7 + Examination

[vickyconfused]

Please could anyone help us out with exactly what this might entail.
The schools claim that they take into account that your child has been in a class of 30 etc etc and has not trained for the test in a 3-7 prep school but looking at the state curriculum for Year 1 it is very slow and prescriptive.
My very limited understanding is that these entrance tests are akin to SATS but two terms before the child will have covered the material and testing styles
Did anyone's child sit these this last weekend and what did he/she actually have to do?
Thank you.

Hi Vicky

My DS is due to do his this weekend. He is currently at a state school. The prep school said not to tutor but did acknowledge that he might not be as prepared as boys from pre-prep schools.

After chatting to other Mumsn in the area we decided to use a tutor and opted for a Yr 2 teacher from one of the feeder pre-prep schools for the school we are aiming for.

Obviously I can't say at this moment whether or not this was the right decision (ask me in a couple of weeks!!!). I do think that DS has benefitted enormously from the one-to-one attention of his tutor (he is one of 3) and she has been great at making sure he has practiced everything he might encounter in the exam. It has been a long slog though - we started in Feb last year. If you do go down the tutoring route maybe start a bit later?

It is always worth getting an independent assessment done at the outset to see if you are aiming for the right school. We were really lucky in that DS's Yr 1 teacher had two boys at the Prep school in question so had good insight. HTH.

Last question slummymomma and then I will shut up ...what level reading is your ds at? ORT or Ginn. Have spent a while over the last week reading posts here (and trying to contribute if I can) but am very despondent at the level of input my DD is getting, compared with many of the posters' DCs on here. She is a perfectionist and therefore at school never writes much as she won't write in unless she can spell it. I did take someone's advice and looked at the Bond age 6-7 papers but the non verbal reasoning was beyond me! No good at spatial awareness at all here! Thanks for your patience everyone.

DS has come off ORT and is now a free reader. Typically he gets Horrid Henry and Roald Dahl books from school to read. He likes Michael Morpurgo at home and Enid Blyton.

Dont be despondent. What age is your DD? From what I've seen reading comes before writing. DS's reading 'took off' in year 1 and writing really came on in early Year 2.

Is there anyone you could talk to at your DD's school? I know state schools can be sniffy about parents sending DCs off to selective schools but I found the school quite helpful. I had a frank chat with his Year 1 teacher (who had two DSs at the private school in question!) who was helpful. I also used my mummynetwork to find a tutor.

Let me guess - are you in London?