Things you wished you had known about the 11 plus process

[Goposie]

For me, that the numbers applying are crazy and the sheer odds stacked against getting in.

That hard work really does pay off.That it will.all come together in the last few weeks. As others said save your annial leave, its not over till its over.

nesus annual leave

Everyone tutors. Including the ones that say they don't.

As several PP have said - it varies wildly. State v. private. Super-selective v. selective. Area. Experiences from the London fee-paying schools will be entirely different to East Kent state schools.

But there is a common feature. It’s a deeply divisive system, and immensely stressful for some (and admittedly only some) children.

“do know far far more youngsters totally failed by their school though and left with life long harm from exiting with no grades inspite of being capable“
Really? I know some kids who’ve been failed by crap schools of all types in both sectors. Selection at 10 is one of the things that contributes to “life long harm” in many children.

Yes really Bertrand Russel. I work with them closely every day.

I don't doubt as no one size fits all that students for all sorts of reasons come out of grammer etc damaged by something.

I am working with large section of teens and not one is from private or grammar.

They have however pretty much all been let down by awful comps etc.

One exam versus.... 6 years of un supported learning in a rubbish school

That going to grammar school is not an indicator of future success.

I went to grammar school & am doing OK as a teacher. However I know people who went to rough comps who are doing just as well/better.

The lessons we had were quite boring - because the teachers were used to girls just sitting and getting on with it they didn't put much effort in.

There are people from my hometown who are still going on about it years later (they didn't get a place - but apparently got an offer they turned down and so on) 35 YEARS LATER! Get a life! They are doing fine btw and have more money than me - but they seem to still be hung up on it.

You spend your childhood thinking you're not especially bright because you're surrounded by intelligent people.

Bertrand Russel I want to apologise my posts to you are rather brusque .

You also perhaps work with teens. It's something I feel very strongly about because where I am we are very much in.. Picking up the pieces mode and it's something I feel strongly about. Sorry

“I am working with large section of teens and not one is from private or grammar.
They have however pretty much all been let down by awful comps etc.”

If you work with troubled young people in the public sector, I assume that few of your clients come from privileged backgrounds? This might be giving you a skewed perspective.

that dc miss vital days at school to attend the test.
that dc get stressed beyond healthy.
that dc will be rejected by some schools.

see, that is NOT ture here.

1. Here test is Saturday. My neices are in Kent and it is one test sat by everyone at same time, so no wasted school time.
2. My dc did not get over stressed because we did not project that stress on to them. we are lucky that no-one else from their school did the test, but even so, we projected the - have a go, do your best, and there is anther good school if you don't pass.
3. They were accepted by the schools we applied to, and again, round here, if you pass for one, you pretty much pass for them all.

That the 11+ test doesn't measure how smart your child is. And certainly not how creative.

That it measures their performance in a particular type of test on one day of their life.

That a grammar school place does not guarantee future success for your child

That "failing" can be very psychologically damaging for some children.

That the 25% of kids in grammar schools with the lowest grades are not in a good place.

That many parents in Bucks become totally insane.

That some kids do 45 mins 11+ work Every Day, including their birthday, and don't pass.

Where I live, money is the key factor in success at grammar school.

All competitive entrance examinations have the potential to be very stressful if you do not prepare your child and yourself sufficiently ahead of time.

All competitive entrance examination processes have losers as well as winners.

Learning that you win some and you lose some is an impossible life lesson. Being sheltered from the inevitable competition for the world’s scarce resources does children no good.

I learned for sure what I already suspected-that it is a psychologically damaging, societally divisive, educationally questionable and crashingly unfair system.

Totally.

With respect Maria, being told at 10 that you've failed can be hugely damaging for some children.

Not impossible! important

It’s only damaging if children have been badly prepared for the possibility.

No. Its simply not that simple.

Children need to learn about competing, winning and losing from a young age. It’s when they are sheltered from life’s inevitabilities that the problems arise.

Grammar schools are not right for lots of children - they aren’t even right for a lot of DC who end up in them. It’s by building up GSs into something they aren’t that these huge issues with failure arise.

Does more stress occur in areas where all year 6 take the exam? eg Bucks. If you are the only child from your school taking it, perhaps it is not so stressful if you pass or 'fail'.

We are in the north so less competitive than some areas. It was DS who wanted to do the test he is a bright lad and I really worried for him and felt guilty letting him do the test. However, the school were really good with them he met some lads had a laugh and he came away saying the test was ok, wasn’t that hard and he quite enjoyed it but maybe wouldn’t want to do it every weekend. He got a good score is at GS now, happy and doing really well it was definitely the right choice for him. He/we have never looked back.

Telling a child anything is all about how it's packaged, what are the implications.. Eg all friends got in and child didn't and so on.

Bertrand no my 'clients' can come from anywhere actually. Could be full of private, grammar kids, but we're not which tells it's own story.

Many of them are very capable and just need different kinds of support. I've seen kids pass exams who said they were told not to bother in the comp etc.

I could write a novel on it but I won't bore everyone

Maria some comps are not right either though!

We need a good variety of education centers to support lots of different kinds of needs.

That I was right to think/ hoope DS could get into a Surrey super selective without professional tutoring, and that I didn’t need to stress as colleagues/ other parents went down the Test Teach/ tutor route. That he’d get a place via the waiting list.

Not us, ds only in reception, but friends with older children tell me people lie! They say home prep, no tutor, nothing special, and it’s not true. I presume they are either insecure about their children’s ability or want to put the others off.

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