Dunraven / Lambeth banding test: form of test, and age adjustment?

[DunRovin]

Can anyone help me with some accurate information about the Dunraven banding test (which is I believe the same test used throughout Lambeth for schools which do banding).

How long does the test last? I have been told that they do 3 x 50 minute tests in the day, which seems very intensive.

What exactly are these tests? We have been told 'oh, just practice some Bond's tests', which we have done, but some people say they use the 11+ age, others say it is the 10-11 level of tests, others say it is something called CAT tests which are a bit different.

And, in banding tests do they make any adjustment for age? DS is late summer born.

Thank you - I realise we don't have long, I have no intention of cramming or hot housing DS, just doing a little preparation so he won't be unfamiliar with the form of the questions.

Thank you!

Anyone?

I wouldn't worry. It doesn't (really - see below) affect entry chances so it doesn't matter if there has been no practice, and your DS will be in the exact same position as those in his class anyway.

The maximum distance may well vary between bands - but that will just be pot luck - if you tip him over into a higher band, he may fail to get in when in a lower band he may have done. And vice versa of course.

Oh, I know - but if it is 3 fifty minute tests, I'd like to prepare him for that, mentally!
One local school has done bits of practice papers, of the actual tests, according to one mother, but they hadn't brought them home so she couldn't tell me.

I know there are Dunraven and Dunraven applicants on MN - I've seen them when searching to see if the answer to my questions were in the archives . Calling all Dunraven / Lambeth MN-ers!

TheWomanOnTheBus - I suppose I am quite keen that DS performs as well as possible because as I understand it the higher bands have a wider catchment than the middle. But may have that wrong. We're applying to other Lambeth schools too.

"as I understand it the higher bands have a wider catchment than the middle"

Not sure if that is true, as the local schools are all pretty high achievers. There was a brilliant rumour doing the rounds (I think probably entirely unfounded, incidentally) a year or two ago about parents "down-tutoring" their children to get into Dunraven, as the higher bands were so oversubscribed....!??

Well DS1 is at a local school...
That's quite funny about 'tutoring down', how did they do this, I wonder?
Perhaps by making sure their DC had no idea what to expect in the test!

Anyone have detailed answers?

has the invitation to the test arrived today?
It says how long the tests are, and it does look very intensive.

My daughter did the Lambeth test at Dunraven 2 years ago having done some Bond tests as practice and said they were fine. The staff were kind, i think they gave them a break and a snack between papers. It was a dreadful day, pouring with rain and I was totally stressed but she was not and came out saying it was easy. My son is doing it on Saturday, hoping he (and yours) feel the same way.

I'd like to help you - I've had two DSs do the banding test, but we didn't do any tutoring or practise tests so have no idea what to advise

They didn't find them any more stressful than SATs papers, and I think they were pretty similar in layout. Actually thinking back DS1 said he cried during the break, but that wasn't because over the test itself, just that the whole experience (strange people, strange place) was a bit overwhelming. DS2 was more familiar with the set up as DS1 was in Yr 8 when he took it and actually enjoyed himself.

It was the case a couple of years ago that the top bands had a wider catchment (0.7 miles compared to 0.5 iirc) but these things change. I'm sure if you ring the school they'll have more up-to-date figures, they're usually very helpful with things like that

Sorry - meant to say 'Hello Jan' - and Hello MrsDTK .

OP - I gather that the tightest band is band 3 (i.e the top two bands are level 1, accelarated and accelarating, then two bands in level 2, then band 3 ) because it includes a significant proportion of statemented and other high criteria children. Anyway, I hope the letter you got was helpful - I can't quite gather how much of the time is breaks and practice and how much is test, but MrsDTK and BalhamMum have set my mind at rest.

I have no idea whether they make any adjustments for age - I think some 11+ tests do, don't they? But presumably they need to know they can learn at the same level of everyone in the class, whatever band they are in, so age would be a bit of a red herring?

Jan - LOL at the tutoring down rumour - I can just imagine some competitive parents suggesting this as a tactic to OTHER parents to get them out of the same band

Hello Blu

DS2 has a summer birthday (June) and I've never been told or heard anything about the school adjusting for age. It would be counter-productive surely? They use the results from the banding tests and the Yr 6 SATs to determine which tutor group they go into, and it would be daft to bolster a child's results and maybe put them in a class working at a level they would normally struggle with (that's my same argument against short term tutoring and cramming for Yr 6 SATs, I like to be consistant )

I think they have about 10-15 minutes practice of each paper btw. My advice would be to tell your DCs to concentrate on answering the questions properly rather than trying to answer all of them - DS2 was worried that he didn't finish the papers, he answered all the questions he could do easily and then went back through the harder ones but ran out of time, but did really well (okay, bugger that, he did bloody brilliantly - was banded 1:1, and I cried all over him and his fantastic Yr 6 teacher when I got the letter. Five years ago he was under the SENCO for speech therapy and was being assessed for Dyslexia, two years ago when we were looking at schools for DS1 we were taking in account how behind DS2 was so we could pick a school that worked for both of them. For him to have pulled himself up to this level is just I am amazingly proud of him so :P )

That's amazing, re your DS2, MrsDTK. I remember your thinking about Dunraven re Graveney, and DS1 - an there he is - 1:1. Well done him.

When do they tell you the banding outcome - when you get the offer on National Offer Day? But by then they won't have the SATS, will they? Unless they use the Yr 5 optional SATS?

BalhamMum, is your DD at Dunraven now?

Thank you everyone, this is all very helpful. A bit worried that children cry during the testing day, but at least we can give DS an idea of what to expect, so I don't think he will be too fazed.

Fingers crossed for everyone doing the test on Saturday, we are down for the afternoon.

We can't remember when we got the letter

I'm pretty sure it was before, and separate to, the letter offering him a place but DH thinks it was the same thing. I'll try and find it! FWIW we weren't told what DS1 was banded to, and when I asked I was quite gently rebuked and told it wasn't important...

Anyway. They use the exam result to band you so they can work out who to offer places to (20% from each band) then in the summer they also look at the SATs results and use that to decide what level/band/tutor group to put them in at the start of term (I keep wanting to write 'sort' damn you Harry Potter...)

Actually I hadn't thought about the reasons behind that rumour, but it could quite possibly have been that!!!

Thank god I looked at letter again, our time is 8.45 am. I wonder how many children do the admission test?

A lot - they had about 1,900 applications last time iirc.

BalahMum, do tutors tutor from tests like the Bonds test? Or something very similiar? I saw you recommending a tutor on another thread, was that for the state school entrance exams? It is so hard to get an idea of what exactly is expected of them, I wish the primary schools would help.

Oh, well, at least they get a practice on the day. I think I feel less anxious. Maybe.

Good luck to everyone's DC tomorrow!

Jan - intercept me with a bottle of Lidl's finest on my way back from dropping DS off and lets knock on the door of 'er down the road

So. How did it go?

Thanks for asking Mrs DTK!

'Really easy' apparantly.
So that either means really easy, or slapdash. But DS is usually conscientious.

And apparantly much easier than the Bond's tests we have all been making them do, and a simpler format.

And the staff and sudent helpers were friendly, and they had a bottle of water, and 3 biscuits.

But it was 'a bit boring'.

How did yours get on DunR?

For future years, when people search these threads - do take the info that the school sends out about car parking seriously. There was a big mash-up of traffic and people dropping kids off and blocking the road on both sites - and a small Lambeth Parking Control camera car going along photographing every car that was stopped on a junction, on single yellows, double parked to let kids out, had a wheel on the kerb etc.

Thanks everyone. The test went fine, I think.

We did the last admissions test of the season last night at Kingsdale, and apparantly the test questions were the exact same questions from Dunraven, except that Kingsdale only used a few and so the Kingsdale test was much shorter. At Kingsdale they are given a chance to do a practice paper and then given the answers.

Totally agree about the parking, the streets round Dunraven and Kingsdale were at a standstill, with some out breaks of parking rage!

I hope everyone gets their preferred school.