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Secondary education

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

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Original poster

2019 CE support group?

44 replies

Innisfree · 27/05/2019 09:09

After two long years the clock is finally ticking and we are on countdown to Common Entrance...just wondered if there was a support group this year?

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DickByNameDickByNature · 27/05/2019 17:51

Not many people seem to talk about CE here, perhaps because so few actually do it. DS needs 65% (which I think is an average of all subjects), so I am not overly worried. The subjects he's not so great at will be levelled out by the ones he is far better at. We are trying to do little and often revision this half-term, and school have provided us with numerous past papers. Obviously he is not interested in doing revision.

Original poster

Innisfree · 27/05/2019 18:28

Good luck for next week then! DS is so bored by it all now and just wants it to start. I’m sort of the same. But I’ll be a nervous wreck next week, even still. We haven’t been given a % to aim for by the senior school, but he did get an art scholarship and with that and the reference etc the senior school seem to be acting like he’s already got in! So hopefully unless there is a major problem it will be ok. Common entrance is quite intense but I do think it helps later with the exams.

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Winchester2019 · 27/05/2019 19:10

Good luck to both you and your DS"s. I found the wait between the exams ending and the results very stressful , hopefully you won't have to wait too long . We got our results last week.

DickByNameDickByNature · 27/05/2019 19:31

The impression I've been given is that they are IN already. It would have to go very wrong for them not to get in now. I suppose it does depend on what school you are going to though as to what they are expecting. I am surprised you don't have a % aiming for. We were given varying % required for all local and London schools.

Original poster

Innisfree · 27/05/2019 20:31

We are in Scotland so perhaps not the same competition for places? I got the impression our future school put a lot of store by the art scholarship interview and reference (as well as portfolio) which included mock exam results etc.

I don’t know anyone in DS’s year who is going to a Scottish senior school and who has been given a % to aim for. But we have a very good head who is very active in helping choose the right school and who has great contacts so perhaps these % conversations are behind closed doors...

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Original poster

Innisfree · 27/05/2019 20:34

Hope it was good news for you Winchester2019! 😀

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Winchester2019 · 27/05/2019 21:07

Yes , thank you it was @Innisfree . He did very well. Good luck next week and congratulations to your son on being awarded his art scholarship.

DickByNameDickByNature · 28/05/2019 08:02

I would say it was a given considering the Art Scholarship (well done, he should be very proud , some of DC's friends have gone for this and it's very involved).
The system could well be very different in Scotland. Down here, different schools require different average % for CE. Varying from 50% to 70% (that I have heard of). It will be fine, and it will all be over very soon.

DogsandBoysmeanMud · 28/05/2019 08:10

Good luck all. Went through it last year and 2016. Both now settled at senior school.

Sharonwalker369 · 28/05/2019 08:14

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Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Boysarefab · 29/05/2019 22:23

My DS did CE three years ago and the one thing I took away from it was that there was "nothing common about common entrance". Different schools appear to have different mark schemes irrespective of the fact that there is actually a mark scheme...... generally the view then was that no one failed to get their school having passed the pre test (had to be a major disaster not to "pass" the relevant threshold). At the end of the day my view ended up being that if they passed the pre-test they didn't "fail" the CE and the differences in marking scheme made sure of it. I'm sure my DS failed Latin but magically got the pass required to get his CE..... this is however London so may be different outside.

Original poster

Innisfree · 31/05/2019 10:43

Yes. It is unusual in that it’s the first set of public exams they sit and yet it’s highly variable between schools in terms of grades. Still think CE stands them in good stead for the future though.

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orangeicecream · 31/05/2019 16:45

Doing lots of revision here. DS is pretty much in to senior school... Sports scholarship in the bag.... But want him to treat this as a mini gcse so he will see the level of revision required to get what he wants. He is only really focusing on his preferred subjects now. History not being one of them! Good luck all.

Michaelahpurple · 31/05/2019 20:25

I don't blame him - the history papers aren't awfully nice or at least it CMS be a bore for children to work out what range of topics will give them a safe choice. But perhaps other schools make it bit clearer to their candidates.

Have to admit that I don't much fancy doing the literature essays either - lucky it's not me having to take it!

Michaelahpurple · 03/06/2019 18:21

Good luck to all DCs!

Original poster

Innisfree · 03/06/2019 18:39

Yes, good look to everyone. Just about to triple check the calculator, protractors, compasses, pens, pencils...DS is, of course, as cool as a cucumber!

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Michaelahpurple · 03/06/2019 19:57

Where do all the bearings protractors we repeatedly buy go?

Winchester2019 · 03/06/2019 20:18

Good luck everyone x

orangeicecream · 05/06/2019 21:36

Hope everyone is holding up OK.... Its relentless! 4 tomorrow 😩.
How did your DC find the non calc maths? ... DS thought it was harder than any of the past papers he did (he did about 6 pp).

Michaelahpurple · 05/06/2019 22:12

Tomorrow is a bit content heavy. DS and I had planned to go through the RS and Geog tonight but by 7 neither of us could face anymore he just went for the world's longest bath instead.

Half way done (plus one) though!

Original poster

Innisfree · 05/06/2019 22:30

DS seemed ok so far, it’s hard to tell, he’s a boy of few words! He did two revision sessions at school this afternoon so was exhausted when he got home. We ended up having dinner, watching a movie and he went off to bed.

7 down 5 to go...I agree tomorrow looks bloody awful, will be great to see the back of it. He has level 3 Latin on Friday though 😱

Can’t wait until Friday. Continued good luck all x

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Northernsights · 06/06/2019 13:23

Also can't wait until it's over. DS had a cricket match yesterday so not home until late.

I think we've all lost the will to care any more. Fortunately senior school only ask for 50% although I think it's meant there hasn't been a lot of revision!

orangeicecream · 06/06/2019 20:18

We've lost it now.... Spanish tomorrow and I really have lost the will to force anymore revision!!

Northernsights · 06/06/2019 21:12

Latin for us. No revision tonight!

Original poster

Innisfree · 06/06/2019 23:20

We have Latin tomorrow. Almost over!

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