Are kids really trained from preschool to pass exams at 11+ and ebteabce

[Purpledragonz]

Just that really
A friend told me that
They said it might sound OTT but data shows it give kids a massive advantage in the future

I'm not familiar with the British educational system (went to French schools), but how accurate is that? Or is it nomsense?

Agree.
Ours always had end of year exams from prep onwards. That’s age 8/9.

The exams were in all subjects based on the curriculum throughout the year.
I did the same every year at my state comp from age 11. I was surprised to hear that my dh and friends at other schools didn’t do this and the first exams they sat were the Olevel mocks.

My kids didn’t do verbal and non verbal reasoning though or anything to do with the 11plus. It was just end of year exams.

Yes.
Thanks for asking
What is that ?!

I assumed a typo for entrance

I live in an area with super selective grammars. This is a traditionally poor area, many 'working class' families and many immigrant families. Official, more intense, 11+ prep starts in Year 4, but many children are tutored in English and Maths from Year 2, be it at home, 121 sessions or group tutoring like Kumon.

Most secondary schools here have dire outcomes. For obvious reasons, the only decent school is harder to get into. People choose to optimise their school choices by prepping their child for the 11+, regardless of how innately intelligent the kid is.

Not in the normal world. For people targeting the top private schools and most selective grammars, I’m sure it is but it sounds miserable. Frankly I’d be moving as soon as I was pregnant if I lived in a grammar area. Most of the country doesn’t have grammar schools and most children don’t go to private schools.

In the sense that a good pre-school will do early phonics, yes.

that's a subjective, personal opinion about pre-school education, which isn't shared by all people.

But there are some LAs, which are not 'grammar school areas' where 20% (?? 25% ??) go to grammar schools, but that do have a handful. By default, those grammars then become 'super selective' and therefore "training" dc to pass the selection exams does become much more of 'a thing'.
Then there are parts of the UK that do still have grammars.

Yes, this.

We live in a grammar area. The 11+ in September of Y6 covers material not taught until later in Y6.
Most kids are tutoring but there is a lot of group tutoring as well as the odd one or two doing 4hours a week in Y4 plus homework.
For standard 11+ with a 'deemed selective ' pass mark then standard selection criteria (looked after, distance etc) then a bright kid could pass with just minimal tutoring or practice papers with family. However for the super selectives you have to come above other kids. Hence the crazy tutoring.

There is something like 163 grammar schools in England and 66 in Northern Ireland compared with 4000 secondary schools so again most kids don't go to Grammar schools ,and in most towns they haven't been around since the 1970,s
I'm 50 and remember doing the education reforms in history at My comprehensive

Yes I know a few places still have the Grammar system but it isn't the norm.

I agree @x2boys that most dc don't go to grammar schools.

However, if you are in one of the Counties that do have them, then that is 'most' in terms of the schools available to you.

Then if you live where I do, which is not a 'grammar school area' but which does have half a dozen grammar schools in the City, then the whole tutoring from infancy is rife, because there are over 10x the people who take the exams, than there are places. The fact that it is so difficult to get in, (because there aren't many places compared with the people who want a place) does create this frenzy amongst those that can both afford it, and are willing to put their dc through it.

I'm out of touch with the figures now but when I went in the 70s, apparently the grammars took the top 2% of 11 yr olds (if you define 'top' by 'highest scoring on the tests you had). That is clearly a very different prospect from an 11 yr old in Kent where it seems 25 - 26% of 11 yr olds go to grammar schools.

@heatherwithapee same, is got books and very loosely got dd to do some but nothing formal or forced.

We used u tube for non verbal reasoning.. She just got over the line but out of her friend ls she's scoring much higher and the head of year told us she is very high in her entire cohort year. At the moment she's looking at a 9s flush.

@Purpledragonz

Most children don't take the 11+ so no that's not the case.

My dc were 16 when they took their first exams. GCSEs