Common entrance scholarship papers

[MGMidget]

Does anyone who's child is doing or has done common entrance know if you are allowed to sit scholarship papers in selected subjects without doing the whole CASE set of exams? i.e. if a child is very good at a particular subject but not really good on every subject and hence could easily do well on a particular scholarship paper? Our DS is only doing CE papers for his next school for setting purposes as he has a place based on entrance exam performance. He is going to do the level 3 maths paper but is very good at science and there is no level 3. The level 2 is easy for him (not meaning to be boastful, it just happens he loves the subject so reads up on it). I thought it might benefit him in being stretched more with the scholarship paper so he is further along when he arrives at his next school as he is treading water at the moment (getting 90% on the practice papers and says he covered all the work and more last year as he was in the top set). They haven't 'set' them for CE as most of his year aren't taking it so there's just one mixed ability CE set.

Usually not because they are sat at different times. Your target school may allow it. But honestly, just relax. It won’t make any difference.

Ds did two CAS and rest CE. However some secondaries set their own Scholarship papers and require a full range.

@LIZS My son will be doing CASE this year. Is it his prep school who will advise to either do the whole set of CASE or just some subjects, or we can ask for such arrangement? Thx

The syllabus can differ between CAS and CE so it may depend if he has covered enough of the work to be worthwhile. Do they routinely enter pupils for it? Is his secondary place conditional on CE grades? It seems rather late to be considering this as CAS is taken in early May.

DS is widely read in science. I would need to check with the teacher if they agree of course but I thought there was no point in trying to have a discussion if it isn't possible to chose to sit CASE papers in one subject only. He has a spikey profile but science is definitely his strong subject. I don't know whether to believe him but he says he knows more than the scholarship pupils on science subjects. He wasn't boasting I just asked him how he was doing in science and said I wondered if he should be sitting the CASE paper in science if it was possible. He doesn't see the point as he can't get a financial scolarship from his future school by sitting one paper. However, as he casually said he knows more than the scholarship pupils on science then if he is right about this he could presumably prepare for it even at this late stage. There hasn't been much discussion with the school about what he's doing in the past year owing to online schooling. That's why I don't know much!

And PS his secondary place isn't conditional on CE grades. They just want to see continued good progress/a good report from the school. It isn't even obligatory for him to sit CE but if he doesn't then he has to do their setting exams in a couple of subjects. The school just decided to put him in the CE group with little discussion with me and by the time I had a chance to discuss it with them they said it was too late to change. So that's where we are!

@LIZS yes, he has been entered for CASE by his current prep school. Given lockdowns no one is sure if it's going to go ahead. They said it would but things might changed. His place is not conditional on sitting scholarship. I thought kids can sit either CASE or CE but never heard of a mixed set of exams, hence I was just curious to learn about such possibility.