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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Entrance exams Good Luck

94 replies

DivaMum23 · 27/12/2011 11:26

Just want to say Good Luck to everyones DD/DS taking entrance exam in 2012
My DS will be sitting his entrance exam first week in January.

OP posts:
Yellowstone · 01/01/2012 23:09

It was just a fairly idle comment that four hours a day during the Christmas holidays seems terrifying. I was much more interested in the oppressive ethos which seems to pervade the SE on the entrance test front than in criticising any one person: each to their own.

If my mother had made me do it for the 11+ though, I'd have rebelled completely (fortunately she did no preparation at all, even though we were within the M25, or would have been had it existed :)).

Why did no mother do this back then? The stakes were surely as high?

kerrygrey · 02/01/2012 06:22

I think back then (and mine is long time back) parents thought it was the school's business and to interfere would be impolite in some way. The Head said you had a chance and should go for it and s/he must know best. I don't know any of my classmates who were coached in any way. Parents' job was to make sure you had an early night before and a good breakfast on the day of the exam.
Having said that, out of a class of 40 only 4 of us made grammar school.

realhousewifeoffitzrovia · 02/01/2012 07:46

We're doing about 2 hours a day here, in the highly unscientific view - suggested to me by a wise school gate acquaintance -that the amount of daily revision to prep for an 11+ exam will equal the maximum amount of daily homework required at the secondary school (outside of exam periods) in order to get decent grades. If it would take my DD 4 hours of daily 11+ revision to get into a school like St Paul's or whatever, it would likely take her about that much time every day to "stay" there and that's not for us.

Yellowstone · 02/01/2012 11:44

Sounds more reasonable realhousewife. I don't think coaching crossed the parental radar back then kerrygrey, we all took the 11+ one schoolday and that was that. Most of us passed the basic test and some got direct grant places too. That approach must be better all round but the culture of coaching has ramped everything up, probably unnecessarily.

Idratherbemuckingout · 02/01/2012 13:54

Too true. I wouldn't be coaching at all if other people weren't, but as I read somewhere else, I am determined my intelligent child does not have his place usurped by a well coached less able child. If none of us coached we could all just relax as in the past and whatever will be will be.

However, the playing field is not that level. If it ever was then.
I remember doing the 11+ aeons ago, with NO preparation and not even an inkling that it was anything important. I enjoyed it, I'd never done VR and NVR before (which is the only bit I remember) and sailed it no problems, as did most of my class mates as we were at the primary school that served AWRE Aldermaston, so there must have been more bright kids than normal in our school.
My other DC's had very little coaching. DD (now totally grown up) had no coaching and got into her indie a whole year early. DS1 had a small amount of paid for coaching which he hated, and also got in. DS2 was at prep school so I left it to them (fool that I was) and he didn't get in despite being the brightest of the three older ones.
Hence the coaching now. I think DS3 is much like DS1, but not really sure, or he could be like DS2. Who knows? Time will tell. I think.

Happygardening · 02/01/2012 17:45

Idratherbemuckingout we did not coach my DS for his St Paul's interview (900 applicants for 75 places) we just rocked up (on time which is out of character). The questions were exceedingly difficult nothing like he'd ever experienced before and he came out sure he wouldn't get it. They also interviewed us a pointless process I thought and the interviewer also stated that as we were not from a prep school "known to them" (it was boarding) we wouldn't get it. None of us were that bothered we probably didn't really want it any way. Within 10 days they wrote offering him a place stating in the letter how impressed they were with his ability to clearly argue a point.
In the waiting room (apparently it was fine for them to be late) were other boys looking absolutely terrified, being repeatedly briefed by their parents clutching bits of paper with answers on we looked like we turned up at the wrong school in comparison.

forehead · 02/01/2012 18:10

Idrather.... Don't take any notice of the naysayers. The fact is that in order for your state schooled dc to get into grammar school or independents they have to be tutored. I personally don't think that 4 hours is excessive, after all it's only for a short while.
A poster mntioned that their dc was not doing 4 hours a day for their GCSES Well they should be studying for at LEAST four hours a day imho

Yellowstone · 02/01/2012 18:17

forehead what stage are you at with your own DC, out of interest?

Happygardening, that's always been my approach. I think it works at every level: be yourself, don't be scripted.

Yellowstone · 02/01/2012 18:26

forehead, upatdawn said her DSs weren't doing four hours a day for mocks.

LIZS · 02/01/2012 20:42

I think I'dratherbe's ds is HE, in which case the curriculum can be adapted to include 11+ techniques and practice. ime 4 hours is very intense preparation at this stage but it may or may not be unusual(most I know play things very close to their chests!), or necessary in some cases. However would agree with a previous poster who commented that if such work is required just to get in then it sets a pattern for what may be required later on.

upatdawn · 02/01/2012 22:58

Bloody hell forehead, they wouldn't get away with it for the real things! But two-four hours work every day in the holidays for ten year olds, they should be playing and being kids, not working.

Idratherbemuckingout · 02/01/2012 23:12

He is HE and he's having his hols after the exams.

TooManyJobs · 03/01/2012 18:15

As I think this thread illustrates, this indy school entrance ordeal is really stressful for parents, probably as trying to be calm and supportive and not worried-looking in front of DCs. But also it's so hard to know how much work to do; fear of not covering something obvious vs not wanting to over tire them. It is good to share on MN though, and see everyone else has the same uncertainties, and battles with DC.

DD had her first test this morning. She has been very good going over some maths, NVR and VR over the last few days; I didn't have to beg too much thank goodness as I do get exasperated easily Blush. Anyway she came out looking fairly satisfied that she had done her best which was a plus after our experience 2 yrs ago with DS who emerged white as a sheet from his exams. I know the worst bit though is the uncertain wait to see if they get an interview..... Roll on Feb!

Best of luck to everyone.

Ladymuck · 05/01/2012 07:49

Good luck to all the Croydon boys today! At least it isn't snowing!

breadandbutterfly · 05/01/2012 10:20

I personally think 4 hours per day for an 11 year old is absolutely ludicrous and almost certainly counter-productive, and am not at all embarrassed to say so.

(I came top in the entrance exam for arguably the top grammar school in the country with no tutoring; I tutored my dd in yr 6 maths for her entrance exam last year, which she passed, but we're talking about 3 hours per week for about 3 months, not 4 hours a day!)

If your child is so dim they 'need' 4 hours then they're not going to pass anyway; if their primary school is so poor they 'need' 4 hours a day then far better to have been doing an hour or two a week over years to ensure they made continual progress, and giving them good books to read/games to play etc, than trying to 'cram' at age 11 - you can't 'cram' for an IQ test in the way you can for a GCSE exam - it's a ridiculous idea.

Poor kids. :( Even if they pass, is it really worth it?!!

SoupDragon · 05/01/2012 10:37

LOL - DS1 had snow for the W exam (and damn those purple capes look fabulous against snow!!), DS2 has gales.

Ladymuck · 05/01/2012 17:00

I hear that ribs are still on the menu!

SoupDragon · 06/01/2012 07:25

And southern fried chicken :o

SoupDragon · 06/01/2012 07:28

I hope they don't use CCTV footage of the boys as part of the selection process. DS2 came out with both shoe laces undone and managed to lose his pencil case somewhere between the exam room and the sports hall at the end of the day. Thankfully his lucky monster was in his pocket.

breadandbutterfly · 06/01/2012 08:09

Hope it all went well. Realised I sounded v obnoxious on post a few posts up. Was having a grumpy day - sorry to anyone I offended.

Am still shocked at kids doing 4 hours practice a day on top of other work...but hope for their sakes it wasn't for nothing.

ChocolatEtVin · 06/01/2012 18:58

breadandbutterfly, the family doing four hours a day are HE, so it's just the same as a school day but the work is focused towards entrance exams rather than just being general work.

Idratherbemuckingout · 07/01/2012 15:28

Thanks Chocolat.
Breadandbutterfly my DS is HE.

He does other subjects as well as the exam ones, of course, but I think my four hours a day is absolutely reasonable. In the final run up we've concentrated on the exam subjects only. My DS is particularly bright and most of the time loves his work, but, as with all kids, there are days when he can't be bothered. He's nowhere near perfect as none of us are. We have done his exams now and he's having two weeks off, no work at all. So he's out working on his nature reserve at the moment and looking after his chickens.
He gets days off when he needs them, not when someone else says he should have them. So sometimes he works in what would be school hols, sometimes he has hols in what would be term time.
Sometimes he works for three hours first thing, sometimes in the afternoons he does more. Sometimes we do a morning and afternoon, sometimes a morning and evening session.

He's extremely capable and working at a high level, higher than he would be if he were in school. Not in all subjects, but in most.

StressedSian · 10/01/2012 23:58

Thank you. Have now done 4 papers for school 1. 3 more schools to do over the next 2 weeks. Is tiring and stressful going it alone without the help of prep school or a tutor but by following the syllabus or past exam
Papers we seem to be on the right track (hopefully) and dd is bright and self motivated so that helps. Results and decisions in March....

LIZS · 13/01/2012 17:55

LM - good luck to your ds for tomorrow. May see you there ! btw ds reckoned that some kids were sitting an entrance exam (possibly 11+) there today Confused

Ladymuck · 13/01/2012 19:05

Thanks! Ds not aware of any exams today, but that doesn't mean very much. We'll be the ones running over from the prep school on the dot of 9:30! Don't know if you venture down the road, but Harestone Valley Rd has some temporary traffic lights at present. Think you avoid them if you go up Harestone Hill and down Loxford Road though I didn't think to double check this evening...