Mumsnet Talk

Is this too risky?

Has anyone done it/heard of it?

It depends on when the child's birthday is and the school. Some won't consider it at all. Ds skipped a year in his prep school and I really struggled to find one which would allow him to start at 10. He ended up moving to a combined junior and secondary and he had to repeat year 5. A child in his prep was allowed to skip a year and sit the 11+ early but his birthday was the 1st September so he wasn't far off that year's intake. Ds is an April baby. Does this make sense?

yes I do know of it happening/ Child in Year 5 took 11+, joined the semi-attached prep for Summer term of Year 6, presumably to establish him socially amongst that peer group, then moved to the new school that September effectively a year early. Also some senior schools in the area do a 10+ entry anyway.

can he retake next year?

Late sept birthday, in Scottish system ATM so is almost the youngest in his year.

The schools I've seen just say 'under 12 on 1st sept, suggesting that 10yo start would be ok.

My DD, now completely grown up and a teacher herself, was offered the chance to sit the exam for secondary selective boarding a year early. Her birthday is 28th October, and she was in a state primary, but one of only four Year 5s in the Year 6 class, so she had done all the Year 6 work. We let her do it, thinking it would give her good exam practise, and to our amazement she won a place and was in all the top sets indicating an exceptional performance in the exams. We were then given the option to defer her place, but we decided to let her go and she was absolutely fine.
She did everything a year early - GCSEs, A levels, University, and it made no difference to her at all.
You don't say if your DC is a boy or a girl. I think girls are generally more mature than boys, so it might not have worked so well for a boy.
She would have been very bored having to do Year 6 again, as she had already done it as a Year 5, so we let her go.

Think very very long and hard about this. I was a year young and dh two years young. Intellectually it was absolutely right but imv socially disastrous. Choose a school where this is normal or as normal as it can be. Dh at least was surrounded by others like him and did a subject where youth is common.

My sister took 11+ scholarship to one of the top league table schools in the country a year early and got it (100% and biggest ever offered). She hated the school and left after a year (but I think a lot of that was boarding school did not suit her).