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Original poster

11 plus????Help please from anyone who has succesfully been though this process.

33 replies

keevamum · 27/10/2009 13:30

Where we live there are some very good grammar schools. However, the competition for places are phenomenal with a lot of children going from the private sector aswell. My DD has always been one of the brightest children at both of her schools which I hasten to add also has lots of ex private school children there. But how can I tell is she bright enough?? She is in Year 5 at the moment so she won't be due to sit it until next year but we bought some copies of previous 11 plus papers which I got her to do under exam like conditions and she did well I think, scoring 82% overall. Now bear in mind this was her first experience and she is only in year 5. Should I consider going down the route of tutoring for her to try to get her to improve on these marks and work her socks off? Or do you think her scores prove she is not quite capable? Should she be getting higher marks even at this stage? If you have a son or daugther at grammar school, what were their scores?

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Original poster
keevamum · 27/10/2009 19:25

Thanks birthday card and good luck for your DD's 11+ in November. Is it really as stressful as it appears?

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BirthdayCard · 27/10/2009 18:44

You put down your preferences on the LEA form which you will be given when your DD goes into year 6.

If you want to have any chance of getting into chelmsford you must put them as your first choice- they will not consider you if you don't no matter how good a score your child gets.

Put other preferences next, up to a maximum of 4. If you do not get your first choice then it moves down to the next on your list.

If that school is also a grammar you may be given a place there. Westcliff does take some out of catchment pupils and it is easier to get in there and SOuthend than CHelmsford.

Apparently if you don't get into your first choice and accept a place elsewhere you are put on a waiting list for the first choice and if a place becomes available (as they sometimes do as some children who are offered a place decide to go elsewhere)you will be offered it.

A few years ago one of DDs friends was ranked 148 (120 places) and she moved up the list and was offered a place with in a week of offers being made.

HTH my DD is taking her 11+ on 21st November so my head is full of it the moment!

Original poster
keevamum · 27/10/2009 18:16

Thanks for responses and the website. I feel a lot more optimistic now, although it is very interesting how nerves really affect the score and so to expect a drop of 10-15% in the actual exam. How do you apply for the waiting list or does that happen automatically?

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BirthdayCard · 27/10/2009 16:42

If you go on the 11+ forum for Essex herethere are threads where people state the scores their Dcs achieved in order to get into Grammar schools.

There are some quite surprising results actually- much lower than you'd imagine but they do vary from year to year- some papers are way harder than others.

The 2008 English paper for example (Graham Greene The destructors))was easier reading material than the year before (Thomas HArdy-Tess of the D'ubervilles!!!)

Are you aware of how the papers are weighted? 25% for each of the Maths and English papers and 50% of the overall score for VR.

Original poster
keevamum · 27/10/2009 15:23

Thanks for that and we are actually in the same area. Our first choice would be Chelmsford. Do you really think they are good scores? My husband went to KEGS and he got 99%.

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lavenderkate · 27/10/2009 15:23

Sounds a very good score. She is bright.
Been down this route ourselves with our DDs and they are both at selective schools and happy.My advice wuld be...

Get the practise papers and a tutor to keep you on the right path but not to teach if you understand what I mean.
There's nothing worse than a little mite whose passed 11+ but struggles for the next 6 years at that school. I was that mite.

If she's meant to go, she'll pass. Good luck.

BirthdayCard · 27/10/2009 15:13

I would say they are very good scores for a child just at the beginning of year 5.

But the marks you need do depend on the area you live in and the way the local grammar schools allocate places

Here in Essex the 11+ doesn't really have a pass mark. Children are ranked on their overall score and the top 120 marks get the 120 places (well in Chelmsford anyway.)

ALso the overall competition for grammar school places is phenomenally high in the present economic climate and 3/4 of the girls who get into our local grammar school are from the private sector.

Original poster
keevamum · 27/10/2009 14:41

Bump

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