Q re 11+ for those who have been there/doing this yr

[DFussy]

Hi. Looking at all the GCSE threads, made me decide to ask dibbers thoughts.

My daughter will be in yr 6 sept, and is a bright girl. we have been preparing for 11+, and her teacher thinks she should give it a go. As she has realised its only 4 months away, she said this week that she doesn't want to do it.

I would guess at least 50% of the class will take it, and most of her friends. I have booked mock tests (we are edge of 2 boroughs so one in may ht for one type, and one first week of summer hols for other), not to assess her chances, but so she is more comfortable with format etc when it comes to it.

Am I doing the right thing? I think she has a fair chance of passing. if I don't encourage her to try, without putting pressure on to pass, I think i'd be letting her down? Did your kids talk about not wanting to do it. I deliberately haven't taken her to see any schools ahead, as didn't want to stress her about 11+ too far ahead.

Secondly, my cousin mentioned her son not prepping for sats, as they'd had there summer ruined by prepping for 11+. I wasn't intending to push for hours every day through the hols, as I think it would be counterproductive. We have 2 weeks booked in florida as my husband turns 50 around time of results, we are going before. I thought that would be good to give her a break - she'll have 2 weeks back at home to get over jet lag/tiredness after.

How much work did your kids do in the summer hol before the test?

Thanks for any advice. D

[JLH]

two of my sons said they didn't want to do and I let them have the final say , my last one (he is the brightest one) also said he didn't want to do it so once again I didn't put his name down. However 2 days before the closing date for applications his primary school rang me and said I should really consider putting him in as he was more than capable of passing so I did. He still didn't want to do it though and as a consequence we did no real extra work apart from the odd paper. He did the test but went to pieces on his maths test , totally my fault for not getting him to practice tests within set times. So I think you are doing the right thing by getting practice timed tests in. The school wanted me to appeal but he wanted to go to a school that had a grammar stream anyway so we didn't bother. One thing I have noticed though is that some of his friends that had tuition and passed but still went to his school are actually in lower sets than my son is and yet they were deemed bright enough for grammar and my son wasn't . Sometimes I think its not all down to brains but just how you perform in the test . I need to do something with my son as in every end of year maths test he has done the teachers have said to me he has not got the grade he is capable of , he just cant do tests! Not sure how he will do in GCSE exams. Good luck with your daughter whatever you decide.

[elle573]

I'm in the same position, and we have booked DS in for three practice test, one in May, July and August. This is just to get him use to the format and to help him to concentrate for the length of the test. He does want to do it as his friends are all taking the test. We have not got a private tutor just a few books to get use to format but most of his friends have tutors and he is at the same level in subjects as them. It's such a stressful time and I can't wait for it to be over.

[macdonald]

My grand daughter was top of her primary school & her story writing is absolutely incredible! She says when she grows up she wants to be an author! Her favorite shop in town is "Waterstones since a very young age! My Grand daughter wanted to sit the test and did! ..She faiied!...She had loads of preparation for this test and is a very clever girl!..The pass level is soooooo high,sitting this test for many is not just tutoring beforehand,its a way of life,that begins from birth! ...The parents of the majority here live & breath Grammar school & other than a few exceptions in very good areas,it is these kids that are placed! ..If your daughter says she do not want to sit this test,i would listen! This would be my advise to you!

[Glee Fan]

I have twins and they both sat the 11+ exam. They are now both at single sex grammar schools.

Here, it's not a case of "passing" or "failing". There are 120 places and the top 120 candidates are awarded those places for example, then it goes to waiting lists.

The test here is always the first weekend in September, so yes, we did do things over the summer holidays. I downloaded some past papers and did some verbal and non verbal reasoning style questions with them. My two are bright but needed coaching on how to answer the questions as it isn't the kind of thing they do at school. I also tried to do more fun type things with them like logic problems and sudoku. If you want to go the tutor route, it's pricey round here, about £36 an hour.

My two were motivated as they loved the schools on visits and that made them more determined to get the right mark.

Good luck. It was a stressful period for us too, especially with two!

[JLH]

Originally Posted by macdonald

My grand daughter was top of her primary school & her story writing is absolutely incredible! She says when she grows up she wants to be an author! Her favorite shop in town is "Waterstones since a very young age! My Grand daughter wanted to sit the test and did! ..She faiied!...She had loads of preparation for this test and is a very clever girl!..The pass level is soooooo high,sitting this test for many is not just tutoring beforehand,its a way of life,that begins from birth! ...The parents of the majority here live & breath Grammar school & other than a few exceptions in very good areas,it is these kids that are placed! ..If your daughter says she do not want to sit this test,i would listen! This would be my advise to you!

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I work within a private primary school and some of the children there have tuition two or three times a week and not just in year 5 , they do it for years . In my area the majority that pass are heavily tutored . Not sure if it will ever change despite them trying to introduce tutor proof exams .

[Ds4ljs]

Both my DDs are at our local single sex grammar. DD1 wanted to go and DD2 wanted to after she'd seen what her sister did. However they both auditioned for another secondary school in town and got places there too (they both dance). They made their choices and we supported them. A tricky one...

[Mumindevon]

Both of mine attend grammar school. I'm sure there are excellent comprehensive schools around, just not around here! Primary was ruined especially for younger one with kids disrupting lessons and not wanting to be at school and we/she did not want that continuing. And this is the main difference in my experience; those in grammars want to learn and be at school. We did use a tutor who did group sessions and we practiced a bit at home. Maybe once a week. Mocks are good just to get over the big exam situation which as 10/11 year olds they would not have experienced.

[bluedave]

if your daughter doesn't go to the grammar school what is the school that she would go to like? if it were my child and they were academically bright tha. I'd be doing everything possible to help them realise their potential.

[DFussy]

Originally Posted by Glee Fan

I have twins and they both sat the 11+ exam. They are now both at single sex grammar schools.

Here, it's not a case of "passing" or "failing". There are 120 places and the top 120 candidates are awarded those places for example, then it goes to waiting lists.

The test here is always the first weekend in September, so yes, we did do things over the summer holidays. I downloaded some past papers and did some verbal and non verbal reasoning style questions with them. My two are bright but needed coaching on how to answer the questions as it isn't the kind of thing they do at school. I also tried to do more fun type things with them like logic problems and sudoku. If you want to go the tutor route, it's pricey round here, about £36 an hour.

My two were motivated as they loved the schools on visits and that made them more determined to get the right mark.

Good luck. It was a stressful period for us too, especially with two!

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Hi Glee fan. Would you mind giving me an idea how much time you did spend in the holidays on it? You can private message me if youd rather not put it on the forum. We have been using a tutor - luckily not quite that much around my way - but I think it has suddenly hit her that its not a long off in the distance thing anymore, and only 4 more months. Hopefully its just a one day wobble.

Thanks for sharing your experience