Prepping for grammar school. Is year 3 too early?

[Temitope]

My dd is in year 3 and she achieved level 3 at the end of year 2. I know she is exceptionally bright and this has been confirmed by her teachers. I really want her to go to either a grammar school or an independent school. I work but I cannot afford school fees for independent school. So I'm left with the option of grammar school. Shall I start preparing her now or is it too early? Her older sister is in year 5, she achieved level 4 in her literacy but 3 in her Maths at the end of year 4. I am preparing her for grammar school. I am aware my older dd is not as bright as her sister. The question again is, is year 3 too early to prepare her for grammar school? We live in the catchment area for Latymer. Thank you.

I suggest you talk to the school who can advise you on the likelihood of getting in grammar before worrying about it too much.

Our nearest grammar is Pates Grammar in Cheltenham and although my daughter is very bright there was little chance of her getting in - in fact, no one got in from the school this year. It basically takes in the elite from 7 counties so very hard to get into. We looked into another Grammar which her headmaster said she wouldn't even have to try to get in but it was 3 bus rides away -I didn't want her travelling that far on her own. In the end we looked at a couple of local comprehensives school, the nearest one to us is massive with so much to offer and that sold it to us, but in addition it gets many Grade 1s on it's ofsted report. They put them into sets for English and Science immediately and French, PE and Maths will follow in the next few weeks. It does sound like they are moving on from what they were learning in primary school, so don't rule out a comprehensive.

I think it's too early. If she's exceptionaly bright as you say, a bit of prep in year 5 shoud be enough.

I think too early also, if you are referring to Latymer School in Enfield which my DS1 attends. He did not achieve as well as your DD at KS1, only one level 3 and the rest 2a, however he was a bit of a late developer and made better progress over KS2, particularly in Maths, going from 2a at start of Year 3 to 5a at end of Year 5. We started tutoring him end of Year 4 and had plenty of time to go over the whole curriculum and work on any areas of weakness. DS2 achieved Level 3 across the board at KS1 and we don't intend to tutor until end of Year 4 at the very earliest.

In Year 3 I would concentrate on reading widely and learning times tables, plus you could try some NVR Bond papers (Year 3 level) for fun. Some people will say you don't need to tutor bright DC however at DS's primary school there were other children who didn't get through the tests who were equally bright and would have thrived at Latymer. You need to cover all KS2 work by the start of Y6 which will not be done in most state schools and even if DC are bright you don't know (unless you are a teacher yourself) what areas of the curriculum may have been omitted due to poor teaching. I am not sure DS would have got in without extensive tutoring however he is thriving, not struggling at all, in the top half to third of the class for all subjects.

You can never start to early !!! As long as its not to intense and she enjoys it. From personal experince you are going to need a good pass mark to guarantee a place. Good luck :-)

Yes. It's too early.

I would also like DS (yr3 ) to go to a grammar school ideally but tbh I think it's too early. He also got level 3s in his SATS despite a birthday of 31st Aug.

Am going to chill about it till the start of yr5 then think about it again tbh....

Our local grammar schools are slough area....

Oops is not are.....

Exactly what cluttered said.

Year 3 is too early for formal tutoring, but the 2 main areas that really matter in grammar school entrance are good solid literacy and numeracy skills - developed by wide reading - give your dds lots of books (ebay or library or bookpeople), and keep them up to speed on basic maths skills - times tables, mental maths etc. This needn't be dry worksheets - games where you have to add up scores, card games, and boggle,scrabble, etc for verbal skills, etc are all great ways to help on these. Join in with the games, discuss the books they or you read etc.

No need for 'formal' tutoring by you or a paid tutor until year 5. If you think they'd enjoy the puzzles, then cluttered's suggestion of Bond year 3 or 4 or whatever books are a simple intro to how VR etc work and personally I loved doing IQ type puzzles as a kid (went to grammar).

Anyone who says you 'need' to tutor before year 5 either has a product to sell you or has a child with no hope of getting in anyway or has a child at a truly appalling primary, which is not the case for you as your dd has aready got level 3s.

Re the reading, if your dd is like my dd1 and never without a book (whilst eating, practicing her instrument, going to the loo, walking down the street, ) then you don't need to provide opportunities to read; if she is like my dd2 who is a more reluctant reader, then setting aside quiet reading time eg before bed, can help her to focus on reading.

Thank you everyone. My dd2 is a reluctant reader though...she only loves the fairy books and prefers Maths. She insisted on doing 11+ and I let her have a go. She had 50% so Ive had to buy Bond assessment. I would just relax with her and go with whatever she wants.
I would be getting a private tutor for dd1 but dd2 might not need it as she is a keen learner unlike her sister who would rather read anywhere and everywhere.

Thanks again; I'm glad I joined the forum.