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Original poster

Guess the age of the child that wrote this

157 replies

Cortina · 01/06/2011 10:54

My niece wrote this at school. What would you gauge her 'writing age' to be from this ( admittedly isolated) example?:

With a good ten minutes to spare I settled myself down in a corner seat on a train to London, and for a time it looked as if my only companion was to be an old lady. Then, almost at the last moment, a man and a girl hurried up the platform. The man pushed the girl into the carriage and threw her case in just after her. "Only just in time!" He said angrily. "And now, don't lose this one!" Besides a flush and tightly pressed lips the girl took no notice, leaving the ticket where he flung it in her lap. The man said a cold goodbye and walked off. The girl didn't look at him as the train drew off from the station.

OP posts:
missmiss · 01/06/2011 12:08

Agree with whoever said a girl who's read a lot of old-fashioned children's literature. Sounds like something I would have written at 9 or 19, when I was in my Wolves of Willoughby Chase phase :D

missmiss · 01/06/2011 12:09

Er, 10, not 19. Or maybe not.

coastgirl · 01/06/2011 12:11

I always have at least one year 7 who can write like that. If they read a lot and enjoy writing it's very achievable for an 11-year-old.

Katisha · 01/06/2011 12:12

Well if the OP isn't going to come back, shall we write the next bit?

cornsilks · 01/06/2011 12:12

pmsl at the poster who said she could write like that at 9/10...get thee to gifted and talented.

pickledsiblings · 01/06/2011 12:13

9/10

Meita · 01/06/2011 12:13

Oh I can imagine other scenarios than the OP wanting to brag with her DNieces writing. Perhaps her DNiece was told by her teacher that she is totally behind, not up to scratch, needs to work on her writing, has no chance of achieving anything in life? And OP wants to reassure her that she's just fine... Now you lot come along and say 'oh any 8yo could have written that' just making OPs niece who might be 12 feel worse and sabotaging OPs wish to support her confidence.
I think if you are going to reply to the OPs question at all, you might as well say what you really think, without inventing any ulterior motives that might or might not be true...

Sorry OP as to your question, I have no idea. Sounds pretty sophisticated to me but I don't know at what age you'd expect school kids to write like this. All I can say is that many of my university students' essays are written less eloquently.

BelovedCunt · 01/06/2011 12:15

'i looked more closely and realised the 'girl' was infact Janette Tough, of krankies fame. she looked up and snarled 'what the fuck do you want you precocious brat.'

Original poster
Cortina · 01/06/2011 12:15

She's 11, bottom set for english in her Comp, which I think I might question? That's what I'm driving at. I've got an old exercise book that was left here and it's all good work (I think). Certainly seeing some potential. Quite a strange, slightly stilted, old-fashioned feeling about it but generally well written. The other english work looks to be very good.

Another example: She broke off and looked at Johnny. Her fine face was clouded and tears stood in her eyes at the recollection of her childish suffering. Johnny looked away...

OP posts:
BelovedCunt · 01/06/2011 12:16

janette proceed to light a cigarette with a lighter fashioned in the shape of the Eiffel tower

DooinMeCleanin · 01/06/2011 12:16

I would guess 12-14. It's very advanced for a 9 year old. I wonder if those posters saying 9 have ever actually owned a 9 year old Hmm

I have an almost 8 year old who is deemed as being very bright in |English and her stories are all still about princesses and puppies Grin

suzikettles · 01/06/2011 12:17

Seriously, I wrote like this when I was in mid to late primary school (not all the time obv but when I was doing my "best").

Like missmiss, I was heavily influenced by Leon Garfield, Joan Aiken, a bookcase full of school stories from my mum's childhood. I used phrases that would have never found their way into my everyday speech or writing.

(I was a very early reader and fairly precocious writer. Now I can barely string a sentence together Hmm)

suzikettles · 01/06/2011 12:19

Oh, ok. Well I think bottom set sounds very dubious.

BelovedCunt · 01/06/2011 12:21

if all her writing is like this, it might be setting the teachers teeth on edge. but yes it seems a shame she is in the bottom set unless it is a posho public school and all the girls are fabulous

silverfrog · 01/06/2011 12:21

bottom set does sound odd.

but I supose it is possible that all the other children are producing similar, and abetter work...

maybe the teacher thinks she is "borrowing" (I don't mean plagiarism!) too heavily from books she is reading, and what she produces of her own, in her "own" style is not as good?

what does your brother/sister think?

ChessyEvans · 01/06/2011 12:22

OP I wonder if there is any concern over the work not being original - it sounds very old fashioned which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't sound as though an 11 year old would think or write in this style without heavy reliance on books she has read? Are there any comments from teachers in the books that help explain their concerns with her? It does seem strange to me that she would be bottom set with that vocab, punctuation etc. School reports etc may shed more light though?

DuelingFanjo · 01/06/2011 12:25

I agree with chestyevans and Hugofirst.

Mabelface · 01/06/2011 12:25

They'll be starting to do tests after half term anyway if it's a state school, so she may find herself moved up once she goes into Year 8.

pozzled · 01/06/2011 12:25

Cortina What you won't see by looking through an old exercise book, is the amount of teacher input that went into the work. See my earlier post- producing this work at the end of a three-week unit is very different from producing it independently having just been given a brief outline of the task.

That said, it does sound quite sophisticated for an 11 year-old bottom set child. If her parents are concerned that she's in the wrong set I'd encourage them to ask her to do some independent writing and compare this with the exercise book. And of course speak to the teacher about why she's in the bottom set and how they can help.

missmiss · 01/06/2011 12:31

Cornsilks - not bragging, I was a precocious reader and writer but distinctly average in other ways and very socially inept; I'd much rather have been crap at writing and good at making friends!

Suzikettles - are you a Smith fan? I loved that book!

LoopyLoopsBettyBoops · 01/06/2011 12:36

Setting in English won't simply be down to story writing. Probably it will have been based on her SATS. Did she perform badly in them?

Original poster
Cortina · 01/06/2011 12:37

I don't have children of this age, hence the question. It's a comp not a private school to whoever asked. Thanks, will flag with sister. Much of the work has been done in school (I think) it's not homework. Niece is a big reader, that much I do know, and yes she reads my sister's books from childhood (which she got from our mother)! Some of it does sound slightly snooty (because it's dated) I can imagine this might grate! Some of it is unintentionally hilarious but I think I spot something here which should definitely be encouraged.

OP posts:
suzikettles · 01/06/2011 12:42

yy to Smith!

Also Devil in the Fog and Dead Ned.

snorkie · 01/06/2011 13:00

"but I think I spot something here which should definitely be encouraged"

not an innate talent surely? Wink

squidgy12 · 01/06/2011 13:03

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