7+ or Bust

[Haironfire]

Are there any other parents preparing their DC for the 7+ exams in January slowly going insane with study over half-term? DS is getting tired with 3 hours work a day excluding breaks but his tutor said we must press on. We sound positively lazy compared to the tutor's other students. This is the first time I've prepped a DC for the 7+ and it sure is a slog.

defined (no idea where that 'it' came from!)

I am sorry but 3 hours work over half term for a tired child is cruel and no school is worth this. He will only be 6 once. He will only have these early years once. Childhood is short. I fully support sending your child to a good school but not at the ex pence of childhood. If he loves studying fine but other wise short bursts and lots of half term fun. Trips out, cooking, Lego board games etc.
We are now at the other end of the school system. It is interesting to see what they are all up to. Whether they went to super selective, selective or comp the really isn't much difference in outcome for the kids in top half of class at 7 (state primary)

DD just sat the 11 plus too and got into a superselective with half an hour a day for five of the seven days each week. She got to pick which days she had off. In the early stages it was even less than that. Ten days before the first test she did nothing at all except school work as I didn't see the point - if she didn't know it by then then it was too late to go cramming. Three hours a day does seem a lot for someone so young. Some of DD's friends who did loads of tutoring didn't pass - tutoring isn't always a silver bullet.

Is anyone doing 8+ westminster under? Is it hideous?

S999 do you mean to ask whether the test is "hideous" or whether the school is "hideous"? The answer to the latter is, I'm sure, "no"! The test itself as is the case with all such tests is also not "hideous" for the right children. The entrance process both tests and interviews are designed with bright 6-7 year olds in mind. I have heard absurd stories of preparation not only that of OP but also a well-known pre-prep that tries to prepare 7 year olds for the 8+ by having them watch the evening news to brush up on current events.... No school I would want a young child to attend would assume a 7 year old should be able to discuss current events! The HMs of the schools I know are looking for children who show a "spark" -- interest in normal children's things but with a bit more curiosity than, perhaps, other children and with an ability to talk about their interests enthusiastically. The tests are meant to test normal progress at the high end of the NC for the relevant age. If your child is progressing well, shows an interest and enthusiasm for school, can complete homework independently and (mostly) correctly and can carry on a conversation, he should do fine.

To OPs point: your tutor is highly irresponsible -- putting the burden on you to "hothouse" your son in hopes that your tutor will be able to add a "success" to his/her record. If your son truly needs 3 hours of preparation a day, I suggest you consider other schools. The children who thrive and enjoy "competitive" and "academic" schools usually are the ones who have gained entrance based on natural ability rather than intense preparation. As someone said above, these schools generally (blissfully!) give much less homework than other schools on the assumption that the boys learn quickly in class and do not need repetitive additional work to consolidate the learning. A child who needs 3 hours a day, on top of school work, to prepare for an entrance test is unlikely to be one who can keep up happily in such a school.

Cherokeee and Mominatrix, very well said! I will allow my DS 'off the hook' and enjoy the exam experience in the coming Jan instead, fail or pass. There's always another chance at 8+, 11+ and 13+ if he's a happy and able boy.

OP, good luck to your kid. The kids may meet each other in the exams.

Thanks so much, this is what I was hoping....I meant is the test 'hideous' - I have visions of War and Peace style comprehension tests...then I really actually don't want my child there because that's absurd and unrealistic for a 7 year old.
I am a little worried about the English though...I recently saw a tutored boy's work and I nearly passed out. 'Puerile tench', 'I tasted the stale air on my mouth', 'I stumbled cautiously in and out of the sinister shadows'...er is that the level required/expected?

sorry I meant 'puerile stench', gosh I don't think I would have made the cut with my spelling errors!

My DD is sitting the 11+ in January and we didn't do more than 1 hour a day over half term (with a few days off too). Kids do burn out and just stop coping. This whole system is bad enough as it is without parents putting so much pressure on young children that they cant cope with.

S999,

" ...I recently saw a tutored boy's work and I nearly passed out. 'Puerile stench', 'I tasted the stale air on my mouth', 'I stumbled cautiously in and out of the sinister shadows'...er is that the level required/expected? "

This freaks me out too! If that's what's required for a 6-7 year old to pass entrance exams, I will simply give up (tutored or not tutored). Either the tutored boy is a genius (in which case he surely can pass the exams without real need for a tutor) or he's just been crammed with such phrases just for the exams and any good school should be able to spot this?

Just had some additional thought on this: any 6-7 year old kid who can come up with such beautiful composition naturally must have exceptional comprehension ability to match up with. Surely the school will spot any difference between the comprehension and writing scores and identify whether the boy is a real deal or one simply tutored to the teeth. To that understanding, I suddenly feel a lot better about my 'underachieving' DS's perspective...

Either the tutored boy is a genius (in which case he surely can pass the exams without real need for a tutor) or he's just been crammed with such phrases just for the exams and any good school should be able to spot this?

I would imagine most schools are sick to death of such stock phrases and automatically disqualify kids who use them.

S999 just how did you manage to "see" this "tutored boy's work"? How do you know he is being tutored? I have visions of you surreptitiously snooping in his school bag at pick up ...

Ha ha elandiq haven't resorted to that yet. I also live abroad so no access to school bags! He's my good friend's son and she emailed me what he's doing with his tutor. Plus the tutor is known to me and am thinking of hiring her after Xmas for a couple of weeks before the exams...this is exactly how she teachers. She guides them with these phrases and gets them to go off and write on their own.
The boy is 8, he's sitting the 8+.
When I read this, I immediately spotted heavy tutoring, which obviously any school will spot too. I know the boy well, he is a very bright but not a gifted composition writer of that level!
I am just going through comprehensions with my son and hopefully that is showing him how to extract pieces of information and as for the composition, no idea where to start with that...

We're NOT London and it wouldn't have been a complete disaster if DD hadn't passed 7+ into her selective Junior.

What on earth takes 3 hours/day? That sounds like misery. Is there really so much to catch up with?

We switched from state (admittedly very focussed on reading/writing for the able kids) and just bought 3 Bond test books (8-9) in the subjects to see what level might be needed for 7+. I think we managed to do one or two tests from each over the Xmas hols at the most.

At 8+ I think the children in selective will have spent a fair amount of time in class learning about adjectives and adverbs (and are encouraged to stuff them in front of nouns and verbs to make their writing interesting). DD is also particularly proud of her ability to spell some complicated words (the latest being "phlegm"). She also nicks ideas from TV programmes like Dr Who/Harry Potter/Famous 5.

What with listening to talking books and watching too much TV, some sentences/stories she writes seem really extraordinary for an 8 year old (until we start thinking about sources).

Just let them bounce in and out of school, with an occasional telling off if you think they are coasting, I say!

Six weeks until the 7+ exams and DS's handwriting is like a drunk doctor on a bad day! Did anybody's DC pass the 7+ for WUS, CC or Kings with such terrible handwriting?

Both my boys got in at 8+ with shocking writing so there is hope

Thank the lord Michaelahpurple! How's it going everyone?
What are the numbers for WUS and Wetherby - I heard 40 boys for each but that sounds high...

S999 I believe there are only 20 places at WUS but 40 places at Wetherby Prep.

Request for clarifucation: OP said that this was the amount done during half term. Is that just for the October half term (a one-off, a few days) or is it a daily workload from October to January?

Saltimboca - my DS handwriting is like a 4 year olds and he passed KCJS last year.

Thank you Wandymum and Michaelapurple. DS is very keen on KCJS. His maths, reasoning and comprehension are all top of the class but his compositions need work. Is it true that half the 7+ places are reserved for DS from KCJS owned pre-preps. Squirrels, rabbits or whatever animals the nickname is? I need some light relief in the 6 weeks ahead.

Prepare but don't go overboard. Very few are where they need to be at 6/7. DS certainly was not. However his skill set improved over time and he went to Westminster at 13, and really enjoyed it. He had no regrets at all about not going to the Under School. He preferred the more relaxed atmosphere at his prep. If he had not improved he would have gone somewhere more suitable: Dulwich, Emanuel, St Dunstans. They each have their level. Cramming a child into a highly selective environment at 7 runs the risk of them spending the next 11 years struggling. Educational outcomes may not be better and there is likely to be a big toll on self-esteem and confidence. Many children like bing a big fish in a smaller pond, or flourish where they have some headroom and have time to explore other talents and interests.

Hair -focus on the writing. That's where most children show their real ability (or lack of). At this young age it's really hard to get children to perform more that their true ability. Best to polish what they are good at & leave it at that. No point getting into a school & being the last/ slowest in everything. 3 hours a day sounds the minimum to me. DD did nearly 6-7 hours (with lot of breaks) but with me. When tutors are involved it's more exhausting / intense & you can only do a few hours. Keep a few back up options & encourage your DC to do 'their best' with confidence.

Just to clarify, the 6-7 hours was only in holidays, not in term time!!!