Essex 11+ 2012 - Anyone else doing it?

[piggywigwig]

I was wondering if there's any other MN'ers on the countdown to the 22nd September?
How's everyone feeling? How's everyone's DC's feeling? Does anyone want a hand-holding session, support and even a rant?
I'd love to hear from fellow Essex parents

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

Still nothing. I have chewed my ARMS down to my elbows now. I'm flicking between refreshing my email inbox, brief MN'ing when the stress gets too much, and skulking on the elevenplus forum.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

I don't think much sleep will be had tonight. We are in a fix, and need to know whether to give up on the Grammar completely if he didn't score highly enough, through illness, or if I will need to start building an appeal just in case, or if he has scored highly enough to get in.

All complicated by the fact that if he starts school at 8.45, we may well find that the other 5 in his class have all had their results, and he could be the only one that doesn't know.

And the CSSE office doesn't open until 9am, so he will already be at school when I find out, if I find out on the phone. So he won't know until 3pm, if that is how this plays out.

Grrrrrrrrr.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

Sod this for a game of soldiers. I'm going to bed. Still no email, will be ringing on the dot of 9am along with half of Essex.

Will post when I find out.

[minxthemanx]

what a stupid system! 6.20am, still no results.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

7.24 here and still no results. Someone on the elevenplus forum got theirs at 2.25am though.

[iMum]

I phoned up in the end-he didn't pass :(

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

Just got the results - 337.171. That score has got in either from allocations on 1st March, or the waiting list, in all of the last 4 years.

Extremely proud of my DS1, he was very very ill when he sat the test, and his painkillers wore off just as he started the VR.

If he doesn't get in, we will appeal, but he has been invited to the CRGS open day, so we are over the moon.

Not bad for a boy who was ill on the day, sat the alternate test while still ill, from a Lone Parent family, with no tutoring, and on Free School Meals!!

Can't wait to tell him after school how well he did.

I'm sorry your DC didn't get in, iMum.

[iMum]

Ah its no bad thing-im know hell thrive wherever. Congrats for you too x

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

Were you hoping for CRGS, KEGS or one of the Southend schools? Did he miss by much?

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

Don't forget that if you were hoping for KEGS, and you are in catchment, 80% of the places will now go to IN catchment pupils, which will probably lower the mark needed for IN catchment applications.

[ByTheSea]

I'm beyond annoyed. Cannot get through to CSSE and primary school has received results, but they're addressed personally to the headteacher who did not open the envelope and is out of the office. I also emailed CSSE asking them to resend the email --- nothing. :(

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

I finally got the email at 4.34pm - after the CSSE had closed for the day. So all is not lost, and there have been others since whose emails have turned up.

It seems to be a trickle rather than a flood, mind you.

But someone got theirs after 2am this morning - so you may hear through tonight.

The CSSE has resent all the emails so fingers crossed that you hear soon.

in the meantime!!

[minxthemanx]

I am livid that our school received results in the post this morning, while we parents still hadn't received anything. (I only found out after school, so our Deputy Head kindly showed us our marks.)

DS didn't do very well. Am very as he was scoring 85-90% in tests. Didn't go well on the day, but am disappointed for him. All the kids from our school have fared the same, nobody has high enough standardised score for Chelmsford or Colchester schools. What a nightmare.

[minxthemanx]

I know this is a naff question, but do we ever get to see their papers? We are in disbelief at the scores our DS got - 85%in every practice paper, less than 50% in the exam. (VR) Am staggered. Same for maths - top mathematician in our Year 6 doing Level 6 extension maths in class, scored 19 out of 40 in exam. Something has gone very wrong somewhere........ I am so disappointed for them, and just don't understand how they scored so low. Can we ask to see the papers? Remark?

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

They do tend to drop 10-15% in the exam. Our primary told us to expect that. It seems to have been borne out by my DS1's percentages, though he dropped slightly more because he was still so bloody ill.

He got 48% on the English, he usually gets around 68-70%.

He got 72.5% in Maths, he usually gets 90-93%.

He got 73.75% in VR, he usually gets 85%-ish.

So all things being well, a 10-15% drop sounds about right to me, it's just all things weren't well with DS1.

DS1 sat the alternate sitting on 1st October. He was off school ill from 21st September to 10th October with erythromycin resistant strep throat!

So he dropped more marks than he should have.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

They don't let you see the papers, but I think you can ask for a remark. Usually they only do it for those that have missed out by just a few marks, though.

DS1 did say that the VR was MUCH harder than the previous papers he has done. And that the English was REALLY hard. He found the Maths OK, and was surprised he hadn't scored higher, as Maths is usually his best subject.

He is working at a secure lvl 6, and doing some lvl 7 work now - and STILL only got 29/40!

[ByTheSea]

Finally got DDs. Very disappointing and unlikely to gain a place at ColCHS. She dropped about 30-40% from her practices. Oh well.

[minxthemanx]

Thanks for your replies. Do I assume that their is absolutely NO point in putting CRGS as our first choice on application - DS's standardised score was 281. Does this mean that he has no chance whatsoever of CRGS, or does the new catchment at KEGS means more high scorers from our area will get in there, possibly freeing up a feew more places? Be as blunt as you like, I'm thoroughly disillusioned. Major problems with secondary school choices now!

[minxthemanx]

and i know it should say there not their, too tired and disillusioned to type properly..........

[laluna]

What a nightmare the whole thing has been! The email fiasco
has been just shocking. I got DD's results from school in the end - then the email came at half four. DD is placed in the yellow zone for colchs - our only option. I have no idea of her chances of securing a place which makes an even greater mockery of the whole thing. The csse should be ashamed.

I think we have nothing to lose by putting our selective choices first.

[minxthemanx]

laluna I couldn't agree more. I could have coped better with the disappointing results if i hadn't spent the last 24 hours on a knife edge/not sleeping due to frigging emails that don't come through. Can I ask you what your DD standardised score was to put her in yellow zone? I'm new to all this, and am finding it hideous.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

Ah. I am not 100% certain that I won't have to appeal for CRGS on the basis of DS1's 337.171 score. Even that is more like waiting list territory, or the last two spaces for CRGS.

Basically I am hazarding a guess that my DS1's mark is roughly where the cut off has been for the last few years.

Having seen just HOW high some of the scores have been this year, I'm not at all confident that DS1 will get CRGS offered on 1st March - I think it is far more likely that he will either get in from the waiting list, which could mean waiting as late as mid-end AUGUST to be told he has a place (gulp), or possibly through appealing.

If DS1 doesn't get a place on 1st March, I WILL be appealing.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

I have it on reasonably good authority that approximately an extra 20-ish places will be available at CRGS from pupils that will now apply to KEGS.

Thing is, there seems to be quite a few who have got standardised results in the 390's , which is virtually unheard of, and will almost definitely push up the final mark admitted.

I personally think the old system was better, at least you got a ranking place for each school. This just leaves us all stabbing in the bleeding dark tbh!!

[minxthemanx]

Thanks Couthy, for not laughing hysterically and being kind. I'm just so unsure what to do - our catchment comp is least desirable in the area, the 2 schools I really like are out of our catchment and over-subscribed. The whole thing is a frigging nightmare.