Pulling out of 11+ (poor mock results)?

i agree go for it - alos rememebr lots of stuff happens after allocation day so can even get in after being allocated to another school at first. try getting doing loads of fun revision questions ie not atom or the tutor maybe another app

How did your daughter do? My daughter just missed Sale. We got urmston and Stretford. Hope whatever the result she was proud of herself!

Definitely worth trying then. In our area (Bucks), the headteachers have to mark each child's suitability for grammar, they have to do be done before, so the result is honest (we get a lot of out of county candidates, where they don't indicate suitability. and whilst they include it on the review form, it is not given as much weight. I don't know if your area does this?

If your child has GDS and supportive teachers, it's definitely worth it, especially with a review as a back. Even more so if the non-selective schools are good, as you have nothing to lose.

Just try not to make it too important, I know it's hard, but it's just a little test, same as SATs (I'm assuming they still do them? DD would have had them in 2021, but they were cancelled due to COVID).

There is a brilliant forum called 11 Plus Forums, they have some fantastic posters on there, who helped me a lot.

We only have grammar and secondaries here, there are no comprehensives, so if your child fails, then you face the real possibility of a crap secondary.

I didn't tutor either of mine and with dd (ds is q18 yes older, so can't remeber), they only had a mock at school days before the real thing, and that wasn't marked.

As we are a wholly selective county, almost everyone takes the exam.

I don't know about your area, but here we have a selection review, which takes place before allocations and includes things such as the child being at GDS, etc. Much better than an appeal, as they are after allocations and you run the likelihood of schools being full, plus you can apply to any schol, as if your child passed, whereas with appeals it's for individual schools.

My DS said paper 2 was harder than paper 1, with a three page comprehension in it. heard that the one of the NVR was tricky but he said he thinks he managed to get his round it! Fingers crossed! Some of his friends struggled to finish and had to guess a few. I suppose if most find paper 2 hard … they will take that in account over the two papers.
did your daughter find all the NVR tough or just one section of it?

Hi all , my daughter just had her 11+test , she said it was fine but not happy with NVR section . I just want to know about other kids how was their experience???

@fedupofit1234 How did your DD find the exam in the end OP? Mine said it wasn’t as hard as expected but there were some NVQ questions not seen before.

My daughter only got 40% on the Newell mock, we've done a lot more study this week and she's resolving some of her issue areas. I've definitely questioned whether she should sit it or not as it's not a hill but a mountain to overcome. I told her as long as she puts in extra study then she can otherwise if she doesn't then I wont bother having her take it. She's adamant she wants to go to a grammar school.
She's Audhd so it's not been easy.

Are you on the 11+ support thread? We are all driving ourselves slightly mad at this point and wish we'd never begun.

Ps all three at grammar now and doing well. Are they top of the class, no, but they are all holding their own, and have time for sports and other activities too. No need to compare them with natural geniuses or the kids who have huge amount of pressure from home to get top results.

ive had three go through the 11+. Not in your area (West Mids), but none of them ever did spectacularly well in their mocks. I’d been confident that one should pass (and they scored very well on the day), the other two I thought had a reasonable shot but by no means guaranteed- they both passed (and well enough to get out of catchment places). Scores weren’t anywhere near the top but they were still good enough, and that’s all you need! There will always be child geniuses scoring 100%, but they don’t NEED that to get a place! Sounds like she’s doing really well- let her take the test and just see what happens.

my oldest child did newell mocks - they completely screwed up the marking and marked a load of it wrong when it was right. I checked after looking into lower scores than usual to see what areas he needed to work on. They remarked and his score went up about 15%!

FWIW I would go ahead at this point too. I wouldn’t want to send the message that you don’t think she should sit it in case she fails. With my two I emphasised that the test was just about working out which school is the best for them and the way they learn, it’s not pass or fail.

Those don't sound like poor mock results to me. Sounds like it's within reach and worth a go. You do need a plan B, but that in itself will build resilience if handled in the right way. Good luck!

If you're considering Stretford, definitely go ahead. The mark between Sale and Stretford can be a good few marks, so she could be in a position where she passes Stretford. Also Stretford has local review, so you have the option to do a soft appeal straight after the results.

I know several people that have got into the local grammar schools this way, so sit the test and evaluate your options as and when you get to them. All the best.

Agree with this 100 percent! Let her try - you have absolutely nothing to lose by trying and a lot to lose if you don’t (the loss of confidence, the “what ifs,” the feeling that her best wasn’t even good enough to try in your eyes.) Go for it and good luck!

Why on Earth would you pull her out at this stage? After all hard work your daughter and you have done, why would you put it to bin? Are you talking Newell mock? Two years ago, 70% was about a borderline for Alty Girls and more than enough for Urmston and Stretford. Moreover, you never know how well will she do on the real thing and how well or badly will everyone else do. Just keep calm and carry one. Two more weeks and then we all can relax.

I think it would send the wrong message to a dc to pull out at this stage - my dd would see this as saying “I think you aren’t good enough, let’s not embarrass ourselves in front of the other mummies by proving it.”

There is nothing to be lost by trying if you’ve done the prep; people can have a lucky day, and a lot of people rise to an occasion when adrenalin kicks in.

Go for it!

You’ve come so far so I would just let her sit the exam, especially as it sounds like based on her school performance it’s not an unrealistic expectation that she should be able to pass. Treat it lightly and let her know you are proud of her for the work she has done. She may surprise you in the actual exam! Let her have the opportunity.

Call me cynical but if the mocks are arranged through a tutoring company then round by us (Bucks) the mock marks are low and then they sell you extra intensive tuition.

You have nothing to lose in taking it but definitely be led by her. Keep any extra prep minimal or even have a total break. Taking the pressure off is sometimes all kids need to up their performance.

If she really doesn’t want to take it then don’t. One of my friends sons was adamant he was going to the local school with his mates and not the grammar. Parents made him sit it and he answered “A” for every question to ensure he didn’t pass.

Based on what you’ve said, I would go for it. I think you’ll always wonder otherwise. And if she does just miss the mark, I think loads of kids get in at Stretford and Urmston via local review.