Aaagh entrance test!

[londongirl1]

Was wondering what do you make of this? My daughter took the entrance test for a highly academic girl's school and hasn't been accepted. I rang up the headmistress of the school for some feedback and she said she did fine in the maths paper (more than 70%) but was let down by the English (30 something % which is obviously not good). Now my daughter's strength is usually literacy not maths (which she's more average at). So I'm baffled. We did concentrate on practising maths in the run up to the test (and didnt do any literacy), as I was aware she was weaker at it. Now I'm really confused. One option is for her to take the test again in January (I think it would have to be in both English and Maths) and obviously focus on the literacy. But I'm reluctant as it puts DD through yet more tests and she will have to prepare again. Part of me feels that if she hasn't got in this time, then its not the school for her. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice??

I'm not sure children should be in an increadibly academic pushy environment as young as seven, but I would wonder from your dd's results if they had got the right papers for her because of the inverse results. Any application process based on passing a test is going to be skewed towards those who are good at passing exams, and I would be wanting to get hold of a copy of the papers just to understand what might have happened. I wouldn't be worrying about the what next until after you hear from the other school, and then take stock then. After all unless you are unhappy with were she is now you can always change schools at 11+ instead. I went to a London GSTT school, and the girls that had been there from the Junior School were heartily fed up with the place by the time we were 15 or so - and did no better than those of us who came from state primaries (although this was in the day of assisted places, which meant lots of very bright kids went there).