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Original poster

Its probably frowned upon on here but can we have an 11+ support thread please?

18 replies

LunchpackOfNotreDame · 03/09/2015 09:54

The test is looming large in our county and is 2 weeks away now. How are you preparing your child? Mine seems to be going backwards with their results on practice papers so we've now stopped all prep to give their confidence a boost.

How are you and your child getting on?

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var123 · 06/09/2015 09:38

Not frowned upon, its just my children are already at secondary school.

We didn't take the grammar route, but if we lived in a grammar area, then we would have.

I think you are right, at this stage the best thing to do is make sure your child walks into the exam hall feeling confident and unstressed (although a little bit of adrenalin helps).

taxguru · 07/09/2015 12:07

We stopped "practising" about a month before the test - DS had done plenty of practice papers and had peaked. We didn't see any point in carrying on as there was nothing new on the remaining papers he hadn't done.

Instead, we concentrated on exam room technique, i.e. talking to him about all the "what if" scenarios so that he didn't fall apart on the day. I.e. for him to keep his head down and concentrate on his paper whatever else was happening around him, such as the kid on the next desk bursting into tears, wetting himself, trying to cheat, etc. Also on remembering to fill in his personal details on the top of the paper, remembering to answer every question, putting his hand up if he had any problems himself, such as feeling sick, or needing the loo etc so that he wouldn't be sat there in distress.

But probably the best thing we did was sit him in a mock exam conducted by a local tutor who hired a church hall and performed a realistic mock exam on a Saturday morning about 2 weeks before the test itself. Very popular indeed - must have been 40/50 kids who did it. Really good for getting the experience of a proper exam room, something that 10 year olds just don't get at primary school. Gave our DS a massive confidence boost and he suffered all his nerves and jitters in the mock, meaning he wasn't worried and happily skipped into the exam room for the real thing. Maybe ask around your local area to see if any of your local tutors do this?

Lurkedforever1 · 07/09/2015 19:50

I've got no problem with 11+ prep in general, and fully understand why people do it. However unless you're talking about a child with a large disparity between subjects, then surely extensive prep, tutors and 11+ angst isn't really relevant for parents of g&t dc?
(excepting perhaps if sn complicates it or its a dc with none academic g&t)

Original poster
LunchpackOfNotreDame · 09/09/2015 20:13

We did prep just so they got used to having to concentrate on one thing in silence for an hour at a time. I have a fidgety noisy clever child Grin they know the subject matter and are scoring high but as it's got nearer to test date the fidgeting has increased and the loud huffing and puffing.

It's not like I'm making them take multiple papers! Anyway. Prep stopped and we aren't mentioning the test at all from now until dday

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PettsWoodParadise · 10/09/2015 13:54

DD sits her first test of four on Saturday. All seeming so real. We haven't done anything for the past few weeks other than some long division practice last week end as some feedback from a mock test showed this as a weakness. Good luck everyone (unless of course you are applying to schools in my area, in which case I am uncharacteristicly feeling competitiveWink)

WiryElevator · 16/09/2015 16:35

We did some mindfulness stuff with my DS as he's a stress monster - it really helped.

We did practice up until the day before; he wanted to.

PettsWoodParadise · 07/10/2015 12:51

First of the test results are out today, I am at the office, DH is out of the house and I want to know the contents of whatever is in my letter box right now. Am I allowed to have a 'I want the post, here now tantrum'? Grin. Good luck anyone else expecting results.

sparkles18 · 07/10/2015 16:29

How frustrating! Our results don't get posted until 16th Oct. Good luck & hope you get the right result.

PettsWoodParadise · 08/10/2015 20:35

Good news yesterday for the Bexley result. Smile Wine. Really proud of DD and it is killing me not to shout from the rafters in RL. A couple of work colleagues have been very indulgent allowing me to wax lyrical. There will be Cake for them. Two more lots of results still to come...

Hope others are getting the results they are hoping for.

sparkles18 · 09/10/2015 12:26

Well done your DD, and what a relief for you! We still have another week to go before they are even posted! Have you been on elevenplusexams Bexley forum, you can celebrate there as well.

Bumpsadaisie · 09/10/2015 12:32

Can I just ask, what sort of level does a child need to be to consider entering the 11 plus. I have heard level 5 at the end of ks2 - is that about right?

Racundra · 09/10/2015 12:48

It really depends where you are, which schools.
The ones in our area are super-selectives, really you need to be level 5 in Y5, because competition is so tough.
Elsewhere, I think top 25% ability get in, so pass marks much lower. You'd need 5B or 5A in Y6 I suppose.

PettsWoodParadise · 09/10/2015 18:20

DD's school doesn't use levels so I can't comment on that angle. What I say below is more to help and guide, not a stealth boast (for which I gather you get shot at dawn by MN)

Bexley is not a superselective area but DD is sitting for two other areas which are and we get those results next week. I knew she could do Bexley as she had amazing vocab and was in top maths. For Bexley we spent time on familiarisation and speed and hoped she wouldn't have an off day and she came out with a score quite a bit above the pass which was what we were expecting. She was still full of a cold but not her worst day of it. I still worried though and when she came out of exam saying she was pressed for time. At some points it felt really like you were competing with everyone in the world for hardly any places at all. I no longer feel guilty about only having a tutor for a couple of months - who turned out not to be much good anyway.

I think most parents know of the likelihood of their DC passing - it is then a case of supporting and equipping them with any skills like NVR that may not be part of the day to day syllabus. Also the maturity to cope with disappointment if that does happen.

PettsWoodParadise · 09/10/2015 18:21

Thanks Sparkles for your kind words. Yes elevenplusforum has been really helpful through this journey.

Wrightymama · 11/10/2015 23:26

We are impatiently awaiting our kent results here! Driving me mad that the school knows and we don't!

Original poster
LunchpackOfNotreDame · 13/10/2015 20:11

We has results day today and, admissions day in March notwithstanding, they passed and got in.

Good luck to all your dc's still waiting!

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Wrightymama · 13/10/2015 23:02

Congrats Lunch! Xxx

Original poster
LunchpackOfNotreDame · 14/10/2015 17:17

Thank you!

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