7+ 2024/25

[Caps0218]

I haven't seen another thread similar to previous years, so thought it would be beneficial to start one as exams are now 1 month away.
I think SHHS, UCS, KCJS and WUS are all in October.

Also - Curious to see if number of applicants are down this year, with Labour's VAT raid.

DS said that there were 3 groups per alphabet letter and there were 13 in his group, which had a specific name. So 3x13x9= 351, which is plausible.

He also said there were two bonus maths questions and more than 12 comprehension questions: “12 plus a few more”

DS’s take from easiest to hardest:
VR: Kings, SPJ, WUS
NVR: SPJ, Kings, WUS
Maths: SPJ, WUS, Kings
English: Kings, SPJ, WUS

DS said he enjoyed today and that nothing was particularly difficult. That makes me suspect there were lots of tricks he didn’t clock!

I know it’s been said before, but why is this if there is no reserve day?

Did your DS mention that there was another part in the VR where the teacher read some lines and DS had to write down one word as answer for each line?

Any feedback on Non verbal? My son said it was hard. Although he never struggled in NVR.

1. How do we know there was no reserve day? Maybe there is one for those 1/2 boys who were granted an exception? This happened two years back with a friend’s son. 2) The schools go out of their way to protect their questions and we should be respectful and responsible. 3)Why would one give the tutors an edge by revealing questions? I am sure they are scanning these pages quietly…

The tutors will already have their kids who will brief them on the questions for next year etc….

I don't see why trying to help the next cohort of applicants would be a bad thing...

How are all your kids feeling? Ours is grumpy and exhausted- hope everyone gets some relief soon. Question re City @daddy888 How academic is it considered to be and do they do NVR/VR as well? Interested in the differences between schools…

It helps tutors retain their edge if it is not discussed here :-)

I think the fact that all your DS were actually able to discuss the papers in such length proves to me why my DS didn't get through the first stage When I asked what it was like he said nothing!

If schools focus on a more holistic selection process and not solely on academics to make their cohort strong for results and league table positioning, things will be much easier, more natural, and fairer. A 2-3 hour test is neither enough nor appropriate to select children at this tender age as they change so rapidly. The nexus of prep schools, feeder schools, tutors etc., exists because of this. So, let’s not blame each other, as parents are already bearing the brunt of this system. We are here to help each other and learn through the process. Iam surprised to see the selective nature of schools at 4+ and we are blaming parents and tutors?

Could be why SPJS puts a lot of emphasis to 2nd stage, perhaps a way to figure out the tutored kids? Perhaps why 2nd stage performance outweighs first stage?

On a separate note, heard that kids of almuni and siblings were encouraged to apply.

Yes, exactly this. Tutors question their pupils after each exam every year to gain knowledge of what the exam is like, exam trends etc.

Yes, I heard this is usually a good sign, when children are able to give proper feedback after the exam. The tutor said the children she has that are successful can always say what was on the exam. But doesn’t necessarily mean ones who can’t won’t be successful either. My ds is one that forgets…

I completely agree. I prepared my DS with a lot of tips and help from forums like this. Experienced mums really have so many great tips and Iam truly grateful for that. I don’t mind passing on whatever I have learned either. It’s a difficult journey but it has honestly given me a lot of confidence and insights into my DS strength weaknesses. The 7+ is just a part of the whole educational journey and even if we don’t succeed as per own dreams all these efforts will go a long way in building their future. 🤞🏼

So, the letter only mentioned Math (Written and Mental) and English (Dictation Comprehension and Creative Writing). Everything is based on Year 1 + Year 2 Autumn Term.

Fingers crossed that CJS will design their questions to assess candidates’ natural aptitude in subjects like the bonus math question from SPJS.

I wonder for SPJS, does the comprehension results form part of English or part of reasoning? I know it was part of the reasoning allotted time, but it was a separate paper and I think as NVR was only 15 mins, they put them together?

Thats what my son told me. There were 2 comprehensions and NVR separately.

So 12 comprehension questions, 10-15 gap filling comprehension and then 26 NVR in 25 mins?

The question I have is how do they amalgamate the papers.
Maths - Mental and Full combined.
Verbal Reasoning
Non Verbal Reasoning
English - Dictation

so where do the 2 comprehensions sit? I’m assuming it’s part of the English score?

Well done @daddy888 for your DS, getting to 2nd stage.
This shows you need to have a minimum in each paper.
My DS didn’t get the 2nd round, as he got 40% for English. He scored 90% in Maths…..gone are the days when a top maths score will get you in to these schools, you need to be balanced, which is something I’m finding out doing this process.

My understanding is that the bonus question is not counted as part of the scores, so wouldn’t worry.

"As part of the Reasoning paper, there is a comprehension exercise that assesses a boy's ability to retrieve information and draw inferences from a text."

So comprehension is part of reasoning (VR), meaning it would be age-adjusted.

I'm sure they did reading VR separately, as otherwise the whole VR would take more like 50 minutes without a break.

@user14809753 So they will assess English (Dictation), Maths (Mental and Full), Reasoning (VR, NVR & Comprehension).
So 3 sections.

I think that’s what I read from previous years posts of people who got feedback, 3 sections.