11 plus support thread 2022

[PalindromemordnilaP]

Anyone else have a DC sitting 11+ this Autumn?

If so, would you like to chat on a support thread?

DD is sitting her exam tomorrow.

Anyone else? Waiting for the results will be nail-biting.

Ah, good luck to him. 🤞

What is the second stage test? I don't believe our school that we're applying for does this? Unless it says different when we get the result if this one? I've read so many comments of people saying about this second test?

lots of places don’t have a second stage , 1MrsT.

some of the superselectives (eg DAO and Tiffin in London) have literally thousands of sitters in their “first stage” exam. They invite the top 300 or so back for a second exam to sift out the most capable (well, the best exam-sitters) and then offer their 180 places after that.

All areas and schools seem different in how they handle scores, cachements and admissions. Sometimes (eg in Bucks) it’s all on location, once you get a passing score it doesn’t matter what the actual score is at all! Other places are score based alone and no matter where you live.

Ps is it just me or is the time passing sloooowly?

Soooooo slowly

Oh I see, thank you for that. I was starting to worry as it wasn't mentioned. We are in Birmingham so don't think they do the second stage. Such a shame that the children have to go through that twice.

Yes, soooo slow! I want to know now, I am so impatient 😂

I concur with you all, time does indeed seem to have actually stopped! All the open days for the other schools have now started around us and tbh that has sent me into full panic mode, I really really want to fall in love with one so I feel like plan B would be fine, but so far it's not happening. Local catchment school being mostly likely to just be given is very meh. (Sorry, awful word.) Some nice and enthusiastic teachers etc but just little niggly things, eg in language department I was told they take either French or Spanish in year 7, fine, I then asked when they start the second language and was looked at as if I had 3 heads. 1 language is all they get the opportunity to do, even the top stream kids. Teacher could obviously see I was a bit nonplussed and said 'oh but they can take it all the way to GCSE', Well, yes, given that this is a secondary, you would jolly well hope so! Meanwhile I have a kid who actually would quite like to learn ancient Greek aswell as modern languages, only a couple of schools round us will offer that, one is a fee paying school with the sort of fees that make your eyes water just reading them and we could never afford without a lottery win, the other, no prizes for guessing, is the grammar. Everything firmly crossed....

Good luck to all with second stages still to go. Thankful we are in a one stage area, albeit super selective. Don't think DS would like having to do a second day. Well done to everyone's amazing kiddos taking it in their stride and all you wonderful parents keeping it relaxed for them. This is really quite a heartening thread, we're all clearly anxious and hopeful, but all keeping it level and non pressured for the kids, thank goodness for a place to let it all out!

My DS is currently on his way to his round exam. I feel so nervous, my husband is much better placed to be with him this morning. He's such a hard worker and really wants to go to the school...I so hope it goes well for him. If he doesn't get in then he will go to the local comprehensive.

Yes the school we went to visit for our plan B offers French OR Spanish in yr 7 so they have to decide before having had any lessons in it at all.

I asked about music GCSE and some (most?) years they offer the Btec instead - understandably due to make up of those wanting to take music and not enough with ability for GCSE, but still not the same as the grammar! I don't think there's an orchestra...

Oh don't even start me on music provision in schools!

totally feel you with the music thing.
one local grammar has 4 music teachers, training and main orchestra, jazz band, a capella choir and a couple of different percussion/fun music clubs. The other grammar
has orchestra, choir, have-a-go-band and ensembles. The comp has “community” choir and rock band. that’s it. there just aren’t enough children whose parents fund “classical” music instruments. We can find out of school music stuff, but it’s such a shame not to have music as part of the main school experience…

Exam today. Not quite 11+ but similar.
2 week wait for ranking!

Aethel - yes similar set up here. The difference in provision is so huge it makes the fear of not getting into grammar a bigger deal as we know what they're missing!

Well we've now looked round several of our local schools trying to find that elusive plan B, as you say @MagnaQuestion the difference e in provision is scary, it really shouldn't be like that. I'm sure plenty will say that parents like us are part of that problem, as if a section of top performing kids are siphoned off then it makes the problem worse, all I know is I can only work with the system in front of me.

Hope anyone else who has done tests in the past week has done well, join the rest of us in nail biting fo results now 😬

DS2 sat the exam for Lancaster Royal Grammar School and we weren't expecting to receive the results until tomorrow.

But I received an email at lunchtime advising he has been offered a place!
😃

I am so relieved, as DS wasn't filled with confidence after he sat the exam. He said he ran out of time and had to guess lots of questions on the Maths paper and said the VR paper was awful. So I've been really bigging up the other schools we were considering and praying he wasn't upset on results day. He was desperate to join the same school as DS1 - can't wait to tell him when he gets home from tea at his friend's house.

Good luck to everyone else who is enduring the wait for results!

Oh fantastic Roomba!! I really hope so much to be in the same position in a couple of weeks. I'm so not sure my daughter did well, even though she had in mocks...

@Roomba LGGS results came at lunchtime today too! DD passed...she also ran out of time towards end of Maths paper and had to guess the last ones!

Fantastic worried!! Mine didn't finish one of the papers either so 🤞 . Different area though!

@worriedstar - Brilliant, well done to your DD!

Huge congratulations to the DCs of @Roomba and @worriedstar.

I really feel for those DCs and parents that have all the anxiety of waiting for a result, to then have to sit a second round! That sounds painful.

I agree with those above, time has stopped...

One week down, three more to wait for our results!

Big congrats to your DC @Roomba and @worriedstar!

My DS said he also ran out of time so guessed at the end, feeling slightly better now about that. I'm honestly so nervous for him. I just want the best for him and like other PPs have said, this is all we have to work with.

Well done to your dad. My dd passed too!!

Dd not dad!!

from what I understand it’s quite common for the papers to have too many questions in to finish, as a lot of the tests are cohort marked (the top howver many % “pass”) so you don’t have to complete everything if the other children didn’t either. Remember they want to find the most able (or most highly tutored-up, sigh) so will be aiming high in terms of difficulty. If they made it short/easy too many children would get 100% and they would not be able to discriminate the highest achievers!

10-12 days and counting…

@Bogiesaremyonlyfriend well done to your dd too! my older dd is there and loving it (mostly!)