Common Entrance

[SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun]

My eldest has just finished common entrance - hooray! It has been a slog and has taken over much of year 8 with mocks and revision. It has also taught him particular skills like how to write a balanced argument and how to revise.

I am wondering whether or not to go through this twice more or whether to move the younger children at 11. Do you think that common entrance sets kids up at an advantage for GCSE and teaches useful knowledge or wastes a lot of time that could be spent on a wider curriculum with less unnecessary stress?

We don’t live in an area with massive competition for school places and the senior schools we are considering have big intakes in years 7 and 9 so they would end up in the same place either way but would miss getting to the top of prep school with their friends.

It depends. We moved dd at 11 to avoid it as it gave her more options to choose from later on. Ds on the other hand had benefitted in that he had more advanced french and latin by 13 and did well enough all round to get a scholarship. Tbh locally CE is becoming less relevant with more secondaries offering deferred 13+ entry or pretesting. In fact the prep dc attended has dropped it.

If they were going to go through the scholarship stream, I'd stick with 13+, otherwise I'd go for 11+ all other things being equal.

DC1 was in the scholarship stream and hugely enjoyed the challenge, being a big fish in a small pond etc.
DC2 wasn't academic scholarship material and we felt they'd had enough of practice papers/mock exams for a while, so we went for 11+. We did discover that in our area of London competition for 11+ places is much fiercer than at 13+, but it all worked out in the end and we're so relieved to be out of the prep school / CE scenario.

I might be talking crap but from listening to a few friends who DC’s changed schools at the end of yr 6 so sat some sort of 11+ entrance exam they didn’t seem to learn an MFL from such a young age or as thoroughly as those who are aspiring to top grades in CE, my DS did 4 French lessons a week from yr 2, they also didn’t learn Latin from yr 4 2-3 lessons a week and I personally think that Latin can provide a very solid foundation for learning an MFL my DS is a good linguist but he is brilliant at Latin and he says the rigour required learning the Latin grammar has helped him with learning now four MFLs. Secondly most good traditional preps preparing their pupils for CE will use specialised teachers for all subject from at least yr 4 I think this can be beneficial. There may also be a case for saying that it forces preps that prepare for it to offer a broader curriculum from an early age. I don’t know if it’s aids in the preparation for GCSE’s but my DS2 cruised into his and did very well despite minimal (at best) work maybe preparing for CE equivilant (in his case) was useful.
Having said this as many schools now pre test in yr 6 and offer a conditional place for yr 9 and are assuming your going to get the required mark at CE and very few don’t pass you could argue that CE is just another slightly pointless hoop to jump through.

I would move your DCs at the 11+. Why would you put them through stressful exams in y8 when they are pointless? I moved my DS at 11 and it meant he had a stress free time in y7 and y8. We then avoided any major stress until GCSE and he got similar results to boys who had done CE.

I think it’s an interesting question about staying to the “top of prep with their friends” .
Are your children happy there? Are you happy with the school? How many leave at the end of yr 6? Do most stay till the end of yr 8? Will your DCs have more opportunities at the secondary school? Preps can seem very small petty and stifling for some 13 year olds. Some would rather be a small fish in a big pond others vice versa. Importantly what do your DCs want to do? Have they always assumed they will stay till the end of year 8? Are they likely to become captain of the tiddly winks club in yr 8 at prep and will be disappointed to miss out on this lofty position?
I’d also ask myself:
Are there changes in the pipeline e.g. a new head? Is the prep cheaper than the secondary? If yes is that important to you? Can you logistically have children at two schools for the next few years or will lots of dates clash (a surprising number do IME).

We’ve done both and I would move at 11without a doubt with hindsight.
CE takes up a year of work for the exam (and then the last half term now of no work at all!) when they could be studying ‘normally’ instead.

Thank you for your suggestions. I suppose we don’t have a clear idea of the alternative but I think less stress at this age would be good.

They could stay in the prep school with specialist teachers until the end of year 6 and miss the pressurised environment of the whole year group being taught to an exam to get into senior school.

A scholarship stream sounds great but just does not exist where we are.

Lots of good points to consider HappyGardening. Bigfathairyones - that is what I am realising although I am hoping that the post CE experiences will be amazing and beneficial.

I think 1/2 a term of doing nothing is fine, lots of time to just unwind and have just have fun with your friends, (we've got our whole lives to flog ourselves) and not really that long as most preps finish at the beginning of July I personally wouldn't let that influence my decision.

At DS's prep (which I wouldn't rate very highly TBH) they didn't just cram for CE they do a production, voluntary work, had responsibilities (it was boarding) etc. Some enjoy the opportunities etc in a familiar environment.

Having done both I would move at 11+. In prep school they spend a lot of time on mocks and exam practice. When my DS moved at 13+ despite being bright he found himself behind at his new school particularly in Maths and French where they had covered so much more of the curriculum. If you move to a senior school in Yr 7 you get time to enjoy the facilities and senior school life before hard work of Yr 9 onwards.

Good luck!

My son just finished and passed CE. He was at the bottom of the year academically at the beginning of yr 7 so had he gone to senior school for yr 7 he would have been at a different school to the one he is going to now. He has grown up and matured so much in the last 2 years and prep school have done an outstanding job of helping and supporting him. He is now off to a top public school with great grades and an excellent attitude to learning.

CE is a great start to the GCSE journey. Exams are tough and stressful and at 13 he is ready for the challenge!!

DS really enjoyed being a prefect in yr8 and house captain. He loeved his weekly responsibilities and just being in the ‘oldest’ year group. For DS this was an opportunity that otherwise might not present at senior school where there is a much bigger pool to choose from. He is not a natural sportsman nor an Alpha leader type, so yrs 7 & 8 were great for him in that respect. There were also endless parties towards the end when everything was relaxed. Some parents turned their dcs 13th bday into ‘goodbye discos’, there was the school formal dinner with headmaster, then school final leaving disco, there was in even Bar mit Vah thrown in for good measure.

Speech day was glorious with lots of leavers tears, group photos etc. We’re really glad DS stayed on, he matured well and we felt very confident that he had done his time now ready for senior school. He has settled in brilliantly.

I moved DD at 11 ; this is the more frequent pathway around here for girls. Despite that she said later that she would have preferred to stay until 13 and to be top of the school/ a prefect etc.
DS1 moved at 11 which was a mistake. He was still rather immature and would have benefitted from2 more years and from knuckling down a bit in the nurturing atmosphere of the prep.
DS3 stayed until 13, it was right v for him.

You guys obviously have experience of the CE. In the years leading up to this. How do you know whether your child is ' ontrack' e.g. at age 8, 10, 12?

And looking at CE past papers it looks like a v. high standard for age 13 (more like GCSE). Is it a nightmare? Would my daughter ever reach the level if she remains in 11+ school without having the CE training?

I think the exams would be very hard if your dc were not at a prep school. The syllabus is quite specific in the humanities subjects and the history and RS questions need answering in a specific way. There has been a lot of exam paper practice in school time in year 8. The content is much more than an end of year exam would be in year 8.

Re being on track - it depends on the senior school. They mark the papers and have different pass marks. If your dc was at a prep school you should be able get get advice about how they might do in CE in a few years time.

Dc school did pips and cats in the preceding years from age 7. That identified potential which was plotted against attainment scores to see what level of secondary to aim for. Some subjects are taught to relatively high level but only the Scholars really achieve a level comparable to gcse. Ds did not really need to make much further progress in French for example, although the gcse syllabus has become more rigorous since. Much of the CE content differs to gcse anyway and prep schools may not have the same breadth of curriculum or facilities as secondaries. There is no pass/fail in CE.

There is a pass fail! The school that is marking the paper usually has an expected standard that the child has to reach. If they don't they lose their place!!

Why would your child sit CE if not at prep school?? It's an end of prep school exam. If you are applying for 13+ from state school they do different assessments.

But there is no definitive % required to pass. Each school marks their applicants' papers and has its own benchmark for entry. In the preceding years parents are guided as to which school to apply to to have the highest likelihood of meeting the entry standard and even then there is often leeway, especially if there are pretests or entrance exams to refer to. Very few children are left looking for alternative places after CE.