11 plus

[sws]

Anyone got any idea what will happen to the 11 plus in September?

[TeenPlusTwenties]

My guess is that if schools are open they will go ahead as normal, if not then they won't.
I wonder if it will 'help' the naturally bright and enquiring as people won't have been able to see tutors.
Or conversely whether the gap between well off and not so well off will be even wider than usual, as some will have had parental time and resources to prepare, and others won't.

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

It will put paid to some of the highly profitable (for PTAs) 11+ mocks that usually start next month too...

[GreenWheat]

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 gosh yes, I hadn't thought of that. Those PTA's make over £30K from the mocks. Massive hole in the school funds.

[Lynda07]

TeenPlusTwenties, there really should be no need for extra tuition for eleven plus. The primary/prep school ought to be teaching enough and encouraging pupils to expand their knowledge and vocabulary, that plus puzzles can be done in a fun way at home sometimes.

I honestly don't know any children who had extra, paid tuition for eleven plus and from what i've heard, it isn't very good anyway as well as being expensive.

[autumnkate]

I’ve taught in 2 grammar schools and the vast majority see a private tutor for the whole
of Year 5

[captainmarble]

Lynda07 really?? In our area, I barely know anyone who doesn't have private tuition, most for the majority of Year 5. And the primary schools aren't allowed to teach for the test - obviously there is plenty of crossover with the national curriculum, but the 11+ also includes aspects of maths and English that aren't taught at school before the end of year 5, and other bits (NVR and aspects of VR) that aren't taught at school at all.

[Sarjest]

Lynda07, I don’t know where you are but I’m very happy with my DD’s 11+ tuition. It’s structured, methodical and way beyond the level taught in Year 5. The lessons are being delivered remotely and the classes are working well. The tuition company is even delivering lessons free of charge during the Easter holidays! I think we are very lucky and it’s business as usual until we’re told otherwise.

[Lynda07]

That's interesting. The children I know who passed their 11+ had no extra tuition and gained grammar places (Bromley and Bexley). My son did too and he took his a year early. It wouldn't have occurred to me to pay for extra (he wouldn't have complied anyway), his school prepared the children well enough.

When I - and my husband - were at school, we passed. I do remember my school laid on Saturday morning classes for a while during the term before the exam which I resented terribly :-), but my parents made me go. All we did was more of the same.

However I'm glad for anyone who does if it works. It just seems odd. I'm not putting it down.

I've known kids having extra tuition for a subject in which they are not so strong, in preparation for GCSE, just not for 11+.

There was an interesting programme on television a couple of years ago which showed many children in Bexley (I'm not in but am near Bexley), who did an enormous amount of extra work paid for by their parents and still managed to fail their 11+; it made me wonder what the schools were teaching them. Non verbal reasoning seemed to be the area in which they fell down.

[Lynda07]

Oh yes, Sarjest, now that schools have been closed for a while and it looks as though that will continue, of course they need tuition - it's school at home - but these are exceptional circumstances.

[cheercaptain]

Most of the kids that I know who sat the exams in Kent and Bexley Sep 2018 & Sep 2019 and passed had private tuition. However, I know 2 children who sat the Kent and Bexley Sep 2018 11+ without private tuition; both passed the Kent 11+ and gained admission to Kent Grammars. They used the Bond and CGP Books as well as the Bond Online Resource.

OP, no idea but I do believe they will hold as usual. We will know by June/July when registration opens.

[preetis11]

I believe it's not possible to clear without private tuitions however I have seen children sometimes benefit from competition in a group. So many websites now for practicing but I found some websites which are particularly beneficial like quizlet where you can create sets for learning.

//www.quizlet.com

To test the level of preparedness, try some mock exam site. I found below free site/exam useful to judge the level.

www.eguruzone.com/course/11-plus-mock-test-mixed-mcq-set-7/

Wish you all the best..

[Grandmi]

My three children all went to grammar schools in West Kent ,They all had tutoring because the Kent schools do not give 11plus tuition which I 100% agree with . There is a reason why children need tuition, the questions require a certain technique that mainstream schools cannot actually help with .

[After8itsgrownuptime]

Kingston grammar has just announced that for 11+ in 2021 they will be dropping NVR and VR and will be sending out pack with new , revised sample papers. I suspect that once big names start tomake decisions like this, the smaller and middle of the road schools will follow suit.

[PettsWoodParadise]

Medway have deferred test to mid Oct and CAF submission to end of Nov.

Kent and Bucks are consulting on test deferral to autumn.

[Meredusoleil]

Kingston Grammar Schoo is actually a fee paying independent school in the private sector. Not comparable to a free grammar school in the state sector at all 😐

[After8itsgrownuptime]

The original thread was asking about 11+ and didn’t specify non fee paying grammar schools .

[PettsWoodParadise]

In fairness OP asked about 11+ in September which is normally the state grammar exams. Independents are usually later, typically January but not always.

[Lucinda76]

11+ is going ahead as planned - just heard from BFF - Head at Prep school.

[PettsWoodParadise]

@lucinda76 whether the 11+ goes ahead as planned depends what school or region. As we’ve already seen Medway have delayed their 11* and at least two other authorities are consulting on proposals to delay their usual September dates. OP asked about September dates. Jan dates that go for most prep schools are less likely to be impacted - as far as we know at this point in time.

@luncinda75 you mention a prep school but don’t name it - it would helpful to say when the exam is planned to get an idea of whether or is in step with other schools that may be closer to deferral considerations or a September date as per the OP’s query.

[Maverick197]

@Daniamom27 this is a year old thread, the OP's DC most likely sat the 11+ in 2020 already

[steppemum]

last year, the 11+ went ahead, but was delayed until October.
It was awful actually, as the result didn't come out befire the CAF form had to go in.

I think this year, unless there is another lockdown, it will go ahead as normal in September

[steppemum]

Lynda07

You often on hear see parents say - Oh my kids passed without tuition.

Of course it depends on where you are, London school ar emuch harder to get into, and the competition is high. Some areas, like Bucks and Kent have a system where the top 30% go to grammar and some areas the grammar is selecting the top 5-10 % only.

But it is really important to understand that the test has

1. stuff that is on the year 6 curriculum, so not yet covered in school
   
2. there are things on there which are never covered in school (Non Verbal Reasoning)
   
3. they may well be successful at school, but if they are seeing the mutiple choice answer sheet for the first time, there is a high chance they will fill it in wrong, in other words, there is a stron element of exam preparation which is helpful.
   

But it really is a myth that you can tutor a child who is not capable into passing the exam. Most class teacher will be able to tell you which children are capabable of passing the exam, but not all of those will, and what parents are doing is mazimising their chance of being one of the ones who do pass.

Tutors are not stupid, they knwo which of their students will pass, the question is are they honest enough to tell the parents?

[steppemum]

[quote Maverick197]@Daniamom27 this is a year old thread, the OP's DC most likely sat the 11+ in 2020 already[/quote]
OH BUGGER

I hate getting caught out by a zombie thread!

[Daniamom27]

Whoops didn’t realize the date 😅