How do you decide whether to bother with 11+

[Monvelo]

I live in a grammar-ish area. There are 3 grammar schools accessible by bus, 9-13 miles away. They are very competitive, 3-5 applicants per place. How do you decide whether to try or not? What were the signs you would look for? Our primary school doesn't advise on this.

I don't mind giving more info on my DC but I'm equally interested to know more generally what others would consider as signs a child could go for grammar.

I don't think distance is a criteria, I think kids come from all over the country eg Pate's.

@Monvelo - that sounds superselective and very competitive.
And your DD sounds dual-exceptional. I would look into all the different ways of getting her assessed properly.
Sometimes dyslexics are outstanding at non verbal reasoning. Is the test heavily focussed on non verbal? Like there is a grammar in South East London for girls that only assesses for non verbal and verbal reasoning so for that kind of test, a high IQ but dyslexic child could be absolutely fine.

Our DC were reading in reception, adored books and had quite eclectic/sophiscated tastes. They were also excellent at maths and both are natural linguists and musical. DS v sporty and not a happy mathematician, DD not sporty but as musical and into drama.

We didn't feel the local grammars were right for them so chose the selective independent route. Both flew into very competitive schools without tutoring. It was a no-brainer.

One went to Oxford, one to Cambridge. One has a PhD and is an academic, the other is a secondary school teacher and doing very well. It was crystal clear they were very bright as toddlers.

I think a child needs to be on top table and in the top three consistently, at least for the SW London grammars where the bar is high. The same for Kings, St Paul's, Westminster, LEH, etc. Unless of course the cohort is exceptionally bright. Of the 30 DC in DD's primary year, 12 went to Oxford Cambridge or medical school! It was a freak class!

I am new to the English school system and wondered how we would know if 11+ was a good idea when my daughter reaches that age.

I think she is bright, but don’t all parents think their children are? Her grandparents do as well but they too are biased. We have only had one school year and she had a nice report but I think all school reports are nice now. I don’t know how to read between the lines.

She seems to enjoy challenging herself in several areas. She had no trouble meeting expectations in reception.

We have a lot of time before we have to make any decisions so maybe we will have more feedback from her teachers over the next few years.

Surely you must know if your child is clever at her school work or not. If she struggles she obviously won't pass. If she's clever then giver her a shot. Of course you know.

@ineedtogwtoutbeforeitatoohot I know my eldest is intelligent, but her being dyslexic makes it quite tricky to judge actually. For example her spelling is crackers and that affects my ability to understand her written work. But school say she's meeting expectations for English and greater depth for content and vocabulary. So yes I'm asking what you would think it's an obvious question! I've had some good suggestions on this thread.

just do some calculation, to get the % of students admitted in grammar vs total number of applicants each year. For example, there are 6000 year 6 sitting in the county for 11+ but the number of place in grammar is just 1500, so assume only top 25% can get in. And you roughly aware your kid is belongs that top 25% or not, if you are not sure, tell the teacher your intension and they will have some hints.

Sorry, I haven't been on MN for a few days! CATs were set by the primary as a precursor to the 11+ to ultimately temper expectations of parents and kids alike. It was very helpful (as you say dyslexia can make it hard to understand if kids fully grasp the concepts in written work) and I'd recommend it to anyone in a similar position, although they did them fairly close to the 11+ (1 month before) so there wouldn't be much time to tutor if that is the plan. A few parent decided not to sit the tests at all after that and some, like us, decided to take them when we're wouldn't have before.

As with the pp, dd was very high in non verbal and I do think this is an area dyslexic excel in. She is loving computer science as a subject for that reason I suspect - it all makes sense to her. She scored highly in the maths part of the 11+ but trying to get extra time for dyslexia isn't accessible to most (I don't know anyone who has managed to "prove they need it, even those with yellow overlay sheets) which means a lot of dyslexics can't process the English papers quickly enough to pass. Now she has support she is as good at English as Maths (both level 8 so far!).

Ask the DC.
DS was brighter than average, but not amazing. I didn't think he would pass, especially as we were not going to tutor him. He wanted to take it, so he did and had great fun, they got drinks and snacks and everyone was very nice to them.
He didn't pass. Only two people passed in his school, both girls. He thought it was really funny that so few passed from his school. Went off to the normal school with all his mates and never thought of it again as far as I can tell.

If you’ve got a bright child then why not. I’ve got two children and one passed the 11+ without tuition and my other child couldn’t pass the test in a million years so that wasn’t an option.

Most people have a good idea where their child is academically via teachers comments etc…I guess the thing to bear in mind is that the 11+ isn’t something most children will pass so there is no shame if they don’t. It’s meant to be for the top 20% or so academically so it will be hard.

I knew a child who’s parent went on and on about her sitting the 11+ and the poor girl didn’t pass and felt like she’d failed. I think that Mam was misguided at best as it was clear that her child struggled at school in general. I wondered why she’d put her child through it when it was clear that it would be too difficult.