to think that the 11plus forum is the scariest forum in the world!

[stillenacht]

anyone agree??

OOH - they are talking about this thread over there now. Can we have a massive fight please? I don't think there has been a cross website battle in AGES.
Let's see ummmm - Grammer Schools are worse than the holocaust and all children who go to secondary achools are destined to be bin refuse collectors, and there parents should be whipped.

Whoops my Secondary roots must be showing ;)

Look at that 'there' as well! I must remember this is more like email than MSN....

(curses lack of edit post functionality)

Anyway, FIGHT, FIGHT - I'm going to do some work now and want to see BLOOD by the time I get back.

Wrt posting advice about English, exam technique, etc. after the child has passed the exams, and not before ...

you can't post advice until you know whether it is "successful" advice, surely?

I still think you lot are a bit mean. And for any poster who says that "comps are rubbish" there will be two who will tell them that some of their dc are at comprehensive schools AND that it is madness to run down schools that your dc may go to.

I, personally, think a lot of the, eerrr, "heightened emotion" of the site is down to stress, and people communicating thoughts they have to keep locked away, so there's a bit of the "dark side of the moon" there.

But, hey, mn has its moments, too.

There is some very helpful advice on there. And living in a grammar school area I completely understand the whole tutoring issue (I personally wish they just examined them on what they study in primary school, as I was back in my 'direct grant' exams - but that's another issue). There are one or two (or okay several) people who seem to think, or okay, give the impression, that the site is for proclaiming about the achievements of their offspring. That can be irritating when you want eg genuine advice about a particular school and they pop up at every turn (even when it's a girls' school and you thought they had boys).

But hey, weren't we MNers accused in a national newspaper recently of having very clever but friendless children! (hmmm. mine probably more bogstandard in every sense). Anyway, now going on too much about me me me and my ordinary children!!

OMG there is a whole forum devoted to 11 plus?! No pressure on the kids then. My colleague had a total fit because his son had just failed the 11+ despite them moving to a hugely expensive home and hours of tutoring. Following an interview with the head, he has got in but I don't reckon that poor kid's chances, being bottom of the class the whole time.

Isn't that putting your own ambition above the wellbeing of your children? His son was crying apparently, saying he'd failed his parents

What is this 11+ forum of which you speak??

@ YCHFM

My DD has just passed her 11+ with very good grades.
Having moved school/house the previous year, I was slow off the mark in realising that the 11+ was even an option. Plus I was billy no mates as the new mum in the school yard.

I found out too little too late that everyone in "the know" had had tutors for over 12 months. Two or three times a week.

I felt that I'd really let my Daughter down and limited her choices; I felt like an absolutely shit parent ; having sat back and just had a moment's relief that I'd transferred her to a good school.

She took the exam anyway "for experience" and because her all her friends/classmates were doing it, and I didn't want her to feel excluded (it was all they talked about for weeks before the exam).

I found the experience really stressful (exam and results).

The actual room was filled with over 200 extremely competative parents and lots of shell shocked/rabbit in the headlights 10 year olds.

I cried when my daughter told me that about 20 kids had to be taken out sobbing in the early stages of the exam.

Awful process.

It worked for my daughter but she is so laid back she's horizontal.

I went to WH Smith and bought the Bond Assessment books; and a Parent's guide to the 11+.

I ascertained from that, that it was simply a case of familiarity with the "type" of questions... one of presentation.

We only had 3 weeks really to prepare. She'd had a friend round during the Summer holidays for a sleepover; and the mum said she couldn't stay on the Sunday because she'd got the tutor coming.

She did one "quick" Bond paper Monday, Wednesday and Friday; Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non Verbal reasoning, in those 3 weeks.

The night before I gave her a camomile/lavander bath, massage and allowed her to listen to a new violin CD in bed until she dozed off. Told her that it mattered not one iota whatever the result.

That's about it really.

None of her friends have passed; so now I'm worried about her being on her own at the new school.

47 double chins, that great for your DD. I bet there are a lot of bright children that fall through the net when it comes to sitting the 11+. Less ambitious parents might not enter them once they realise the tutoring and competiveness of some parents, especially if the budget doesn't stretch to paying for help.

Thank goodness our area is fully comp. Ours did CATS in year 7 which I believe are very similar to the 11+ papers. All the children, including my DD, had never done NVR, VR or whatever (someone mnight correct me on this), questions before. DD did brilliantly so would have sailed through 11+ without looking at a paper beforehand.

She is a natural Youcouldhavefooledme......

But she is also the laziest little bugger that you've ever come across.

The 3 tests a week were accompanied by door slamming, tantrums, angst, hysterics like we were asking her to pull her finger nails out etc.etc.etc.....

God help those parents that have the tutors twice weekly if my Daughter's anything to go by.

We've had a choice of all the Grammars in the county on the basis of her results (bar the boys' one obviously).
hool
Further dilemma; but I've sent her to the co-ed one; on the basis that the boys will drive her in the maths/science arena, and

In the hope that she's not like me (private girls' school); and all I did with my education was waste it.

To be serious (sorry) for a moment, I do think that the problem with that site is that someone coming on it looking fo information would get a very skewed view of the 11&divid; system, and how bright your child has to be to pass.

The 11+ system is completely ghastly, iniquitous and unfair - but it's not as bad as it appears over there!

To be not so serious, must be good fun to have a read after your child has passed it.

That, seeker, is true.

People don't want to believe it but, you know, for a lot of the exams, there is really, actually not very much to be done, other than a little familiarisation.