Upton exam

kittyhola · Post by **kittyhola** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 5:40 pm

Could some kind soul advise me on the type of questions used in the Upton exam and if there are any practice papers that give the layout. My dd is sitting both 11+ and Upton and I am concerned that she may struggle in the Upton paper if she hasn't seen layout before. Txs

redmickeyfinn · Post by **redmickeyfinn** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 8:32 pm

My daughter is also sitting the 11+ and the Upton exam. Could anyone tell me that if she is unlucky enough to be unsuccessful in both will her 3rd choice (local comp) become her first choice? Sorry first ever post and very new to all this!

kittyhola · Post by **kittyhola** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 8:58 pm

Yes. With the equal preference system, if that happens then her 3rd choice will become her 1st but of course she still has to fulfil the criteria such as geographical distance from school in order to be offered 3rd choice. A bit of a lottery but most advice is that if you put your local 'all ability' school below grammars then you 'should' get it if pref 1 and 2 go pear. However, I understand for Wirral pref form you can now list up to 5 schools so I guess you could end up with either school 4 or 5 and not 3rd choice on that basis. Unless of course you only put 3 down then my initial comment applies. Good luck.

redmickeyfinn · Post by **redmickeyfinn** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 10:27 pm

Many thanks Kittyhola for your quick response. She is doing ok with the tests but as it's getting closer I'm getting the wobbles!

scatshouse · Post by **scatshouse** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:30 pm

Hi,

From what I can remember daughter said the Upton exam was very similar to NFER 11+ in format but the two papers are taken on the same morning with a short break (drinks and snacks provided) in between.

My daughter felt that the Upton exam itself was easier than the 11+, but this may have been because she had had more practice by then. She's not here at the moment but I will pick her brains tomorrow and if she remembers anything differently I will post again.

Good Luck to your DC
Scatshouse.

guest42 · Post by **guest42** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:41 pm

Hi there.

From what I recall from last year- The layout of the Upton exam is similar to the 11+. However

It is generally thought easier. Don't be fooled though. They are looking for the top 25ish %. So if everyone finds it easier you are at no advantage!

Unlike the 11+ the test takes place over 1 morning whereas with the 11+ with the practice tests as well the agony is dragged out over the best part of a month.

Unless it is changed from last year the admission rules for Upton are different from the other Grammar Schools. Basically they take Catholics who reach the cut off point and then the rest FROM THE HIGHEST SCORE DOWNWARDS i.e. no distance, no siblings or any of that stuff.

Upton are cutting their intake this year. This is likely to be at the expense of the non-Catholics.

We put Upton as well as another Grammar because it effectively gives you 2 bites of the cherry. If 2008 is anything to go by I would expect Wirral Girls and Upton to fill and West Kirby to have some places.

Hope that helps. If I have any of this information wrong someone please correct me.

kittyhola · Post by **kittyhola** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:59 pm

Thank you both. So if we continue to use the papers we are using for the 11+ preparation ie Giraffe NFER and tutors epapers from this site we should cover the Upton questions? Are there any question types specific to Upton that we might not have covered in 11 + prep? Upton is our back up which I know many people will think is mad as they fill up on 1st prefs but our 1st pref is WKGS as eldest has just started there and we have been delighted with the school so far.

guest42 · Post by **guest42** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:59 am

Yes there are no different question types for Upton.

Having Upton as a backup is not a bad idea. It is possible to have a bad day on the 11+ but a good day at Upton and vv.