How do you know if your child is 'grammar school material'?

OOC will be higher because there are a set percentage of spaces for girls in catchment, that leaves fewer for out of catchment so only the best of the best get those, last year I think it was 339 for SHSG OOC

The pass mark is 303 for both Southend and Westcliff high schools for girls. Some local post codes get preferential entry (still have to pass but get the spaces over people who pass from out of area) . They are both excellent schools and people travel a fair way to attend. Which primary school is she at?

I guess in areas where 20% or so go to grammar facts may be enough.

I was referred to someone who did educational assessments and who gave advice on secondary schools. People kept telling me he was really bright but he was so resistant to putting in any effort especially at home and his primary school was letting him do the bare minimum that I had to get an objective view.

It was an interesting conundrum as we could afford private education but I simply wasn’t prepared to put either of us through the stress of the 11+. There are literally no words to describe how traumatic getting him to do homework was but it meant I had a realistic expectation of where he probably should get to eventually

@Rummikubfan how did you get your son assessed? I think I may look into this. My son has just gone into year 4. He is an August born. He is fine doing his homework, he’s good at spelling and loves reading. His end of year report for year 3 said he was excelling in his reading and he was at expected level for maths. I don’t want to put him through it if he isn’t capable.

My dd is at grammar school. She didn't fit any of @HollowTalk s criteria except she liked reading- not non-fiction though! She passed her 11 plus but only just scraped in to a super-selective grammar. Her Primary school teacher told us she thought she would be better off the local comp as she would struggle. We knew she was capable though so ignored her. Being an August birthday we thought she would come into her own in time and she did. She got 6A* and 4 A in her GCSEs.

*HollowTalk

I think the test is whether she does independent work outside of school. So does she do her homework willingly? Does she read a lot? Does she like non-fiction books? Does she like being tested e.g. spellings and sums? If you suggested learning a lot of Capital Cities for instance, would she be happy with that or complain?*

I knew he was grammar material because I knew he was smart but I had him assessed independently at the end of year 4 where his assessment levels were 128-133 across the board

I also knew that fighting to get him ready for 11+ either state or private would be like pulling teeth and neither of us would be likely to come out of it with any sanity. At that point 10 spellings was still likely to result in 40 minutes crying on the floor.

We didn’t do any selective schools at all and he went to an excellent comprehensive. If the comprehensive had been bad I may have felt differently

He didn’t really pull his socks up until probably late year 9 early year 10 and then he flew with mainly 8’s at GCSE and AAA. Now he’s at a top uni.

I guess what I’m saying is, see how she goes. If we wants to work then do it but if the prep is too much for her then she can still fly

Dd went to grammar for 6th form. 11+ would have been too much pressure too early. She gained 7/8/9 at all her GCSEs so was ready a little bit older.

One doesn't negate the other!

You raise an interesting point here! Because DD absolutely LOVES learning but not learning facts like capital cities or whatever. What she actually likes about learning is understanding things.

Capital cities was just an example! I meant does she enjoy learning new things and being tested on them?

DD got into a super-selective grammar in London, and loathed primary homework, has never willingly read a non-fiction book; she would probably have wept with sheer boredom if I'd suggested she learn a load of capital cities! She did very well on spelling and maths tests at primary but didn't enjoy them at all. Luckily her secondary experience so far has featured zero spelling tests and not that much arithmetic. She did and does read a lot, though.

One of my dds passed, one we didn’t enter. I just knew from an early age one was far more engaged with school work than the other was. She had a reading age of 16 by age 9, whereas my other dd’s was 10.5 at age 9. Huge difference! She also always, without fail, got 100% on her spelling tests & put the work in, but my younger dd would average about 7, which I don’t think is enough.
It’s not enough to just be ‘top table’, as depends on the rest of the class. We are in an all-grammar area & out of 70 in my eldest’s year, 7 went - so 10%.
Try some of the work books you can buy - if she races through those with no issues then I’d say go for it, if she resists or struggles, it probably isn’t for her. Good luck!

As others have said, it depends crucially on where you live. There's no such thing as a national GS standard or national GS material.

At one extreme you have Northern Ireland - around 45% of kids go to GS, so the criteria is 'be above average', and, with heavy tutoring etc, that almost becomes 'don't have special needs'.

At another extreme you have North London, where it's barely an exaggeration to say that all GS's fit into the 'super selective' category - to reasonably expect to get in from a most primary schools your child would need to be at the highest attainment level in his or her class, maybe the highest in his or her year group.

In other words, you need to ask someone who knows the secondaries in your specific area well to get a sensible answer to your question.

I would also not just discount comprehensive schools if you have decent ones around.

DD's Y6 cohort was the one in years where no child went to a grammar school despite several having potential and were classed as "should do the 11+". In all cases the parents decided the normal secondary was able to support high achievers and the children are now earmarekd for high GCSEs.

DD would have crumbled under the pressure of the tests, so you may need to take these things into account as well. A friend went the 11+ route, the girl didn't score high enough and they had months of frustration from mum and daughter about the "failure". It took lots of talking from a no-nonsense family member to get them back on track.

You have to ask yourself questions like whether your child picks up new concepts faster than others, loves learning for the sake of it, reads a lot, loves intellectual challenges such as puzzles, has a good attention span, plays a musical instrument to a high standard.

Just aa an aside: you can still fail the 11+ even if you actually are grammar school
Material. My DD got all 8s and 9s in her GCSEs and 4x A star at A-Level and failed the 11+.

I could have asked the same question. My Dd2 is a similar age, just started Y5. She reads loads, was the top reader in her year last year - they do some scheme where you register each book and they count up how many words you've read. But she's not as confident at Maths. Dd1 has just started grammar school and I always thought she had a good chance of getting in (we're in London so it's quite competitive) but Dd2's maths is definitely weaker. She's keen to give it a go though so I'm going to get a Maths tutor for a few months and then reassess in the spring whether we think she has a realistic chance. In a way I think both children should have the same opportunities (although Dd1 only started tutoring in the summer of Y5). But then I also don't want Dd2 to be out of her depth at secondary school. It's tricky to know but think if your daughter is keen, it's worth having a go.

You can show your DD the virtual tours of the prospective schools and see how willing she is to go in those schools. I believe any child if willing to do something, can become capable as well. Capability will never become an issue if the child is willing to participate in the entrance competition. Together then you can prepare a timetable for preparation and follow it. Preparation wont have to be orrenous. Best of Luck!!