product of 83. Familiarity with tables should immediately tell a child that 9 x 9 = 81, then we must add the 2. To this end, we made cards with numbers that did not always fit an exact table - this approach was, perhaps, the most fruitful at really teaching and testing table knowledge. I'd suggest using a pack of cards and writing numbers in permanent pen on the reverse - these are much more easy to handle than bits of cardboard.
We left the actual papers until 1 month before the test.
When in doubt, I posted a query on this forum - answers were always forthcoming & gratefully received.

I left it too late ... we did cram! I'd suggest 3 - 4 months of regular activity. My son wasn't a 'natural' 11+ candidate, but managed to score 27 above the pass mark. Schools rarely if ever go beyond the familiarisation papers. So it's a case of self-help here.

Andrew
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