11 plus and covid

[zapity]

So it turns out a nearby primary school has closed and moved to online learning - year 6 classes are to be isolated 2 days before an exam.

Will the 11 plus centre take a negative result test result to enable your child to sit the 11 plus if all your other class mates are isolating due to covid?

Secondly, if a parent ignores the isolation and takes their child to the test centre (and they do not have a negative result) will they be stopped?

Does the school have to inform the test centre to stop individual students breaking self isolation.

I knew there are alternative test arrangements but a friend of a friend hears a mother saying that they had worked hard and their child was going to peak in time for the test on Saturday and would not want to have it pushed back further because the class is isolating and there is 1 case in the 2 class bubble.

I assured my friend that hopefully there would be proper arrangements. Maybe the school would let the test centre know that their year 6 was in isolation. This is for an out of area catchment so out of the area of Kent.

This does not directly apply to me as thankfully my child's class has not have covid.

Although I am thinking of letting my child stay home for the next 2 days to avoid any need for isolation and it did make me think about my child being in a test with others that should be isolating.

What I want to check is that if kids from the school that are meant to be self isolating do try attend the 11 plus exam l, then is there is some communication between the school and the test centre?

Anyone? Going to try the assessment centre tomorrow

I doubt the school would communicate with the test centre, but it would be utterly selfish and immoral to still take the 11+. A negative test result is meaningless - Covid can incubate for 14 days from exposure, which is why you have to isolate for the full time - you can't just test and then come out of isolation. So yes, as well as immoral, it would also be illegal.

Whether it was the school, or another parent, someone did contact the test centre.

So the group of people self isolating can not attend and the centre knows.

And it was not me who contacted the test centre but I am glad!

Personally I think this is a shambolic scenario.

KCC are being utterly irresponsible and no one seems to care.

I've worked in schools. No school would contact a different LA to say oh dear Johnny has Covid so please do make sure you don't let him in on Saturday.

There will be upward of 1000 Y6 children mixing on Saturday in halls.

I think some years there are 3000 out of county applicants.
They cross between
Medway and Kent
Bexley and Kent
Bromley and Kent
Bromley and Bexley.

And people travel from as far away as Birmingham every single year for practise or with the aim to move house if their child passes.

Hello Covid Outbreak.

Plus there are Y6 bubbles sent home this week who will now take the test once their isolation ends giving them more prep time and they can now talk to any other Y6 in Kent and get insight to the test. Most kids come home and say oh there was only one spelling one I remember..... but others will be coaxed by adults to recall the questions.

If the 11+ wasn't archaic and unnecessary enough already, it is absolutely ridiculous to have pushed it through this year. It never is a level playing field in a good year.

The 11* is an awful awful thing .. and I say that as a mother of a child that passed... because with the benefit of hindsight my 'failure' has gone to Durham to study medicine.. and my 'pass' is taking a year off (thank God) because her grades are average and she really doesn't know what to study ... given my time again as a parent I wouldn't NEVER go down the Grammar route . My reasons are more social than a academic... I will give you real life examples.

DD 1 Tonbridge Girls Grammar.
Entered as a 'high flier' (you can't get in unless higher than ten percent of pass rate if out of Tonbridge) .. single sex.. nothing but low level bullying , Nasty 'mean girls' ... average pupil VV wealthy .. (the smart ones save on prep school by employing tutors from age 7!!) Completely disillusioned by age 14.. No one interested in any child who isn't heading for Oxbridge.. No interest in bullying, ostracism..

DS 1 . Bennett Memorial. No 11+ required but you do need to go to church (which we did anyway so no hardship) .. mixed sex.. Fantastic pastoral care (DS1 has ADD) ... Encouragement all the way. Allowed him to focus in a way only ADD kids can... great friendship mix of boys and girls. No 'sex regarded as 'weird species' able to be himself and has friends of both sexes.

Given my time again I would NEVER go for a grammar school. Filled with spoilt rich kids who only became smart because their parents could afford tutors to fill them with facts.. but sadly not make them particularly pleasant people.

For me. Grammars are for the rich.
Which is sad because they used to be for the smart from EVERY social strata.. it these days you can't move for the Porsche 4x4s at pick up.

hate11plus I agree with you. I think KCC were paralysed by the impossibility of their options. If they hadn't gone ahead at all, then they faced an incredibly daunting task of how to allocate grammar places when primaries have no consistency on how they conduct ongoing assessment during KS1 and KS2. Recent work would have been particularly inconsistent due to lockdown. Arguably, preps would have had even more of an advantage than usual if it had come down to preparing a portfolio of previous work accompanied by teacher reports. KCC would almost certainly have faced an avalanche of appeals - which again would likely have favoured prep schools. But if they hadn't made any concessions, they'd have been lambasted for being unfair to children who, for whatever reason, were not able to access much work during lockdown - and again, for favouring schools which provided higher quality remote learning.

Personally, I think the least of all evils would have been to go ahead with the September date - at least then the number of children isolating would have been very low.

I don't even know what happens now with the OOC kids who've missed it. I know that Kent kids can take it when they're back to school - but what about the OOC who weren't taking it at school?

@ladiessmock
I think they have already re set a date for OOC. At a HUGE cost to KCC with hall hire and invigilator salaries etc. This system entirely and utterly sucks the life blood out of our county.

I believe there is a school in Bexley on the border having to isolate. There's also one in mid Kent sent Y6 home this week.

Agree re Sep date - maybe two weeks max postponement.

So we got back to school in Sept and first maths lesson was algebra (break them in gently )

No algebra in this years 11+

There's always algebra in it so not only have they f'ed up in my opinion by the whole thing, they have perhaps heavily dumbed down the actual test.

What do you mean there is no algebra in this years test ?

The whole thing is a nightmare

I know of a local year 6 class sent home and it was either the school or other parents who informed the test centre.

This is out of the area though.

And what about the 4 to 5 hours .. a covid transmission nightmare..

Agree with you both, but have reported the previous two posts just to try to contain any information about the test content. Nothing personal!

Oh ladies I thought there must have been some wider Announcement as part of the school lock down.

I had not realised or even considered that some tests could have already taken place !

My daughter is at togs but I've yet to see a Porsche at pick up! Her friends are friendly and down to earth. No bullying.
My stepson went to Bennett. Very mixed experience and very poor outcome in sixth form.
We all have different experiences .

But yes I'm very concerned that there will be sharing of information from today's test with those who take it from OOC or after isolating. The ones my daughter got wrong were easy for her to tell me 😬

You are right - how will they keep it secure? They can't!

I've been wondering about this, my son took it today but just 3 weeks ago we all had to self isolate for a few days while we waited for a test for my other son who had a brief cough. All fine, negative result and back to normal
But I wondered what would have happened if that was today. Obviously he would have had to miss the 11+ but would there have been the chance to take it again if you did the right thing and stayed home? I wonder how many children have been affected by this situation?

Just reading more of the thread, I had no idea the test could be taken at test centres. Our 3 all took it at their primary school. Why do people take it at centres rather than at school?

I think it's out of county children and home Ed children, who take it at test centres
Yes KCC issued guidance saying if isolating you can take it when you come back to school . So the same test may be being Taken for the next 2 weeks!

alwayslatte you sit it at a test centre, ie another school, if you are out of area. So on the weekend all ridiculous with covid as there will be lots of travel!

But people have been delayed for Kent are also very worried that they will miss Bexley. As there may be a clash.

Also it may run in conflict with those sitting private school exams.

Always latte well done to your child finishing the 11 plus test

Actually I think it can be taken a lot later than two weeks post test. I might be wrong, but I think they use the same test for late applicants for quite a long time afterwards.