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!

And some people paste the commute time for TGS catchment post code in very detailed, people can judge how long the commute time is

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewtopic.php?t=29993&start=10

@PreplexJ

I didn't know people did that! I fear I'm out of touch with things. Perhaps the woman I've been reading about isn't crazy after all! Looks like it's normal to travel over an hour to secondary school!

@TVandwine it might be normal but I think it’s wrong. The closest school should be excellent and people should be happy to send their children there. But sadly we know this isn’t the world we live in.

In the popular super selective grammar area, for example QE boys or HBS in north London, every year there will be children from everywhere in the country to attend the test - from south London, Reading, Kent, Essex to as far as Basingstoke, Birmingham and even Scotland.

Yes I'm aware that people do this @PreplexJ , I just question why. You can put your DCs in for any 11+ in the country, but unless you are planning to move near to whichever school they get into, it's pretty stupid. To put your DC in for a test when you haven't even bothered to look at the practicalities of getting them to and from the school on a daily basis is worse than stupid.

@thing47 I think it would be a opportunistic thing, and some people do move to closer after but it is a lot of commitment. Some don't move end up with long coach or train commute even a good local option probably nearby.

You might call it stupid but in some parents mind some school will just be superior than the others, the only reason they used to justify the "superior" is nothing more than "difficulty to get in or league table results".

Some family even state that they would not be able to face their friend groups if they turned down those opportunities.

So you can call this stupid but not for the others.

@thing47 as awful as this is, some people do this so their children get a feel for the exam/style etc, they then go ahead and sit the exam closer to home. Awful, as it pushes the benchmark up for those who actually want the spaces.

I heard from a teacher friend that a kid in her class sat exams in Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire, Birmingham and Surrey and were planning to move house to the "best" school he passed the exam for.

Crazy!

Wow 😮 they must have bottomless bank accounts!

I did start a separate thread on this then came across the support thread so I hope you don't mind the hijack.
My son is in Yr 4 and we have started tutoring in groups of 4 students although not the 11+ syllabus until sep this year. Currently is jist cementing what they dhould know already.He is set homework which are smallish amounts every week. Prob is he moans like hell about doing it. The tutor said he lacks confident but at this stages doesn't see anything obvious why he shouldn't progress well.
He wants to go to the grammar because he close friends are ( who are having 1.1 ) and likely pass as they enjoy doing homework apparently.
I'm not sure how I can encourage him. If he is sure he hates it do I just save my money and send him the the average school or keep pushing him to do the work? I've told him, it doesn't matter if you fail but I want him to try his best. He's quite sensitive and anxious anyway, always has been. Not sure what's best. Any advice welcome

Is your DS greater depth across maths and English (and have they been for several years)?

If not, I think sometimes it's kinder to cut your losses (unless there are extenuating circumstances).

If so, maybe enter him for a mock exam which might either give him confidence and enthusiasm to keep going, or else give him a bit of a gentle kick up the bottom?!

Spelling and English are his strong subjects. Prior to his current tutor he had a spelling assessment with another 11+ tutor who aged his spelling to be 12 ( he's 9) but I'm not sure how accurate it is

@superplumb What about his school reports from the last couple of years - do they say that he is working at expected level, working towards expected level, or working at greater depth?

Honestly good spelling is brilliant and if it's coupled with a good vocab, goes a long way for both comprehension, English and verbal reasoning. It depends which area you're in as to the weighting (where we are, English skills are weighted more heavily than maths).

His school report always seems average as does everyone else's in the class. The comments are all very generic.

@superplumb.. Is he aiming for a super selection? If not starting in year 4 is very early.

What are you there it when school like? Rough, dire? Ok, he will be fine?

Sorry I don't understand your last question.
Never heard of super selection before?

That is just crazy. The poor kid being dragged around the country like that. One exam is stressful enough without all that! Do you know if they ever made the move?

How would you know what everyone else's school report says? No one really discusses them at my dc school.

I think schools have an obligation to let you know once a year usually in the summer term across reading, writing and maths if your child is Working Towards (not yet at standard), Expected, or Greater Depth (above average). The teachers' comments will likely be fairly generic but you should have those levels on the report.

A super selective grammar is one that pulls from a really big area, eg Tiffin schools. If you are unsure, check out the 11plus forum or let us know and I'm sure someone will help you. Super selectives take the cream of the cream - literally the top 5%, whereas areas like Kent and Bucks will take the top 30%.

The plus side about super selectives is they have minimal impact on the surrounding schools so comps are often still very good. Whereas in areas where the top 30% are stripped out and sent to grammar, attainment can suffer more in the local non-selective schools.

@superplumb as above.

Many grammar take those e above 121, only on the criteria eg distance etc.

However some take those with highest scores.

I guess what I mean is, he's scoring high in English and spelling, you have a tutor for the maths etc.
He may not need anything extra anyway not all children do.

In terms of him hating this however... It depends as well on what the other school is like and how much you want him to get in.

To get over the line many dc just need basics and don't need all this extra.

In his friend group we do. We all feel that they just get average marks for ease..noone seems to be either high or low. I'm friends with lots of the parents

Ahh OK so the local grammar seems to be catchment looked afyer children etc . Not super selective I don't think

@superplumb in all honesty, I would ease the pressure for now.
There are it's of threads on how to prepare and what works for some that probably won't for others. If you search 11+ you'll find a vast array from previous years. It's important IMO to read through and appreciate different approaches work for different children.
The general consensus is, for those that were extensively tutored to pass the exam, the school pace and workload will feel extremely demanding.
We didn't even think about grammar schools until around June, went through some past papers and DS sat the exam. We are out of catchment, but it seemed to work.
There are some pupils who leave after year 7, as the pressure is too much, so I think it's important to assess if the school is right in the first place for your dc.

If there's one thing I know for sure, it is the fact that being an 11+ tutor is a great pocket filler

I suspect you are right about the pocket filler. He only has 1 hour a week currently which is basically going over his school work. The actual tuition itself starts in sep when he is in year 5 so a year in advance. I'm happy either way tbh hlif he doesn't do it fine by me but I want him to have the opportunity I never had
I also want him to be happy albeit he will still have to do homework whatever school he goes to...he doesn't seem to want to hear that though 😆

Ah, we never talk about the reports amongst the parents. Maybe the random question to ask if my dc is also struggling with the math (which he is not and greater depth, but for some reason two parents asked). Perhaps everyone in the friend group is doing average? As the teacher would be using scores they get to put them in greater depths or expected. I used to not pay much attention to how it was done, but then realised they were testing them for this.