11+ 2025 support thread

[AquaPeer]

Hi all,
I really enjoyed reading previous 11 plus support threads and I think we’re probably ready for a new cohort of year 5s start their prep?

so I thought I’d set up one for next year. All welcome!

we are trying for dame Alice Owen. DD currently has group tutoring once a week but we are looking to increase to twice a week before Xmas.

i am trying to get her to do a cgt GL 15 min tests a day very unsuccessfully! This half term is going to be all about embedding routine 😀

look forward to meeting other parents preparing

Maybe it's part of the exam, designed to test logistical skills.

😂

Its definitely testing my sanity!

Anyone else in Bucks hoping the tube strike means less London DC will take the test tomorrow?

Well I wasn't, but I've suddenly become a really big fan of the RMT.

I share your WTF pain. DC has been doing fairly well with practice/practice tests but instead of continuing to improve it all took a nose-dive towards the end of the summer.
On the last mock VR (day before the first real exam) the mark was 52/80 😩🤯
This exam doesn’t matter - it’s not our first or second choice school, but those tests come in a month and I’m not sure where we go from here to pull it back in time.

Now desperately going to look round some less selective schools which I wouldn’t mind but they’re a much longer commute which my DC would hate.

We have a test on Friday and the school sent around emails about the tube strike (as servuces dont resume until 8am Friday and the test arri al time is 8:15!) saying they'll accommodate late arrivals.

It's so disheartening when you've seen what they are capable of. We are taking him out of school to recap everything! They can charge me £80 if they want. They've been doing dot art this week so they can jog on !

I hope im not the only one, but I dont give a flying f... about SATs . What has become evident throughout the 11 plus process is that our school has failed to teach basic elements of English Grammar and Punctuation but have perked up now that the SATs mean something to them.

Good luck to all the Bucks DCs today. And also to all the parents who will probably also need a hug before this is over!

My son just pulled the same on his VR practice test yesterday, exact same score. I think he might be burning out just in time for the test! I feel your pain.

@Tiredlady1 amen to the school really failed. My son keeps telling me how I’m such a better teacher than the school, why didn’t the school teach him x or y, etc. I’m not a good teacher. The school is just too busy dealing with the kids who forgot what a pronoun is over the six week summer break. They’re forever catching up and treading water.

Same same. Not a word from them about the 11+ but there are parents meetings for SATS, special SATS homework, SATS breakfasts...I couldn't care less about SATS, it has zero effect on my child's future whereas the 11+ is kind of a big deal. And in Bucks it's not like you get a choice. Priorities all wrong. Our school has been OK with english but it's become very evident they haven't taught a lot of the basic maths. They also don't push the bright children.

@Tiredlady1 I couldn’t agree more. Our teachers individually have actually been great, within the confines of a terrible system, and I was stunned and delighted when their Y5 teacher took the time to email a gap analysis over the summer holidays (albeit from an exam taken at Easter, when we had already identified and plugged the gaps 🙃). We took a mock SAT at the end of the Y5 summer term and their scores were already well above average, which I expect will be typical for any child that has prepared for the 11+.

Kent Test today. I went a bit extra and submitted documents for a Headteacher Appeal 48h before the exam, just in case - my kids’ school finds me a bit ridiculous, I think. The boys walked into school beneath a rainbow this morning and I’m hoping it’s an auspicious omen.

Best of luck to anyone sitting, today!

Part of me says "don't blame the school, blame the system" as they get judged and ranked on SAT performance not 11+ passes. But in a wholly selective system like Bucks it's just not good enough to essentially pretend the whole thing doesn't exist - particularly when the standardisation / top 30% system means state school kids and untutored are at a disadvantage to their more heavily-prepped peers.

Good luck Mamakiwi! A rainbow does sound comforting.

To be fair to our school they did say to the kids "SATS are NOT for children to worry about. We will prepare you but you don't need to worry about them". I thought that was nice. As for the 11+, we aren't in a proper 11+ area so can't really blame them for not taking it on, but they do seem under informed. They told me both my DDs would pass and didn't need tutoring as they were more able than others who had got in in the past. They didn't really see that it doesn't really follow - those other kids were better prepared

@Magnificentkitteh I guess teachers who are in Bucks and Kent and so on would see it as a criticism of their own teaching if they said one of their pupils might need extra help, while teachers in non-selective areas aren't as engaged with the process and - much like grandparents who sat in the 1960s - think of it as just another maths and spelling test, which academically able children will have no problems passing.

On SATs, and all other assessments throughout the years (with the exception of the 11+), our school have always said "It's not to test you, it's to test whether we've done our job properly and taught you everything you need to know", which is a nice approach. Not strictly true given the impact on setting in KS3, but it helps keep the pressure off. And of course in 10 years time nobody will care what they got in their GCSEs, never mind their end-of-primary SATs!

When is his test? We have an exam tomorrow and my DD is off school today.

FYI, son walked through his SATs after 11+ prep. Yr 6 was a soul destroying year of teaching to the test and bringing up as many kids to the required standard. We actually kept our 11+ tutor for a year to teach DS challenging maths, as it’s his favourite/best subject and he was so bored!

Be warned, but really SATs are nothing to worry about and we avoided all the additional prep homework sent home too!

We used a lot SAT materials to prep for 11+ soni think most kids who prepped for 11+ won't have any issues with SATsbin year 6. If anything, they'll get bored as they've covered the maths curriculum already!

The nice thing about year 6 is once sats are done in may it's endless trips and prep for the end of year show.

Yes! My DD's residential trip isn't until July so that's something to look forward to too! :) We're kind of done after tomorrow... unless she makes DAO round 2, which we won't find out until next Friday. It goes against all my instincts to get her to co tinie doing maths and English on the off chance she gets called back. Or maybe, I have her do maths or English every other day (after the weekend though!)? Any advice anyone for those 5 days of living in limbo...

Yeah I'm wondering the same. We are all done except potentially HB round 2 and it seems a bit unfair on DD to act like that is a given that needs prepping for but there won't be much time if we do find out she's through. There's also VR only for St Mary Magdalene the same week.

So you have an actual results day? I don't, but think around 25 sept

My son is taking Sutton next week - originally they said they would send the location deteails out by end of 10th september. and then I got a bounceback saying by the end of 12th September. In the end it came at 23.59 last night!

Owens results are due no later than the 18th and am prepared for them to come earlier. We had the music result yesterday and it wasn’t due until the 15th!

Oh interesting! Earlier would be better - just so know either way to carry on or stop.

I’m so ready to stop! This is the weirdest period - only two and a half weeks until the 27th and it feels like forever. I cannot wait

in answer to your question, I am trying to getu daughter to keep going with Maths and English. She went back to school on Monday (Sat Latymer on Sunday) and it has been impossible to get her to do anything. Have had to cancel Maths tutor session this week as she refused to do it. She has English tonight - we’ll see.