Reading boys

[Janelady]

Anyone entering their son for 2027 entrance? My son is pretty bright, exceeding all expectations and has lots of hobbies and interests. He did a mock recently and scored low 60s. I’m very proud of him but feeling a little disheartened and not sure if we cut our losses at this point considering the exam is less than 3 months or do we start with more structured tutoring? We haven’t done any paid tutoring apart from creative writing classes and have been sitting with him ourselves to go through core and non core subjects.

Hi, I feel your concerns and would like to share my experience as a parent who went through the same stage. My son didn’t take an exam for Reading Boys Grammar School, but took the SET last year.

When we had a mock exam, he didn’t achieve good marks. I thought he might need some time to familiarise himself with the exam format. When we took the second mock exam, his marks were worse than the first one!! I couldn’t believe it because he loves maths — doing GCSE-level maths at his age. His maths marks were not satisfactory at all, and I didn’t understand why it was happening. At that point, I kind of gave up. I thought he might not be the type of person for an exam.

He eventually was eligible to apply for all three schools in Sutton, and he got a place from the first preference list.

11+ is a marathon. It exhausts parents and children. I dare to say — don’t expect anything. The mock exam result doesn’t indicate anything. Just keep striding, holding your kid’s hand tightly. It’s a long journey, and show/teach your kid that we do our best together. He will gain a life lesson — my kid at least did. Work hard.

Don't be disheartened! Reading wants to attract bright children with lots of interests, so it sounds like he'd be a perfect fit.

One thing to check... do you know what kind of mock he did? Reading uses FSCE (in fact, they're the driving force behind it) and they specifically designed the test to to be resistant to tutoring.

If the mock was based on a GL paper, then it may not tell you too much about how he'd perform in the FSCE test. It'd be completely different. (Reading has a familiarisation guide on their website, if you haven't seen already.)

In terms of tutoring specifically, FSCE tests a broader range of subjects than a classic 11+ (it can cover geography, music, languages, etc). So unless your son needs extra coaching in maths/English specifically, I wouldn't recommend tutoring.

His time's better spent reading widely, doing puzzles/maths problems and developing his interests. That's what Reading is looking for, rather than a child who's been drilled on solving non-verbal reasoning puzzles :)

Good luck!

About to say that too: the Reading exam is different now and not directly linked to standard 11 + revision materials. Look on the school website for detailed informatioj including a bit for the child to read about their new approach to assessment.