AIBU to think Mumsnet should turn down advertising for 11-plus tuition?

[TootingJo]

We all know that 11-plus tutoring works, which also means grammar school admissions are a competition that poorer parents lose. Mumsnet is taking cash for 11-plus tutoring ads. I think they should take a stand and turn down the business.

Yes, 11-plus tutoring will still go on whether or not Mumsnet take the tutor's cash. But Mumsnet is sending an advertising reminder to poorer families that they are not on a level playing field for getting a grammar school place. I wonder how many families who care about their kids, but have little cash, are encouraged to pay money they can't afford to hire an 11-plus tutor?

Incidentally OP - use the app and then you don't get any ads. It's marvellous!

You are being ridiculous!

DM went to a grammar school in South London in the 50s. I must ask if she done an 11+ as I know when I was in school (70s) the area did have them . I done one but did not get in to a grammar school (not that there were any in the Borough anyway) but was happy enough at my comprehensive secondary school .

MN is a capitalist business with a left-leaning customer base. It's called scratching your arse on the horns of a dilemma, isn't it?

In my area, if you don't tutor, you don't get in, it's that simple. So if you want your child to go and pass with a high enough mark to get a place, they need tutoring. Nothing to do with they arent quite bright enough, more the fact there is stuff they won't learn in schools and it is set out differently from anything they would have done before.

I'd much rather not spend loads of money on tutoring, but my child is adamant they want to take the 11+ so I need to give them every opportunity to pass well. Plus the local comps are shit here and I'm dreading if he doesn't pass because our back up options are not great.

Don't get too worked up about the tutoring thing. It really cannot transform your child's prospects, whatever people tell you. Tutoring can raise your child's marks by 5-10% max. so you've got to have an academic child to be in a with a good chance to start with.

There are loads of 11+ books you can buy to help at home. You just need to know the exams that your particular grammar sets e.g verbal reasoning etc. and of course it then involves a lot of work and commitment from the parents.

Children need to be driven and self motivated to work hard for these exams. They need to be compliant and to be able to take instruction well. It's a lovely notion that rich kids are getting handed these places by buying tutoring but that really isn't the case.

Tuition is necessary for the children who just aren't getting it OP. If someone thinks throwing money at the problem will help then that's their business.
It's also pretty private, noone wants to admit their child is falling short - but with so much pressure/ expectation there is a market and people will pay. MN has to make money.

SheRasBra - you're assuming that parents have the education and the time to be able to work through the books with the children themselves. Many parents are not in that position.

My DCs state school absolutely does teach to the 11plus. I'm not sure how they get around the rules but the school is known locally as a bit of an 11plus factory. My DS completed past papers every Monday in the last two terms of Y5. They also have a week long 11plus summer school during the holidays - much to my DS's disgust! As a result they get between 40 and 60% of the year group passing the test. Private tuition is also a massive thing here and most start tutoring at the start of Y5 and in some cases from Y4.

We used a tutor ,even though I always said we wouldn't, because we got swept up in all the hysteria! We got one through word of mouth recommendation. The ( rather scary) 11 plus forum doesn't allow tutors to advertise and deletes threads where people are asking for or giving recommendations.

SheRasBrs Indeed. The children of educated and articulate people who value education have an advantage. And the Argentinian gentleman in charge at the Vatican is of the RC persuasion. And ursines defecate where arboreals abound.

That advantage has existed for ever and will exist for ever.

I am a private tutor and as such am asked to tutor all levels of children and for many different reasons. I have only been asked to tutor 1 child for grammar school entrance and most of what I do is to help children achieve the currently high levels of the national curriculum for state schools. Parents choose a tutor for their children to help them at school and to provide them with the best education they can. I have tutored children from wealthy families who live in huge houses and I have also tutored children of single parents where the fee was possibly their last money of the week. Tutoring is not only for the wealthy - it depends on how much of a priority you put on your child's education.

Also, SheRasBras, tutoring in some instances can transform children's marks. I am also a dyslexia trained teacher and have personally tutored some children whose marks which were not reflective of their intelligence. One particular boy I tutored (under the old SATs system) was performing at level 3A. I began tutoring him in November and when he did a practice SATs the following April his level was 5C. In the actual SATs paper he also gained the highest mark on the Maths paper in the school, as his raised level of English helped him to understand the maths questions more easily. Similarly, I tutored a girl in her GCSE year from January to June when the exam was taken. She was in the lower ability class but at primary school had always been in the top 5 in the class for maths. We worked hard for those 5-6 months and she gained an A in her GCSE maths, after the teacher told her she would only make a D.