2023 Eleven Plus support thread

[elevenduck]

I thought it might be useful for parents of 2023 children taking the 11+ test next school year to have a space to talk everything 11+ - tips on managing stress, approaches to the different papers, ways of relaxing etc.

Let's try and keep it positive and supportive!

I think it’s so difficult once they have seen the Grammar. I almost wish that my DS hadn’t. The problem is I guess they need to see it to motivate them as well 🙈 I guess the good thing is a lot of the children are being exactly the same so imagine ours are part of the many.

All of them will feel nervous on the day and draw a blank because of it on some questions. Hopefully it will all even out 😬🙈

My DS is exactly the same with the fluctuating results. Nails some of the 10 min tests/ papers but much lower results in others. He’s also struggling with timing and finishing all of the questions. Our test is only 4 weeks away which doesn’t leave long to get him to try and speed up. I will also be so happy when this is all over!

My DS commented about doing the work through the summer holidays. I’m not overdoing it but I do understand it must be hard going for them.

Will be glad when it’s finished either way.

I've been worried about how up and down DS has been with all this, like lots of you. But DS sat a mock test on Thursday and I got the results back just now. He got 83% in total, good scores all round, and ranked 1st out of the 17 children who sat the test. Feeling more confident now that the work is paying off and when the time comes, he'll be able to do it.

That’s great @Coraline353

That's a really good score and a relief for you I can imagine. 😊

WWYD:

DD is late summer born was 7 weeks premature. Is it worth mentioning for the age standardisation?

Starting to stress a bit now as we get closer. In practices with tutor been doing so well but the mocks struggling with timings and getting 60% so every mark will count 🙈 It’s frustrating as the questions DD answers are correct it’s a timing issue. Plodding on with practice but DD cried yesterday saying it was stressful :( I don’t want her to feel like that.

I did ask her if she wanted to still apply as it’s ok if she’s changed her mind. I think the hardest thing is at school she rarely gets anything wrong. Struggling like this has been a shock. We started the process late which didn’t help due to issues at our local school being inadequate.

Just needed somewhere to get it off my chest. None of her friends are applying so know one irl to talk too. If anything they would like her to dial so she goes to the same school as them…

*fail not dial

I think most schools automatically standardise for age if a child is summer born. Do you mean mentioning she was 7 weeks early as extra information to also take into consideration? I’m not sure it would make much difference. Sorry if I’ve misunderstood.

FWIW I’ve seen several threads on here from parents whose children were suddenly performing dramatically below par and scoring 25-30% a couple of weeks before the exam and ended up sailing through on the day. Fingers crossed for your DD. None of my DD’s friends are applying either. It’s all quite stressful. We are going on holiday for 2 weeks now and giving the study a bit of a break (might sneak a few worksheets into the suitcase though😂)

@Discodiva101 agree with @Eastie77Returns they normally standard for age automatically. But get why you might want to mention she was premature you’ve nothing to lose by mentioning it but as other poster said it probably won’t make a difference.

I think our children can pick up on our stress so if you can try to relax I know it’s easier said than done. Fingers crossed for you and your daughter.

@Discodiva101 They obviously apply age standardisation across the board and late summer borns benefit the most, but I don’t think they would add any extra for premature birth. Not least because you would have to prove it - there would be dodgy parents out there claiming prematurity right up to saying their child was born at 38 weeks so they need an extra fraction of a mark 😅 It would be a minefield.

@Eastie77Returns have a great holiday! That’s good to know 🤞

I can prove prematurity as have medical evidence but I won’t contact if it’s not going to be of benefit. Also have photos of her being so tiny she fit in the palm of my husbands hand :)

Will try my best to not seem stressed 😬🙈. She’s performing well at home and in tutor so hopefully the last two mocks will be better. Also help with the pre exam nerves.

If our local school wasn’t so dire it wouldn’t be so bad.

Similarly the main reason we are going through all of this is because our local secondary is quite bad. Last OFSTEd Requires Improvement. I wouldn’t be so concerned if it was ‘just’ the academic side of things that needed improvement but the report mentioned children feeling unsafe and our friends removed their DC following a knives in the playground incident.

Same issue. Inadequate school. Drugs, knife incidents. I may homeschool if DD doesn’t pass eleven plus. I ideally don’t want to as feel I won’t be able to keep up wi the her eventually. Socially she needs to be with peers also.

Just feel the local school will be sending her into an unsafe environment. The school have said they are making improvements but it will “take time.” My child is a bit anxious as it is and I think the environment will be horrendous.

Such a shame as they have an excellent Primary. Tbf all the Primary’s are great. Just seem to be surrounded by terrible secondaries. Not sure what’s happened to them. Don’t think it helps that DD has older friends from dance school that have shared how bad local school is 🙈

Typos galore sorry! Puppy is climbing on me as I type 😅

Gosh that sounds tough - rather humbling that I’m in the situation that grammar would be “nice to have” but plan B school is one people jump through hoops to get into (faith school so many parents have sat in church weekly for years to get this one we’ll get anyway because I work there)

The only reason we finally decided to knuckle down on the 11+ revision was after hearing from a mum friend that she regretted sending her child to the local school (it was still dining out on an old outstanding rating) which had gone rapidly downhill in recent years. So I totally sympathise! It’s a horrible feeling knowing that choice is an illusion when it comes to state schools.

There is proven elite illusion effect on selective state schools, on the academic side, suggested by nobel prize winning economists.

https://quorasessionwithjoshangrist.quora.com/What-is-the-elite-illusion#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20Elite%20Illusion%E2%80%9D%20asks%20whether,schools%2C%20actually%20improve%20student%20outcomes.

@Discodiva101 if your DD had arrived on her due date, would she have been in a different school year? ie if she was born in July or August, was her actual official due date in September?

If so, it's worth bearing in mind that while the normal age standardisation process won't take this into account some appeal panels can, and do. Hopefully your DD will sail through her exam but if you do find yourself having to appeal, this can sometimes be a strong argument.

Yes she would have been born in the September if on due date. So would be going into Year 5 (one of the eldest) not the youngest in the year.

Are Outstanding Secondary schools inspected as infrequently as Outstanding Primaries? DD’s primary was inspected and judged outstanding in 2015 and hasn’t had an OFSTEd visit since! I think standards have declined but it is still hugely popular and over subscribed, I know families who moved into the very expensive catchment so their DC can attend (but still miss out as the catchment is now tiny). @Jellycats4life there is an Outstanding secondary fairly close us which could be a fall back for DD if she doesn’t get into the Grammar but I think it is also dining out on past glories. It is indeed a very unpleasant situation.

"Are Outstanding Secondary schools inspected as infrequently as Outstanding Primaries

@Eastie77Returns yes they are, you can find a lot of outstanding secondary school last inspection is more than 10 years ago
Also the ofsted assessment regime change overtime, some of the grammar schools with outstanding rating 10 years ago are downgraded to good in recent inspections.

Are Outstanding Secondary schools inspected as infrequently as Outstanding Primaries?

The secondary I was referring to was Outstanding in 2016 and finally inspected this year.

A local outstanding infant school hasn’t been inspected since 2011, which is absolutely nuts.

Schools can delay inspections for a number of reasons. The most common is when they transfer from local authority control to an academy- this is why many haven’t been looked for years.

Also they have only just changed the rules so all schools must be inspected regularly regardless of grading. This means there is a massive backlog especially with the impact of COVID etc.

My experience on primary school is that even outstanding rating doesn't mean anything for the quality of the school.