SATS KS2 & 11+

[Wooleymum]

I am hoping for my DD to sit the 11+ in Oct. She has just achieved 4A and 4B for english and maths in Y5 SATS, which she achieved without any extra study. My question is ....am I hoping for the impossible? I don't want to put her in a situation that she simply can't achieve, however she is a bright girl that likes to study! I have read somewhere (can't remember where now) that to pass the 11+ you need to be working at a good level 5? Is this right?

It depends on the area you are in and how competitive it is. In london, where I am, the 11+ grammar schools are super selective so you really have to be in the top 10% to get a place. That means level 5 by the time you are taking the exams, but depending on the school you will have to be very adapt at verbal and non verbal reasoning which they don't necessarily prepare you for at primary school.

Why don't you buy the bond practice 11+ exam papers, sit them and then see how far off you think she might be?

Yes I suppose it does vary from school to school. We are currently overseas and are heading back for Gloucestershire. DD certainly hasn't been prepared for 11+ out here so will need to get her tutored to prepare for that, particularly the NVR part. The hols are looking like a whole heap of homework at the moment if we are going down this avenue as the exam date has been brought forward to the beginning of Oct this year rather than Nov!!! I just don't want to set her up for a fall but at the same time thing she may well be in with a chance...the position most people are in I guess unless you really have got yourself a talented and gifted DD/DS!!

Thanks Peacefulliz have recently been passed some Bond papers by a friend so hopefully may give us more of an idea...do you know if it tells you the score she needs to be getting on them, have had a quick flick through and couldn't see any idea of the score she would need to achieve??

You need to contact the schools in question, they all vary.

check out the gloucestershire part of the www.elevenplusexams.co.uk forum to find out just what you need to have covered for the 11+ exams there.
But beware the obsessive loons on that site

My experience with the 11+ (DS having sat for admission September 2010) is that you should be aiming for around 75% in the NFER test papers to gain a good pass. You need to check to see what papers you need to prepare for as some areas will do maths, NVR, VR, some will add in a writing paper, others will do combinations of the various tesets.

Raw scores are a guideline, but the actual tests are standardised according to the pupils sitting the tests in that particular year ie it depends on the ability level of the children sitting combined with the difficulty of the test. The pass mark you need will also depend on whether your area takes all pupils who pass or which operate on a highest score (super-selective) goalpost.

The 11+ website quoted by Anna above is a useful reference point - not all who post on there are obsessive loons and even if you don't want to post it is a good source of information.

Thanks for all the advice, it really is a mine field out there, I think you are right though'alittlebitbored' the 3 schools we are aiming for all differ I believe, one takes the top 160 then whittles it down to the best 120, another expects a lower pass rate but takes the same amount of children each year as the other schools?? So really need to speak with them.

I have some of the NFER tests also so it will be intersting to see if she is working above 75%, thanks for that 'ShellingPeas'.

Can't help but feel like am turning into a loon myself to be honest...my DH is getting fed up with 11+ this and 11+ that I think once I am back in the country and have spoken with the schools directly I will feel a little less lost!! The count down for the escape for summer is on...live in Dubai...getting a tad toasty!

In Gloucestershire, I think you only need to take the VR (verbal reasoning) exam, so you won't need to bother with maths, NVR or English. So that makes it easier and is definitely worth going for. Get as many past papers as you can. For Verbal Reasoning the site 11plus.co.uk is great. They have lots of free practice papers and videos that explain the techniques needed for verbal reasoning.

You are correct Claig - Gloucestershire does not do NVR/maths etc just the VR (mores the pity as my DS excels at maths/non-verbal problems but strugles with anything involving words).

I agree with you GreenShadows. I think they should all offer the full compendium of exams to iron out any bias.