12 plus Bexley

[Icedchoc]

Does anyone have experience of the 12 plus in Bexley?

My child missed out on Bexley. He is very bright and just had a bad day. He really wants to try for the 12 plus.

Can anyone provide any guidance or tips please as to what to expect and the process?

Thank you

Missed out in 11 plus which was sat a few months back but is still very motivated to try for a grammar school.

I can not find anything much about the 12 plus and I will ask the Bexley grammar schools when they reopen.

All state schools have to publish their in-year application policy on their website, e.g., Bexley Grammar School says:

Children wishing to join Bexley Grammar School, except at the normal point of admission, must be deemed selective under testing arrangements for selection, similar to those required at the age of 11. Children may not undertake more than one test in an academic year and children that take the test at the usual time in year 6 and who are not deemed selective may not undertake a retest before the summer term of year 7. Where applications for admissions exceed the number of places available the oversubscription criteria 1 and 3 to 6 above apply. The second criterion only applies to students applying to join the school for the start of Year 7.
https://www.bexleygs.co.uk/page/?title=In%2DYear+Admission&pid=26

There is also a timetable of In-year testing dates on the London Borough of Bexley website - looking at the above, if your DS has already taken the test for entry into the current year 7, he won't be eligible to sit the in-year test until the date in early July.

So July 2025 if sat the 11 plus recently? So at the end of year 7.

You also need to bear in mind that places will only open up in year 8 if someone leaves. In the grammar schools near where I live there are always more applicants for occasional places than actual places so once again selection takes place according to the published criteria. I would not get too optimistic about a place being available.

Yes I understand that but my child wants to try again. It is all very difficult.

I know someone who passed the 12 plus. (They were fairly recent immigrants when the 11+ happened and had wrongly -but understandably- assumed that the contents of the test would have been covered in school)
They ended up joining a grammar in year 9 as that was the first time a space became available.

Which school is your child going to attend in the meantime? You may find he enjoys it and is sufficiently challenged there.

Did he pass or take the Kent 11+ also?

If so he might get in with that score at Beths

Only boys who are deemed selective by Bexley LA will be eligible to be considered for entry to the school using
arrangements published by them. However, should a child’s current Headteacher believe that the score achieved was not
a true reflection of a child’s ability, they are able to put a case forward to the Headteacher Review Panel which can review
the case and subsequently adjust the child’s score to deem them selective, should this be their belief. The Headteacher
Review Panel ordinarily takes place during November.
Boys for whom the Local Authority maintains an Educational Needs/Educational, Health and Care Plan naming Beths
Grammar School, who are deemed selective, will be admitted.
The Published Admissions Number (PAN) for the year commencing September 2023 is 192 at age 11.
In order to attend Beths Grammar School, boys will need to have attained the age standardised scores as deemed by
Bexley LA. Once this has been achieved, places will be allocated according to the over-subscription criteria listed below.
Over-subscription
Where applications for admission exceed the number of places available, the following criteria will be applied for students
deemed selective in the Bexley Test, in the order set out below, to decide which students to admit:

1. Applicants who are or have been Looked After Children**.
2. Those boys identified by Bexley LA as achieving one of the highest 180 scores in the selection tests. All scores are

ranked from highest downwards and the top 180 students are those that achieve one of those highest 180 scores in the Bexley 11+ Selection Test. These students are awarded ‘top scorer’ status which gives them priority similar to that of a sibling. The cut off score varies from year to year dependent upon the scores achieved by those sitting the test. The decision regarding the cut off score is made by Bexley LA and not by the school.

1. For applicants with a sibling currently attending Beths Grammar School at the time of enrolment. A sibling includes

full, half, adopted and step brother or sister living at the same address.

1. Applicants with a parent employed by Beths Grammar School on a permanent contract at the time of application.
2. Up to 12 places for boys who are eligible for Pupil Premium and/or Free School Meals and deemed selective at the

time of application in rank order of distance from the school. A supplementary form if applying under this criteria, can be found at the end of this policy and will need to be returned to the school by 31 October 2022 for those wishing to be considered under this criteria.

1. On the basis of proximity to the school measured by reference to the shortest radial distance (direct line distance

between the applicant’s home address to Beths Grammar School’s east entrance in Hartford Road).

1. Where the distance is identical to 0.001 of a mile, the scores in the selection tests will be used as a tie-breaker with

priority given to the higher score.

1. Where none of the above apply, but a child has been deemed selective in a grammar school test in Kent, or another

authority which borders Bexley LA, and can supply the School with confirmation of this. Home address is the address at which the child lives with a parent or registered guardian who is the main carer, defined as ‘the Home address where the child spends the majority of the school week (Monday-Friday)‘. Proof of residency will be required. The offer of a place may be withdrawn if proof of residence is not met. On occasions it may be possible for us to offer places from our Reserve List. Any offers from this list will be made once our waiting list of selective students has been exhausted. Dependent upon the agreed pass mark (which is an arbitrary figure), we would be content to offer to students who attained a minimum of 214 – the mark that, historically, has not been offered below. Students from the Reserve List would be offered in rank order and according to the criteria listed above. Once those on the highest mark below the pass mark have been offered, the same would then be done with the next mark, and so forth. To find out more about the tests, go to www.bexley.gov.uk/services/schools-and-education/selection-tests/about

Hi
Can I please check if you managed to register your son for the 12+ exam for Bexley? Amy’s son missed Bexley by 9 points and he would like to try the 12+, any useful information will be very much appreciated
thank you

Did he pass the Kent test?
If you are close to Beths then a Kent pass is Criteria 8 for oversubscription and they appear to offer a few places close to the start of term.

@LostMySocks
Thank you
Yes he did passed Kent, we are on the waiting list for Beth’s but our position is 70 at the moment & we live quite close around 2 miles, not sure we stand a chance 😓 it’s so difficult