Conflicting messages.

[Manchesterhistorygirl]

Ds recently sat an assessment day for a local selective junior school, he didn't get in this time, but has been encouraged to apply for entry into year 6.

We were given a summary of his assessment day.

In a nutshell, his spelling is atrocious, his maths wasn't good enough and his concentration needs work. He also had to write a story, it wasn't long or detailed enough.

His current school say that hi spelling is very good, his maths is excellent and no problems with concentration. His problem (this is a direct quote) with literacy is that he's too detailed and his stories tend to be a bit "lord of the rings" in over detail and length.

He finished year2 on 2a for literacy and 3a for maths.

He's in year 3 now. Parents evening is the week after next and I know they'll ask how he got on and I will tell him what was said. However I also want to discuss the disparity between what is being fed back to me.

Also, would it be worth getting him a tutor?

Have you seen
a) the work he normally does at school or
b) the work he did at the assessment day
?
Because that will allow you judge.

I'm wondering if the assessment day spooked him, and he didn't display work of the standard he was capable?

I have seen the work he does at school and it is very good, he also normally flies through his maths homework. All of his maths workbooks are completely correct with extension work added.

I've not seen the things he did at the assessment day, only the report.

I was talking to a lady whose DS did not get through a selective junior school assessment. He was good at maths but she was told that he hardly put anything down on his test paper on the assessment day.

I imagine the process is quite daunting for young children.

It was suggested that the boy come back in a couple of years and sit the entrance exam for the senior school on the same site. This he did - and he passed.

I also had a chat with the lady in charge of admissions for the same school. She said that if a child doesn't get in to the junior school, it is often just down to a lack of maturity and they can apply successfully at a later stage.

The other point is that your DS may not currently be at a 'academically pushy' school. Other applicants might have been 'hot-housed' more at school or home.

Were there others at the assessment day? Is it possible they got mixed up?
Can you ask to see his work for the day? If they won't for you, would his current school head be happy to ask.

There's a few possibilities really other than that:

1. Does he want to move? Is it possible he deliberately worked down?
2. He's heard his teacher telling him he was too detailed and long and so tried not to be and overdid it.
3. Maths was just introduced in a "different way! and it panicked him. Or he could do the maths but didn't understand what they asked of him.
4. He's good, but they only take the very good.
5. His present school is over estimating him/giving you a better impression than he is.
6. He didn't work to his capabilities.

Really the only way you can find out the first two or three is by talking to him-and probably in a very careful way. And the last ones would help if you can see his work.

The other very remote suggestion is that there was something that caused lack of concentration, eg they gave them orange squash that made him hyperactive. That happened to one child in my year at the 11+. The school he was applying to gave them drink and biscuit at break time. Unfortunately to one boy he reacted badly to them and he very unexpectedly failed.

I don't think he failed deliberately, but probably tried to work to the regime at his normal school. He does want to move, but we've had a little chat about reapplying for year 6 and he's happy with that.

The assessment of his capabilities said he struggled to grasp the new maths concept, so I wonder if that threw him. He also me tend having a chocolate bar at break and squash. Both things that can make him a bit bonkers and we restrict to a degree at home.

I also wonder if that fact he's had the same teacher for two years, so hasn't had to learn new styles might not help him, he's also due to be with his current teacher for another year!

His letter did say they could see he had potential and recommend reapplying. I would just like to help him be more settled, but I suppose that will come with maturity. He's a very academic child, always has been so I think this setting will suit him well. I base that on others I know who have been through the school.

Regarding overestimating his capabilities, if anything his current school would do the opposite. They can be quite laxidasical about where the children are upto, especially with reading, he's not a free reader at school, but his assessment made mention of how good it was. He definitely does know about his literacy being too detailed and long, his teacher told me that she had told him so. his spelling is also going down hill, I do know that school don't do spelling tests anymore. So we'll work on that, I really don't want to hot house him, but I do feel he'd do well in this setting.