11+ 2025 support thread #2

[AquaPeer]

we are on the home run now! Continue to support, love and share in this thread

link to previous

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/5200929-11-2025-support-thread?page=40&reply=147336748

continued good luck to all x

Kent Test results day tomorrow. Twin 2 had the audacity to announce last night that it didn’t matter if he didn’t pass because he tried his hardest and that’s all that counts. I told him that he was no longer allowed to play with whichever child has been told this by their parents. 😀 They are blithely unfazed about local results - probably for the best, if infuriating to hear (and I still don’t have a back-up plan more realistic than ‘maybe we’ll move to Croatia’!).

Planning to work ahead this evening, so tomorrow I can focus on constantly refreshing my inbox and stress-eating pastries.

I hope you’re all doing OK.

Yes the deadline is 31/10! We’ll have about a week to decide and fill it out 🙄

Croatia’s lovely, sounds like a solid plan.

Good luck Mamakiwi. I know tomorrow has been a long time coming. We'll be here if you get fed up of refreshing. When do you hear about the Radley keys thing?

Suddenly googling Croatian visa rules. Need a back up plan for life in general but that's a whole other thread 😆

To the PP Congratulations on the top 360 email but I'm afraid I can shed no light on the mysterious other one.

I think so @DolphinOnASkateboard! Join us. We can establish a world schooling community with @Magnificentkitteh and pretend none of this nonsense ever happened. 😀

Hear about Radley in November. November!

Can I ask regarding Latymer - how do we know their total score? Do I just add up the verbal reasoning score and maths score? We’ve been given scores for both of these. DD didn’t pass, so I’m reading the eleven plus forum as they talking about scores, one said her child got 217 score and was in top 700. My DD’s VR was 109 and maths 104 so that’s a total of 213 - is that how they work it? So was she basically 4 marks away from being in top 700? I was under the impression she failed miserably but this doesn’t seem that bad now. Does anyone know?

@ToilingAway assume you are talking about the Halifax schools? My understanding is they have issued emails about banding to everyone whose child met the standard, to give people a better idea of the chances of their child getting a place. I have heard of four variations so far: top 180, top 360, this mysterious one you have mentioned, and a closer to 500 one.

Someone tell me that KNOWING, even if it isn’t the desired outcome, is better than the limbo?! The wait is nearly over and it’s killing me but at this point I’m feeling that a poor result would actually feel better than this awful waiting and anticipation?!

Exactly! And some people might be on holiday during half term… not really the ideal holiday activity having to make these sort of decisions so quickly because they are taking so long getting back to us!

Yes, Halifax schools.

That banding

Top 180
Top 360
Top 500

All make sense when you consider there are 180 places at each school so they have places for 360 kids across both schools and that the top 500 generally are likley to secure a place, the discrepancy being that many kids who live outside the areas sit the exam as a backup so upto the 500th ranking has a chance of being accepted.

Impatient Trafford mum here too.. thank you all for sharing. I’m really hoping they give us a definite date this week as can’t cope with surprise next week.

I think just adding it up yes, but when they do the next round they re-standardise and you get new (lower) scores based on the new median score of the top 700.

I think you're right though - another forum suggested a score of 110 per paper was usually enough so your DD definitely wasn't far off and well above average. From my understanding close to the cut off it is really close and a couple of marks separates a lot of kids, because it's a bell curve with 100 the median standardised score.

@Magnificentkitteh thank you so much! I actually feel really good right now, I really thought she failed by a lot but considering she was 4 marks away is really good.

does anyone know if there are other entry points in grammar schools near us entry? Is there like 13+ or even 6th forms?

6th form definitely yes. I know quite a few people who joined Latymer for 6th form. Though there's a lot of choice of good 6th forms if you do well at GCSE.

hey @Tea4216 , when I was trying to figure out how far off we were for Latymer, I found this old FOI request for previous year. Whilst it’s previous year, I would imagine it gives a good indication of how far away your DC may have been. with such a large sample size, there’s probably little variation each year on the height of the bell curve. It shows that often the same ranking is given to 30+ kids so the difference between not getting in through to R2 can often just be a few marks.

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/sept_2025_entry_full_anonymised/response/2888107/attach/2/FOI%202025%20data%20Rank%20order%20round%201%20and%202%20including%20English.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1

@NookAndCrannying thank you!

Looks like there has been a serious mess up at NHGS and Crossley Heath results - they issued the following statement on FB.

The Halifax Grammar Schools' Admissions Test

Due to a technical issue, a previous communication regarding your child’s placement in the recent admissions test may have included incorrect information about the likelihood of being allocated a place.

We sincerely apologise for this error and any confusion it may have caused. Corrected individual placement letters will be issued on Thursday morning.
Thank you for your understanding and patience as we resolve this matter.

The Halifax Grammar Schools

Oh no how stressful for you guys. I really hope it's not a big error

November! When they probably made a decision then and there.

I think the bursar needs time in order to comb through finances so they can revert with offer details. 😀 It’s OK, I will mind the wait less if I know they have places at the lovely local grammar…

I think we had similar ABC plans from the beginning and home schooling seems a front runner for me.

@Tiredlady1 it will be easier in community, let’s all go and do it somewhere warm. ☀️ How are you doing, and your kiddo?

I like the idea of somewhere warm. Apparently there has been a huge spike in the number of Brits applying for foreign private schools. We're waiting on two results still, such a painful wait. I am at the point now of realising that there are more important things in life, so now I'm not bothered. Had you asked me a few months ago I would have been in the thick of the 11 plus swirl and thought very differently. Perspective is a gift.

Kent test results out today...from 4pm apparently but I definitely got my daughter's results by about 2pm last time. I've convinced myself it'll be a no and have been finding the positives in the comp options we've seen...my son has been so anxious there's past few weeks, I'll just be so glad to be able to narrow down our decision one way or another!

Me too I am on tenderhooks. When my DS did it 3 years ago I recieved email at 130. They have published the excel spreadsheet for 2025 on website.