SET / 11+

[umikimono]

Hi All,
New to this and throwing it out there!
Are ALL children tutored for SET/ 11+ tests nowadays or do some take test on natural ability?
Would love to know please

I only discovered this once I had kids myself, but - it depends ENTIRELY on where you live.
There isn't one nationwide pass mark, it's simply a competition between all the children in your area.
So, a child in one area could 'fail' with far more correctly answered questions than a child who passes in an area where competition is rife.

I grew up in Kent, admittedly ages ago so may have changed now, but so many grammar schools in my particular area that no one tutored at all - if you were top or second table you got in.

Where I live now, I'm not disclosing sorry, it's a max of one child per school that gets in, so tutoring is a must.

*competition is NOT rife!

We did a little bit of work a few weeks during the summer before the exam. Didn't want tutoring as I worried that a child who has had extensive tutoring may struggle in the school setting.

I was shocked when dc told me (after the exam) how some children mentioned they had been preparing for the exam for up to 2 years!

All worked out for dc, and has been at said school for a few days

I think its got much more common that parents tutor for Kent test, most middle class parents seem to tutor now. But of course many parents wouldn't think of it or couldn't afford it. Although its supposed to be an intelligence test tutoring does help so its very unfair I think. Would it depend on the 11+ test though, because a lot of them test on year 6 curriculum don't they so presumably your child would need to learn the curriculum ahead of time.

Sutton SET is heavily tutored for. 5000 children try.

There are a number of grammar schools in that area and they are VERY competitive and hard to get into.

you may get one or two genetically blessed kids who are exceptionally bright and sail through but I'd say this is far from the norm (note a poster above like this)

Most children I know who have got in, are already naturally pretty bright. They've then received at least a year's worth of tutoring which takes them to the top 1 to 2% needed to be at to be successful.

A mediocre child would need 2 years plus.

Yes once there those children may struggle and need extra tutoring throughout their school lives. I also know of a couple of those too but they just carry on and the school can't throw you out. Often it's part of their culture to work hard - Asian families who make up a large proportion of entrants compared to the local population are known to work very hard and put great emphasis on education (and rightly so in my opinion).

In summary, it depends on genetics and/or hard work. There's a sliding scale.

Thank you all for the honest feedback really interesting and given me some food for thought 😉