secondary admissions 2013

ChippyMinton - That's all well and good if you can AFFORD a tutor. When you have no choice but to do it all yourself - the loss of 6/8 weeks is horrid. Bucks aren't changing it until 2014, for the reason that they felt it was not enough notice for those who were to sit the test this year. Wish Essex had done the same.

I have found out that the DATE of the test in Essex will be Saturday 22nd September 2012, and the standardised results of the 11+ will be sent out to parents on the 16th October 2012.

The main problem? Essex LEA is refusing to decide a date that they will accept people APPLYING to sit the 11+ until after all the consultation deadlines on the 15th February.

So anyone in Essex that wishes to apply for their dc to do the 11+ will have to keep an eye on the CSSE site from the 15th February onwards.

HTH.

The grammar timescale changes haven't been widely reported. We are using a tutor for DS1, and she only found out via a newsletter from her daughter's grammar school. The tutors are very switched on though, and have already changed the timetable to accommodate the exams being 6 weeks earlier - sessions have been slotted into the Easter and half-term holidays.

Good point re deadlines for supplementary forms for grammars, and registering for the 11+ exams. Also the open days will probably be brought forward to the summer term.

It's a good change though, especially for those in areas where there are only 3 preferences on the CAF.

Article by the BBC here about the new format for league tables which will be published next week.

I'm not sure I want to look.

I feel a bit sick waiting for the new league tables, last years for the school, as you can see above, was not good.

mmm indigobell..... but if you've got a quiet well behaved DS with supportive mc parents who is expected to get a C at GCSE you'll find he's ignored - all the schools attention will be on those who are borderline C/D and who need careful help to ensure a C and those who are achieving at B/A to help them get A .
And if your middle of the road C grade son fails he still won't get any help .
No doubt he's just lazy .

So when will the registration forms be AVAILABLE then? Because there isn't ^anything on the CRGS site about the changes at all.

The new timetable for many selective school exams won't just catch people out in terms of tutoring, it will also be relevant for getting supplementary forms in on time. Many schools that are moving their exams forward will require the registration form to be submitted before the end of the summer term (e.g. July 20th) whereas previously parents would have had until end september/beginning october to get the forms in.

Will schools really not allow children to sit the test if they miss the application deadline

HuntyCat - helping your child yourself is, in my opinion, the best possible method of preparing your child for the 11 plus. You know your child better than any tutor will and you have the flexibility to concentrate on subject areas that need practice.

Good luck with your preparations.

11PlusAdvisor - it's not plenty of time if you are doing all the prep yourself, without a paid-for tutor. I am a Lone Parent on FSM. There is no money for a tutor, so I'm doing it all myself. This has put me 8 weeks behind schedule with the targets, so I am going to have to add in an extra 10 minutes of practice 2 days a week to fit it all in. Why hasn't this been widely reported? In fact, the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher of my DS1's primary school only found out about this LAST NIGHT themselves. And this is a state school, in the CRGS area, that routinely sends between 1 and 4 dc per year group on to CRGS!

HuntyCat, new government code expected to become law this year says that admission authorities must "take all reasonable steps to inform parents of the outcome of selection tests before the closing date for secondary applications on 31 October so as to allow parents time to make an informed choice of school - while making clear that this does not equate to a guarantee of a selective place".

I suggest you contact CRGS to check their proposed arrangements. I expect a number of people will be caught out with these new rules.

And don't panic! You have plenty of time to prepare.

Can you belaborate on what you mean by 'Grammar schools that normally test after 31st October will now have to test before'? Does that mean that CRGS in Colchester, which normally tests in the November, will now have to test earlier? If so, that will mean my schedule for DS1 is about a month behind already!

He is in YR5, was a 4b across the board when he finished YR4.

So I would hope he would be in the A & B's for ~GCSE, although I know SATS are not the only indicator.

Speaking to friends the results seem to be hit and miss really - I know a boy from across our road, got 5's in his YR6 DATS, three years ago, predicted b's across the board now.

A bit of tutoring can go a long way?

Certainly cheaper than moving house or going private......

Even so, I'd still concentrate on what the kids 'like him' are doing, rather than the whole school population. ie do you think he is an A student? Or a C student? (Is he predicted 4s or 5s in Y6?)

Can you find any parents of older kids 'like him'.

Do any kids come out with good As and A*s? If so, is there any reason why he can't be one of those kids?

posted too soon - that's the info from last years league tables for the school we are hoping to avoid.

2010 Headline scores:
5 GCSE A* to C incl. English & Maths: 39%

Pupils achieving GCSE A* to C in:

• English and maths: 39%
• 5 English Baccalaureate subjects: 1%
• Any 5 subjects: 57%
• 2 science subjects: 39%
• a modern foreign language: 7%

% pupils achieving any qualification: 99%
Value-added score: 970.8

Absence statistics:
Sessions missed due to absence (all): 7.8%
Missed due to unauthorised absence: 4%
Pupils persistently absent: 6.9%

Track record: 2007 2008 2009 2010
5 GCSE A* to C incl. English & Maths: 38% 37% 44% 39%

I thought so.

Moving isn't an option for us so we will probably have to grin and bear it, and support him as much as we can.

Maybe so many parents will be bowled over by the shiney new premises that the school I prefer will not be as over subscribed as usual.

970 is not good. That would concern me. A lot :(

Tables aren't out for 2011 yet.

Should have said, thanks for the pointers - he is my PFB, so I am flapping.

The most recent value added I can find is for 2010 - it was 970.8.

The one I want him to go to has a value added score of 1019.4

But it doesn't matter how many students get good results - it only matters what your kids get.

Most schools are streamed. So if 50% of kids are passing, that means that if your child is in a class which is in the top half of the school, then it's likely that they'll pass.

If your kid is bright and is in the top stream all the kids will probably pass.

I don't think you should worry about what grades the bottom set get, unless you expect your child to be in the bottom set.

If your child get's 4s or 5s in Year 6 then they should pass their GCSEs, regardless of the school they go to.

What is the value add of the school you're concerned about? Do most kids who get 4s or 5s pass?

Sorry, thats in 5 subjects including maths and English!

In comparison, the school we would prefer for him, at the moment, has 74% achieving a*- c at GCSE including maths and english.