To think the 11+ is the work of the devil?

[LynetteScavo]

And if you don't agree with me, you're wrong.

it does not need to be like that though

my dcs all did it with very little stress. I mean i am not going to force them to practice and if it is that much stress then its the wrong school for them

no?

picesmum - re 'in the old days...'

i am a modern day parent but i truly believe that helicopter parenting hinders rather than helps

this 'over parenting' is short term gain for long term pain

in the realworld mummy cannot be there 24/7

bubblegum What was the point of that? I am gobsmacked you would put your daughter through that. The message is so clear - these tests should take 20 minutes - not an entire summer. If the child is unable to complete them quickly then it just isn't for them. Do you want her to be the kid banging out the homework in 20 minutes on the bus or the one who sits up until midnight every night getting stressed?

I hate the way that as a society we are pushing children in to academia, this 50% must graduate nonsense.

well said skihorse

Apparently , NotanOtter, some parents are now going on the gap year with their DC-they can't let go!

i have friends picesmum

seriously it does shock me

I am delighted the exam boards have decided to get rid of gcse coursework

I only know one child in ds year did his own

but actually it's not funny!

My DSs did all their own-so at least they knew it was their own efforts! However they were in the minority, so I am thrilled that it has been stopped. I also know that some of them paid another DC to do it and serious money changed hands. Parents are now pushing to get progress reports from universities-they get a shock to find that they can't, at present, get any information at all.

omg please no!

How depressing!

ten years on they will be the ones starring in a channel 4 documentary 'Children who never leave the nest'

I know of a ghost writer paid to write personal statements!

I think that now parents have to pay so much they want their money's worth.

awful

not right

really not right

bubblegumsupermum - who gave your child the practice papers - her class teacher?

And which school did she end up at?

it used to be alright, but now it's largely dependent on tutoring ie money

parents are driving it
not every parent tutors

we dont have them where I live but I worked in another county a few years ago that did. I worked in the admissions team for that particular council and it was awful.

I invigilated one of the exams, the poor little kids, it was cruel, so much pressure on a child only 10 years old.

It was worse once the results came out and we had parents on the phone in tears because Sophie hadnt got into the grammar and had to go to the high school !!

Dreadful and archaic !!1

Hi I had the eleven plus for 3 yrs in a row (not me the DC that is )as all only a year apart and by the time I got to the third one I thought I'd got it down to a fine are had shares in WHSMITHS and Sainsburys wine dept ..... in fact I think I drank too much of the vino to calm my nerves that on results week I found out I was pregnant not planned at all so I just hope the system has gone by then
KENT

as someone whose kid took teh 11 plus can i just say what tutoring is

for us it was NOT teachign him, it was practising a VERY different style of test to what eh was used to

Most parents who tkae it have reason to belueve their kid will fit in in that school, tbh if they kid wont then they are unlikely to last the prep time before the test

PAYING for tuotrs is NOT VITAL, if parents have the money they can, other parents teach it themselved VERY successfully.

if your kid is not " on the top table" for everything at primary school dont even bother.

( agree with otter)

My 3 DCs were/are at GS. I 'tutored' them. It doesn't have to be hard. If it's that hard they shouldn't be doing it. It's just really a case of getting up to speed and knowing the tricks.

However, our local very selective grammar school has been completely hijacked by the local private schools.So those 'untutored' children from local schools have no chance in hell of getting in.

Don't agree with 'top table' analogy. My DCs were never flagged as being outstandingly bright. There are a lot of quiet but secretly bright children at primary school who are never held up as the brightest. The 11+ is their forte!!!!

Agree that coursework should be scrapped too. Far too much cheating and 'help'.Grrr

the pumpkin

Agree re private school parents getting savvy and although i frown on it a wee bit actually i think 'why not?'

this system should really be about equal rights and everyone being able to access this great thing...

rich and poor

your kid needs to be bright - the year dd did it she was the brightest girl in her primary that was at that time in the top ten in britain. She did level 6 extension papers in sats ( teacher assesed ) and was a real primary star

not so at secondary

you need to work

I don't really agree with grammar schools in principle, but DD1 will sit the 11+ in November anyway. I think she will do really well at the local bog-standard comp that DS1 already attends, but she would like the more academic choice of subjects, such as Latin, only offered at the grammar school. She is a very academic child and it is her choice. She has had some tutoring (an hour every other week for the last six months or so) as around here children who don't are at a real disadvantage as the independent primaries cover it and even some of the state schools as an after school club. I am trying not to make a big deal of it though, and keep stressing to her that she is not a failure if she doesn't get one of the very few places.

yes agree latin also only offered at grammars here despite local comp being excellent