13+ common entrance exams - where do we even start with revision?

[originalmavis]

DS is sitting these for next year, and he does need to unslacken his backside on his revision (or lack of).

Does anyone know where to start?

[originalmavis]

We have stacks of that kind of thing (a family of publishers, journos and English grads!). It's always a case of "Ive got copies of that somewhere...'. I've no idea what the 'new classics' are!

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

DS1 is in yr8 and in the middle of 13+ joy at the moment (our household is an ocean of stress calm reflection)

I have loaded up a fair bit of science fiction on to his kindle - things like HG Wells, Jules Verne. They cost pence on the kindle as they are out of copyright. He was getting a bit stuck on war fiction e.g. Boy in the Striped Pyjamas etc. Also some Sherlock Holmes and Oliver Twist.

[KingscoteStaff]

In Year 7 my DS liked:
the Patrick Ness, Knife of Never Letting Go trilogy
Adrien Mole
the 'Young Adult' Terry Pratchetts
Charlie Higson's Young Bond
that blue one that was made into a film about the boy and girl with cancer
original Sherlock Holmes
all the Gerald Durrell books
a white one called (?) My sword hand is singing
all the Louis Sachar books (re-reading)
Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Hitler's Canary (bit of a theme emerging here...)

He did read other stuff that was on his school reading list, but these were the ones that had to be pried out of his hands when I turned his light off.

[originalmavis]

I'm on Amazon actually. He has read his stockpile and I am stealing ideas.

And also being nosey as to what kids actually enjoy rather than what their patents enjoy saying they read ('oh he's just finished reading the bible in Aramaic').

[Gruach]

You are so not asking "out of interest" ...

[originalmavis]

Out of interest - what books are tbe kids enjoying reading? DS read Animal Farm over the hols and loves it, and Mockingbird whick he enjoyed too. Currently working through the hobbits.

[originalmavis]

He has (phew). I think they decide after the entrance exams who is a likely candidate (which seem to have been the hardest ones he sat) then they have an interview and I think they decide on the basis of what they see.

His other offer place has scholarship exams but they are worth about £3 and a stick of gum per year.

He said that they did a Latin CE paper last term for fun and he is currently doing GCSE maths. Our school does seem more relaxed in comparison with others!

[Gruach]

It was definitely for the intellectual challenge here.

At our prep the top set in yr 6 became the scholarship set in yr 7 (with some movement in and out) and they were stretched and pounded and fed the entire literature of the known universe. (I am not sure to what purpose; it seemed ridiculous to hear 12 year old boys dropping The Great Gatsby into conversation.) And of course parents are full of hope. But realistically, when 130 odd boys across the country and from outside it are taking the KS - and there are 14 awards to be had - (don't recall the Winchester figures) there have to be other attractions beyond the remote possibility of a prize.

I do know that accessing and practising scholarship papers out of school was strongly discouraged; the papers from Radley, E and Winchester (plus a few others) formed the meat of year 8.

Being in the scholarship class avoids the immense tedium of CE and means you take your exam earlier (sometimes much earlier) leaving time for trips and tours and whatever else. Once at your new school your scholarship results help with setting and you should generally find yourself in higher sets than children who took CE simply because you've covered far more stuff at a higher level.

OP If your DS has conditional offers which are not dependent on his gaining a scholarship it's really very unlikely that anything will go awry.

[Michaelahpurple]

Flying rainbow - it is all a bit mysterious when I hear that places like Fulham prep et al finish the CE syllabus by summer year 7 and they and Sussex house have their scholarship boys picked out and working on special stuff from to start of year 7. Last year the scholarship results were about as usual - 1 out of the 3 Eton candidates and something like 4/5 westminster but the year before there were about 12 between the two, admittedly a high water. My ds1 is in a scholarship set, which only split out in September (the year is split 50:50 which means by definition that most of them have to be doing it for the intellectual challenge only as there are over 30 of them) and the only complete past papers they've done in anything but maths were the November exams and one science pack this holiday (during it which it emerged they haven't touched electricity or magnetism and this week they are doing forming salts)

I don't know whether everyone else is frantically doing papers in their own time with tutors or if it will all work out in the end - not that my boy is on track to get one, but I don't want him to have a disastrous time of it

Some of it, particularly the French, seems madly ambitious for 12/13 year olds. I am already rather relieved that ds2 is not heading down this route

[flyingrainbow]

Hi hi michaelahpurple,

That's interesting of what you mentioned! But the prep has done such great job in the scholarship front last year...the teachers must know what they are doing, don't they?! Is yours going the CE or the Challenge route?

[originalmavis]

He did do well to get the 2 offers, and we need to choose layer this year which one to sit. One is very good (with scholarship), the one bloody good with fabulous kudos/results.

I know its a great position to be in, but there isn't a plan B if he fails!

[Ohwiseone]

I really wouldn't worry too much at this stage if he's already got a scholarship offer after pre tests. My ds is year 12 now so CE seems a lifetime away! We just let his prep organise all the revision as we trusted them to prepare him fully for the exams. Year 7 seemed a full on learning year and the moment he got into year 8 it was lots of past papers and 2 sets of mocks. He did well and got into his chosen senior with a scholarship and did his GCSE last summer (all A* and yes I'm super proud - sorry for boast)
Good luck to your ds, I'm sure his prep will give him that extra push if they recognise he's slacking a bit

[originalmavis]

He's our first... Can you tell?

[34z67y90]

He's done one term of year 7 - so is one term into the CE syllabus for most subjects. Year 7 is the data dump year and year 8 is the consolidation and revision and exam technique year. Relax and let him enjoy it - year 8 is death by past paper and it all gets quite tedious. It is very unusual for a child to fail CE once they have a conditional offer. He's done the hard part.

[originalmavis]

Maybe I'm being bit premature...

After all the run up to the exams and the relief of getting offers, he seems to have taken his foot off the pedal and entered into the dreaded pre-teen 'can't be bovvered' stage.

I suppose it's also becsuse I could go through subjects with him and answer his questions and now some of its beyond me I just haven't got the time!

[Pepperpot69]

Same here, our prep still working through syllabus for science subjects at least!

[Michaelahpurple]

Gosh. Our prep now in Jan year 8 still hasn't finished all subjects - i think they won't be done on everything until Easter Impressed by those who get done by the end of year 7

[IndridCold]

Agree with PPs who suggest talking to the school to find out exactly what they are doing in class.

My DS spent his whole last year at prep working through past CE papers, increasing in difficulty as the year went on. They also worked through CE scholarship papers, and those drawn up by individual schools. DS once came home and said that his Latin teacher had given them the Eton KS Latin paper to do 'just for shits and giggles'!

We did no revision at home at all except for some maths papers during the Easter holiday (maths being a particular problem).

[LIZS]

Most of y8 will be spent on revision and past papers. Give the boy a break!

[QueenJuggler]

He has a scholarship offer? In which case, stop worrying!

[surreygoldfish]

I agree - talk to the school. My DS did CE last year.... they continue to work through the syllabus in yr 7 with year 8 being lots of papers. I wouldn't panic yet....if he's sitting a scholarship paper early in year 8 the should really gear up to this is the Christmas term of year 8. My DS took it all in his stride.....

[Drinkstoomuchcoffee]

Nobody at a prep school fails common entrance for a school the prep has recommended. The school will prepare him just fine. Let him enjoy his childhood. We have far too many exams.

[KingscoteStaff]

They have probably got another term and a half of CE curriculum to get through. My DS started actually revising content during the summer term of Year 7.

You need to trust the prep to know what it's doing - that's why you picked it!

[originalmavis]

He did get a scholarship offer... Maybe I'm being paranoid!

[Gruach]

Why are you panicking becoming uneasy so early? Presumably you chose the school partly for its record of successfully getting children to their next school?

IME yr 7 is when the hard work kicks in - but if he's clever enough to have passed a pre-test and is taking CE rather than a scholarship exam it's unlikely that you have anything to worry about. They'll probably do nothing but CE papers all of next year until the exam.