Should I give up on putting dc in for a selective secondary?

[rosespetal]

Cat scores are in and verbal reasoning came out as average- higher average. Was fairly shocked and had expected better and now questioning if I'm one of those parents.
Should I still try for selective or would it be better to give up now.

I'm not sure how much to invest in tutors for the exams etc if my dc is average! So far no tuition but we were about to start (year 4) I know some dc have already had tutors for years and maybe we have missed a chance there.

Dc is ahead in classes for things like English and maths and is in top sets for those but the verbal reasoning which I think is one of the most important tests came out quite badly.

DD scored in the low 90s in her Year 5 CAT NVR.

After 12 sessions with a tutor, she scored 141 (highest score possible) in her 11+.

I laugh when I hear you can’t be coached for the 11+.

Her VR wasn’t stellar either (round the 100 mark). Again, 141.

She needed up with As, and is currently in her third year at a RG university.

You are definitely not too late if currently in Y4. These tests can absolutely be prepped for. How selective are the schools you have in mind?

Thank you I am a coached selective dc and absolutely did fine at school. I have kind of left dc to it and was planning for last minute prep so this and next year intensive go for it as actually I think that's better for my dc. But I didn't realise we'd get a cat score so early in this year.

I definitely know you can be coached up as I am one such person who went through this process and was absolutely fine once I was in the selective school however I imagine there was less competition for my generation.
It's so reassuring to hear there's hope. My dc is doing very well at school but this has set me back in my thoughts ! I do think selective would suit my dc because when they're pushed they thrive if they're left to themselves they've worked out they can do less work!

Hope you don’t mind me butting in to the thread! I’ve been pondering on whether it is worth trying to maximise CAT scores to get into a more selective school or if that would just make them struggle to keep up with their peers? Or have all their peers been maximising their CAT scores too so actually they’d end up in a cohort with similar natural ability?! So it’s good to hear from some people who have been through the experience, and it sounds like they’d probably be fine?

You've got nearly 2 years, that's loads of time!

We started tutoring at the beginning of year 5 and I felt a bit disheartened at her initial scores in practice papers. She has always been greater depth/exceeding expectations at school so it was a bit of a shock to see she was achieving below 50% in maths to begin with and only around 60% in English.

She gradually improved over the year and did very well in the actual exam and is comfortably in to her first choice.

If your instincts tell you that you've got a bright child then go for it.

Selective grammars where I live. The tutors we used only tutor year 5, they won't take younger. It was quite an intensive but very well taught set up. ,90 minutes a week, 30 mins on English, Maths and VR. They had a very high success rate to get into the grammars but they would advise parents if they thought the child wouldn't make the score required.
Tutoring for longer might be helpful if school isn't great, VR was the real gap for us and maths was poorly taught at DD's primary. Lots of tutoring doesn't always mean they'll get in though. I know kids who did very little, maybe just past papers, and got in and some kids who were tutored for years and didn't.
I'd say many of the kids at grammar are fast learners - not necessarily in all subjects - but are curious and able to keep up with a fairly pacy level of teaching.
Not every kid at grammar is a genius, but most are above average and most are quite hard working (not all!)

@lawofdistraction

You've got nearly 2 years, that's loads of time!

We started tutoring at the beginning of year 5 and I felt a bit disheartened at her initial scores in practice papers. She has always been greater depth/exceeding expectations at school so it was a bit of a shock to see she was achieving below 50% in maths to begin with and only around 60% in English.

She gradually improved over the year and did very well in the actual exam and is comfortably in to her first choice.

If your instincts tell you that you've got a bright child then go for it.

We had a similar experience. Not really sure if DD was up to the required standard, pretty dismal results in first set of tests at the tutors (maths was abysmal) but she was outstanding at English and picking VR up quickly. But she improved really quickly and in the end her 11+ score put her in the top 10% which was a pleasant surprise.

Thanks. I wasn't expecting a cat test so early in year 4 so we were ill prepared and actually already have a tutor booked in for summer next year because the tutors we spoke to said to wait until next year to start.
I was happy to agree to wait because I believe my dc will be fine by the actual test dates but this result has made me a lot less complacent and I did wonder if I'm wasting my time. I think I will get a tutor in now just in case because I do think dc will be fine if they manage to get through these tests.