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Original poster

2023 Eleven Plus support thread

854 replies

elevenduck · 19/10/2022 16:30

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!

OP posts:
GarlandaChynoweth · 05/10/2023 15:21

He's still determined to go to the grammar, at his age I think I would just have wanted to be with my friends so I'm glad it's not up for debate. His brother has made loads of friends despite not knowing anyone when he arrived so I think he'll be fine too.

starpatch · 06/10/2023 18:19

Looks like Rochester Grammar school for girls isn't superselective Numeri19, so it will just go on distance for girls who passed the test.

AutumnLemon · 06/10/2023 18:40

Does anyone know if Bucks schools receive the results before parents do? And if so, how much in advance? Purely nosiness on my part!

Numeri19 · 06/10/2023 19:58

Thank you starpatch for advice. We are heading to their open day soon.
We are in Sittingbourne ,It's out of catchment. (About 13-15 mils?)
We are not sure how far they would accept and no idea about her score is high enough for ooc ...?😬

historyrepeatz · 07/10/2023 08:35

It all depends on how many children meet their admissions criteria who live closer. Have you had a look at the admissions criteria on the schools website? It shows the usual looked after children, siblings, children of teachers, pupil premium and also has priority for children from certain primary schools. The council's website will show information on each school including the greatest distance offered last year.

In our area we have a school where we can be fairly certain offers won't be going out much over 2 miles but other schools can go out 10 one year and 6 the next.

DibbleDooDah · 07/10/2023 09:36

@AutumnLemon Yes they do. They get them the day before to allow them to review and prepare for those parents who request a selection review.

starpatch · 07/10/2023 12:14

Numeri19 if you are in sittingbourne did your DC do the Kent test as well? Was thinking you would be close enough for the Faversham grammar?

starpatch · 07/10/2023 12:15

Kent don't publish the last distance offered so this causes a lot of confusion.

Numeri19 · 07/10/2023 22:52

starpatch Yes , my DD did Kent test too. But we are planning to move out this area (Sittingbourne) so even if my child passed Kent probably won't be applying grammar in Sittingbourne or faversham.
As my DD passed Medway hopefully we get a school in Medway....
We went to Rochester grammar today and my DD love that school so much. But it's so oversubscribed and there are only little chance to get the place....😬

starpatch · 08/10/2023 20:10

Good luck fingers crossed for you

autumncolor · 09/10/2023 07:35

Hi, do we know when the West Midlands school's results will be sent? On the website, it states that results will be sent by 20th Oct. Does it mean we can expect results anytime now or does it depend on each school?

Tore121 · 09/10/2023 10:12

Previously it's been by the Friday but I guess the 20th is the cut off date. Seems like the longest wait. Not a lot of time to put the applications in is it 🙈

ComfortFoodCorner · 09/10/2023 10:45

All of my friends' children who took the exam last year in West Midlands, received their results on the cut-off date.

autumncolor · 09/10/2023 12:46

@ComfortFoodCorner @Tore121 that’s long wait.

Tore121 · 09/10/2023 12:48

I know. I have had friends different parts of the country that have had good and bad news. Surprised by some that didn't pass. I honestly think it's such a horrible process :( I wish they could just base it on SATS and school reports.

WhoAteAllTheDinosaurs · 09/10/2023 14:08

Anyone else in Warwickshire? Open mornings are available to book but no results yet and it seems a bit awful to have the open mornings before you know the results!!

curiousmamma · 09/10/2023 14:23

Not Warwickshire but we're in a similar situation here. Booking for opening day is opening soon but you're only meant to go if you get above a certain place. No sign of if the results are arriving tomorrow or next week! Booking a place before knowing feels like tempting fate and not what I want to do! The waiting is agony!

WhoAteAllTheDinosaurs · 09/10/2023 14:52

What a dilemma! I know what you mean about tempting fate... I had to book though, as when I looked there were obviously very limited spaces available now. Will feel awful if we go and then find out she didn't get a high enough mark!

BlackLambAndGreyFalcon · 09/10/2023 15:06

WhoAteAllTheDinosaurs · 09/10/2023 14:52

What a dilemma! I know what you mean about tempting fate... I had to book though, as when I looked there were obviously very limited spaces available now. Will feel awful if we go and then find out she didn't get a high enough mark!

Same here. Open days are next week. Results are expected by the end of this week (it's been a LONG wait!), but obviously I had to book the open days in advance to get a place. It'll be awful to have to cancel if she doesn't pass (although not as awful as actually going on the open day and then finding out later that she hadn't passed). One of the schools isn't opening their bookings until Friday evening (when we expect to have received the results) which is a much more sensible way of doing things!

Paddingtonthebear · 09/10/2023 15:41

The grammar school open day was back in June here. Seems sensible to run it a few months before!

AutumnLemon · 09/10/2023 15:42

We have an open day on the Thursday with results expected on the Friday! Feels a bit like "Here's what you could have won..."

curiousmamma · 09/10/2023 17:14

It's a tricky situation but like you say you have to book although the "Here's what you could've won" reference is spot on!
As soon as I wrote my previous message I got another email from the school saying the dates have changed and we are to expect the results on time and not early as we were previously told! So we won't get to book until we know which is a far better idea. Bit annoyed though as I got my hopes up we'd find out soon. Still another fortnight to go now! 😡

Idlovetostayhereandbenormal · 09/10/2023 17:53

All our open evenings have already been and we don’t get the results until next week! It does seem a bit silly.

ComfortFoodCorner · 09/10/2023 18:27

Hi All, just a panicky last min question. DD is sitting for EHS Birmingham tomorrow. it says CEM Select exam. We really took it easy as she did Grammars and KEHS, how hard it's going to be... But checking the timing in other CEM select papers, it is quite tricky. 10 mins for 25 questions! Sounds even harder than Grammar exam. She is trying not to freakout. Just checking is there a written exam at all like Long comprehension or Creative Writing? Sounds like the test is online, so not sure. Anybody could throw some light.. Nothing can be done at this point, but at least she would know what to expect..

BlackLambAndGreyFalcon · 09/10/2023 18:58

@ComfortFoodCorner are you sure it's still CEM? They have stopped producing 11plus papers. Our local area which did use to use CEM (Bexley) moved to GL this academic year.