Common Entrance

[soda1234]

Has anyone else got a child starting CE tomorrow? Anyone want to hand hold etc?

Not this year, but good luck to you and your ds

Have been through this 3 and 5 years ago. It is not easy for the parent, but the boys are usually absolutely fine. They will be well prepared for it, and it is very unusual not to pass.

So far so good! Biology, maths, english and history yesterday.Chemistry, english, maths and french today. He's very laid back about it (went and played cricket for 2hrs last night)and, therefore so am I. You are right MmeTB, they are well prepared (by the way it's a coed prep, so not just boys!).Will all be over by Thursday lunchtime, then fun day out on Fri and leaving for a week away on Sunday.
Thanks for your answers.

Would love to ring the school with my son's papers and ask if he has passed but have to wait until next Thursday. If you get a call from the Head, Mon-Wed they havent passed for that school. Had a dream that he didnt last night and that he was the only one....Got to pull myself together. He tried his absolute best I know. I presume that the papers are exactly the same across the country. English Paper 1 was hard this year I believe.

Good luck! Odd arrangement that the head calls you if you haven't got in - brave of them!
we will go thru' this next year, and judging by my son't performance this week in his history exam am not looking forward to it...

Good luck, my friend's boy sat his and passed but my friend says if the school is doing it's job they won't let your boy sit for a school he can't get into, they take great pride in the boys getting into the schools they choose.

But, yes, it's an agonising time!

My son is in year 3 at the moment so this is a few years ahead for us.

I'm feeling nervous already, though, especially as we will soon have to start thinking about what senior schools to put him down for.

According to his teacher, he is bright but not very motivated at the moment. Has done OK on the exams he did this year, but she knows he has the potential to do much better. She is pretty laid back about it, she feels he will come round in his own time.

However, I am so worried that he will still have the same attitude to studying when he comes to Common Entrance as he does now - that it is an irritating interruption to his sport!

I am sure the school your son goes to is a good one, consequently in the last year there is a real push to practise and practise for the CE. By the end of it you are just relieved it is the real thing....

I think you are right, no school will put boys forward for the CE to the wrong school, it reflects badly on them... Our Head was pushed and pushed by a couple of parents to get their son into Eton last year. He told them it wasnt the right school for them and when the boys didnt pass the parents blamed him for not teaching them properly!!

I agree on the point about taking notice of the school's advice about suitable senior schools.

My son's pre-prep always gave good advice on suitable prep schools for the boys, and all those who took notice of their advice were offered a place for their DS's first choice school. There were of course a few who decided to ignore the advice, put their DS's forward for schools they were told were too academic for them, were not offered a place, then the parents promptly started spreading stories about poor teaching etc.

Rocky - yes, they are already doing lots of exam practice even now. The school's ethos is they get the boys used to exams right from the start so that when they come to the big ones they just take it in their stride. DS certainly does not get stressed by them - he is so laid back about it he is almost horizontal!

We are waiting for results too - ds is looking forward to new boys' day at his next school, so I hope he passes!

Does anyone know what happens if they don't pass after all - is there any room for negotiation with the senior school (I have not allowed myself to consider this as a possibility, so have not asked the Head of his current school)?

I understand that a good Head of a prep school will weave his magic, if only failed by a couple of percentage points it is very likely he will get in (and especially if the Head has recommended that school!)

Also believe that they will take in account summer birthdays especially with boys. Apparently the most acamedic schools have a large majority of children who have Sept-Dec birthdays - cant think why!

I would definitely be in to see the Head if my son hadnt passed to discuss the next stage. I guess it depends on the school, no school wants a spare place this late in the year to fill. Most of us will have committed to our senior school and at the very least would have to pay the first term's school fees if we changed our minds. The only exceptions are prehaps the Eton, Harrow, Charterhouse, Radly type of school which will be able to fill places even at the very last moment..

Thanks Rocky12 - I'm hoping that there's no magic to be woven. We'll see in a couple of days...

That's interesting about Eton Rocky because a boy cannot sit common entrance there unless he sat the pre-test two years before and was given a conditional place. So Eton must have made the mistake in offering him a place two years ago if the Head felt he wouldn't pass CE.

All over,and off to Wales camping yesterday. He was v v laid back about the whole thing, but apparently the poem in Eng 1 was a bugger.
Agree with Rocky, would be v surprised if any don't make it into their chosen senior school, the majority (maybe all)have taken "pre-tests". I really do think that common entrance serves little purpose and is probably on it's way out!

Some parents go into my son's prep school on Thurs. morning to open up the results with their children. I can't do this because of work. Is this common practice? It seems to make it even more nerve-wracking to have your Mum with you!

I understand that if you havent passed you will be told before Thursday...Apparently the Head will find you a school that will take you before Thursday so that you all know where you are going. Really dont want to consider a school that we havent even looked at just because they have a space. I would rather keep my son back a year although no one seems to do this at this late stage.

I've heard that, too. Every time the phone rings I jump (though we have been given no reason to worry about our choice of school and our son's likely performance--but there's no accounting for thirteen-year-old boys and their ability to switch off).

abr1de I've never heard of going into school to open results with boys. I'm in a different country to my ds so couldn't anyway (though I'm going back this week to surprise him for Sports Day).

Oh my goodness, I have this all to come.... My son moves into year 7 this Sept and starts CE work. His school have already identified the schools they think he will excel in and we've chosen the one we love together. I can see that I am going to be spending the next 2 years pulling my hair out as DS is also so relaxed about exams...
His revision for his summer history exam? watching horrible histories on tv!!

Good luck to everyone's DC's who have just done CE and hope everyone gets their chosen school

We haven't had 'the call' so far and I'm guessing we're nearly in the clear.

Horrible Histories (books and TV) are excellent! Especially for boys. I have to say my son adored history in Year 8: all those battles.

Being relaxed about exams is just fine if you're only 11 or so. Plenty of time to crank them up before it becomes crucial.

We had a letter from proposed senior school welcoming us (but not saying that DS had passed.) I called the House Master and he said he has jumped the gun a little and should have waited until the results were formally out. He said he didnt know whether he had passed or not (my DH thinks he is fibbing!)but honestly but a rollercoaster.

The letter was really thin and sent recorded delivery so I thought it was a rejection letter......

I am currently waiting by the phone for daughter to call from school with CE results. I have a feeling the headmaster is relishing all the suspense and will keep them guessing until the last moment. 12 candidates at our school, but only 3 girls. This is awful, I have SO much to do today. aaaarrrrgggghhh!!!

We have had ours. A very mixed bag: three As, two Bs, one C, and two Ds.

How can the same child get such polarised results! He's going to a very selective school but I presume we're in as we haven't heard to the contrary. One of the Ds was in English, too. The other was in Geography, where he's been very strong.

How selective is the school abr1de as the ones we are looking at expect 70% (A's I think) in all subjects at CE?

Well, his place has been confirmed and we've been told he was comfortably in, despite the two rogue results. It's a selective academic school, with a pre-test in year 7. But grades and pass marks vary from school to school, I'm told.