11 plus :suddenly doesn't want to do it. Is this allowed, will a black mark be agaisnt them?

[DrasticAction]

We left it up today dd to decide and she wanted to try

I wasn't keen because I don't think she will pass based on her maths, she gets it but she's too slow.

Can she just decide not to take it?
Will there be a marketing against her?
If she hates her secondary school and wants to go for 12plus or 13 plus will this go agaisnt her or, is it better not to take it and fail?

Not sure what to do.

Well, you can't drag her on kicking and screaming, but I would impress upon her very strongly that

1. if she passes, this just adds an option / some options to the schools you can apply for and stand some chance of getting, so
2. if she passes, you don't even have to apply for the grammar, if she really doesn't want to go there, but
3. if she doesn't even sit the exam, it almost certainly means that she can't go to the gram.ar for year 7, even if she changes her mind later in the day of the exam.

And don't talk to her about taking the '12 plus' or '13 plus' with her, unless you are absolutely certain that getting a place in this way is an actual thing in your* *area Most grammar schools now do not have a formal new intake at year 8 or year 9 - they just test for occasional places, either because someone has left, or e.g. Once or twice a year to place dc on a waiting list in case a place comes up.

But no, the people setting out the rooms might mutter a bit about the wasted energy, but no 'Black mark' against her name.

I can only speak for the State system as that's the one I'm familiar with but no, there's no "black mark" or real consequence over not taking the exam once you've registered. I would find out why she doesn't want to take it: is it nerves, anxiety, scared, worried about not getting in, not liking the Grammar etc etc and then try and see if you can calm her down.

If it doesn't work then it doesn't work. But there will be no mark against her.

In many areas of the U.K., there are no grammar schools so the 11+ is used by secondary schools to help determine along with grades which set they start in for secondary school. They also use the 11+ grades to help estimate their projected GCSE grades.

There is no requirement to take it though, and the 11+ grades are not essential, just one data point used along with grades for determining sets and projected GCSE grades.

Id look further into why she is slow with her maths though? That sort of slowness decoding and encoding from mental maths to writing math work down is a flag for dyslexia and/or dyscalculia. It might be worthwhile getting her privately screened for both. The state school screening doesn’t pick up evreryone, even severe cases slip through. If she has either or both, she’d get that extra time in exams in future.

@ReleasetheCrackHen

That's really interesting thank you, I didn't realise that?
Is that still a flag for dyslexia if she is naturally good at the shapes and nvr etc please?

She does understand the concepts in maths but works very slowly.

"In many areas of the U.K., there are no grammar schools so the 11+ is used by secondary schools to help determine along with grades which set they start in for secondary school. They also use the 11+ grades to help estimate their projected GCSE grades. "

In areas where there are no grammars kids don't take the 11 plus though. And secondaries that have no 11 plus don't get given the results anyway. I think you must be thinking about year 6 SATS? Which are used sometimes in the way you describe.

I would say this is definitely possible.

My DD (14) is incredibly fast and very high scoring with NVR tests - anything that involves flipping shapes or making cubes she just seems to see it instantly.

She's also good at maths - but only once the poor teacher has explained the concept eleventy billion times through every medium known on earth, and hence needs to work at a pace that is more caterpillar than hare.

She's severely dyslexic.

In many areas of the U.K., there are no grammar schools so the 11+ is used by secondary schools to help determine along with grades which set they start in for secondary school. They also use the 11+ grades to help estimate their projected GCSE grades.

This isn’t true.

In non-grammar areas there is no 11+ full stop. I agree with @PatriciaHolm in that I think you’re muddling 11+ exams (optional) with year 6 SATS (mostly compulsory - although some parents may choose to withdraw their children).

Taking or not taking the 11+ has absolutely no bearing on anything in (non-grammar) secondary school.

One thing I will point out @DrasticAction is that if your daughter decides not to sit the 11+, there is no second chance at 12 or 13. Getting a place later on, in year 8 or 9, would be dependent on children leaving the grammar school (which of course does happen) and maybe sitting another entrance test. So, theoretically possible but quite difficult in reality.

Why don’t you just let her have a go, with no pressure or expectation? Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that.