The Trinity-Whitgift-Dulwich-Alleyns 10+/11+ thread 2015

[Firefox1066]

I thought I would take the plunge and start early the 2015 T/W/DC/A 10+/11+ thread that has become an annual staple MN!

This thread has been inspired by the likes of (among others) Ladymuck, Seeline, SoupDragon et al, who have been an amazing resources to people like me in previous years' threads.

Although T & W tend to dominate, I have also included DC and Alleyns as I know a lot of parents these days have DC's sitting for some/all of them.

I hope this thread will continue in the spirit of previous years' thread, with the support, hand-holding and knowledge that has been the hallmark of MN generally but this thread in particular.

Let the fun begin....

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So...less than two weeks left! Hows is everybody feeling? We have spent the Xmas period doing 3 exam papers a day (1 each for Maths, English and VR). DS's Essays are really getting better, his VR has come on leaps and bounds, but his Maths (at which he is exceptional) has really regressed under time pressure! Rather than dent his confidence and obsess about marks at this late juncture, I have simply been getting DS to focus on improving his speed,without compromising his accuracy too much.

Anyway, roll on 8th and 10th Jan..cant wait until its all out of the way!

For those who have already been through the process, anybody know how many questions in the VR paper? Also, how did DC's find it time wise? As time pressured as grammars or not as bad?

Feeling rather wobbly after your post Firefox! Have had time off over Christmas and tried some today, which went ok but not brilliant... We have not done exam papers, just questions every day as I think this method works better with DS but will have to try an exam paper so he can get the feel of it.

Will be glad when it's Saturday 10th Jan!!

Wow, well we were doing nothing like this amount of practice and although DS was neither 'exceptional' or 'coming on leaps and bounds' at this point he still got in if it's any consolation!!

I'm expecting 10+ to be even more competitive this year. Anecdotally, I know more parents trying at 10+ this year than I have in other years.

does anyone think there is any value in hiring a tutor for the last week or so before DS goes up to DC. I feel we are far behind on the revision side f things and by the time schools starts it will be too late..not sure what to do..any advice much welcome! Ax

Antonellauk I would say it depends on what it is you believe the tutor can achieve do that you cant. If its for teaching exam technique, quirks of the Dulwich exam structure, Dulwich question types, VR shortcuts etc, then it may well be worth it...if not, I'd question how useful a tutor could be at this stage.

Firefox1066 yes i suppose the tutor would be more for exam technique but i think more broadly it would be also to get DS in the right mindset...he seems very uninterested by the whole thing which i suppose is natural to a degree given that he is only 11...but yes i thought a tutor would just in addition to the revision, give DS some sense of discipline and structure in his studies over the next few weeks...

Isn't the exam for DC on next Monday? A tutor who is familiar with DC may help, though they also haven't got long to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of your ds. They're quite strict on showing workings IIRC

Crikey, we did nothing like three papers a day!

Am beginning to think I'm not going to be much use on this thread - the only thing I can remember about the exam day was that I was far more nervous than ds, and that he thought the lunch was great

Fwiw (for those of you feeling a bit wobbly) ds came from a state primary and, although bright, is certainly not exceptional. He sailed through the exam, really enjoyed the whole day, and achieved high marks. Am absolutely sure it will be ok for all of your lovely dses too!

Certainly no need for anybody to feel wobbly on my lazy DS's account! He's been doing so many papers due to his propensity to daydream during exams and work as slow as a tortoise!

Anyway...DS's Maths scores were getting worse and worse, so I decided to give him a few days off. No past questions papers, no VR...just lots of computer family time.

Appears to have worked as he's bright and alert this morning. I think sometimes our neurosis makes us we forget that they are just 9 or 10 years old!

I agree completely, firefox. They are so little and it's easy to forget that when we get all bound up in this process. I'm not sure that I could've walked into a huge new school and sat three exams with hundreds of total strangers - all at the age of 9.5 - as ds did!

I'm with Paleview - my DS did hardly any papers - certainly not times ones. He did a few to get the hang of the type of questions, but I don't think we did much over Christmas for 10+. He came from a state primary so no practice in school.

Nervously watching this thread as Trinity our last best option after not managing the grammars. We want a full fee place but ds has really not done enough. He is bright though-5 marks off passing Wilsons.

This whole process has been awful.

Usually the minimum requirement for T & W is below the grammars, so he probably isn't that far off. It is worth going over VR techniques over the next few days as both schools seem to put a lot of value on a good VR score as an indicator of academic potential if either of the other papers is more borderline.

Agree, it isn't exactly a fun process. The timing of the exams is hard on the boys (and their families) I think.

Interesting that you say that Ladymuck..I have a nephew who is a music scholar at T in Year 9. He swears blind that there was no VR at either T or W when he did the 11+ a couple of years ago. Do you know if it's a relatively new thing? Also, anybody remember how many VR questions there were in the hour?

omnishambles If your DS only just missed Wilsons, then he definitely is in the ball park for T & W

Certainly if your nephew is in year 9, then I'm afraid that he definitely sat a VR exam. Can't remember offhand whether it was 50 or 60 questions, but if you have practised the GL 50 minute papers then you won't be stuck for time.

The only recent change is that I believe that Trinity will be more upfront about whether you are interviewing for a scholarship or not, similar to Alleyn's approach. Up until this year you only knew at the event whether it was a scholarship interview or not (by being invited to the Head's office for a chat), but they are extending the scholarship interviews to an hour, so it will be clear at the time of arranging the interview.

Thanks Ladymuck fantastic info as ever! As I said upthread, DS is accurate but slow, so speed has been our focus. We have been doing the GL 50 min papers but DS hasnt yet managed to do the full 85 questions in 50 mins (thank God we arent doing the grammars as DS would have no chance!).

One thing I am hoping this year is that the process of "thanks but no thanks" letter and interview invites is much slicker from both schools. Reading previous years threads, its pretty harrowing what some parents and DS's have been put through.

Thanks Ladymuck. Thankfully his VR is ok, not Tiffin standard but he did a school paper today and did well. His English is what lets him down, hence the failure at the grammars.

He can also completely balls up exam timings if the mood takes him.

I dont have a plan D so [shrugs]

I would say that at 10+ whitgift took some very surprising boys this year. Eyebrow raising.

omnishambles when you say "surprising" that's a euphemism for...?

Did they take in a huge cohort of brainboxs or something?

Er no. It was a very mixed bag imo. Interesting though.

Omnishambles, I have to ask, in a good way or not so good?