Good luck - 11 transfer Northern Ireland

Flower-power22

snowJo wrote: »

At the headmaster interview back in February he did suggest putting down Larne and Antrim Grammar schools on the list. However, we didn't want him travelling too far as he is highly likely to get himself involved in after-school activities and we didn't want him arriving home at 5pm then having a pile of homework to do. We stuck to putting down the local schools rather than him travelling half the day. We know his mark of 93 would have assured him a grammar school place elsewhere had we been willing to let him travel afar, but weighing all things up, opted for local schools. Anyhow, with hard work over next five years, am sure he will pull through GCSE's. Yikes........more worry ahead with GCSE's!!!!

My cousin works in Antrim Grammer and the cut off there this year was 97 up from last years 93!

snowJo

johanna12349 wrote: »

My cousin works in Antrim Grammer and the cut off there this year was 97 up from last years 93!

That is quite a jump!!! Although someone on this forum has mentioned a score of 92 getting into Larne Grammar this year.

The whole problem with the process, is that it's all a guessing game. There is a complete lack of concrete information and decent advice for parents over the past couple of years. It's almost like the lottery - take a chance, pick a school and hope your number comes up. Last year's cut off marks gave us some hope, but that's all been shattered now. I really feel sorry for parents about to go through the process in the next 12 months with now having 2 years of swinging cut off marks to try and make any sense out of it all.

Anyhow, new schoolbag bought for September today and will head out later this week to buy uniform with the 10% off June purchases deal. Preparation already underway........

cheesypuff

You are very right SnowJo it has been like a lottery and there really have been some differences in last yers cut off marks, but what can we do only move on and hope our kids do alright whereever they go.:)

snowJo

cheesypuff wrote: »

You are very right SnowJo it has been like a lottery and there really have been some differences in last yers cut off marks, but what can we do only move on and hope our kids do alright whereever they go.:)

I know this will probably sound a tad weird, but here goes.......my son is determined not to end up in a bottom class in his new school. He has set himself a target of reading a clatter of books over the next couple of months and is reading a couple of chapters every night before going to sleep. If only he had cottoned on to that last summer as I struggled to get him to read anything at all. He wants to start off in September with making a good impression in class.

The building blocks for GCSE's start now and I will use the fact that he needs to stay on top of his game to "encourage" him to continue to read a bit more. He will have to go that extra mile now to stay at the top and not get dragged down.

Now, where is the forum for supporting weird parents like me over the next 5 years until the GCSE results come out - LOL...........

snowJo

Just saw this on the UTV news website :-

Monday, 30 May 2011
Transfer tests 'leaked' to parents

Text Size: [URL="javascript:void(0);"]A[/URL] [URL="javascript:void(0);"]A[/URL] | POST A COMMENT | PRINT | SHARE



A parent has claimed transfer test papers were leaked by a member of staff at a Catholic grammar school last year, ahead of children sitting the unregulated exams.

It is an allegation which the chairman of the Catholic Principals' Association says, if substantiated, would undermine the integrity of the whole unregulated transfer system.
It could also lead to numerous appeals and even judicial reviews of the use of the tests by schools when selecting pupils this year.


"If true, it provided an unknown number of participants with an unfair advantage in their preparation for the tests and would therefore call into question the accuracy and integrity of the results and grades of all of the pupils who have sat the tests," CPA chairman Fintan Murphy said.

GL Assessment, who provide the tests, have always been very clear that participants should never have prior sight of any of the tests and have consistently refused to provide past papers.
Fintan Murphy, CPA

Unregulated tests emerged within some schools after the controversial abolition of the 11-plus in 2008, to fill the void left by the lack of political consensus for an alternative system.
GL assessment papers have been largely adopted by Catholic grammar schools as a method of post-primary selection, with standard practise dictating that past papers are not used to prepare children for the exams.
That's because the questions are all taken from a main database and so those set for one test could reappear in the future.
But now the Catholic Principals Association says a parent has come forward alleging to have had access to the 2009 papers, prior to the exams being sat in 2010.
It is also claimed other parents had access to the questions - some of which the CPA says did then appear in the 2010 exams - and that the information was provided by a member of staff at one of the schools administering the tests.
"On Saturday, a significant number of pupils will have received letters confirming their rejection by grammar schools across Northern Ireland - largely based on their performance in the unregulated tests," Mr Murphy said.
"Undoubtedly, this will have caused much upset and distress for those 11-year-old children and their families.
"If it is confirmed that some children sitting these tests did so with an advantage over others - gained through access to official test papers - then the whole process of the use of the tests will be called into question. Not just this year, but for future years."
The information has been passed to the Department of Education and a call made for a full investigation into the matter.

© UTV News

butterflymum

Goodness....some folks don't have their placement yet either:

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/frustration-as-pupilsrsquo-school-transfer-letters-fail-to-arrive-16005741.html

Pmum

Does anyone else wonder whose agenda is best served by that news of possible leaks ?

Sounds a bit strange to me.

butterflymum

Pmum wrote: »

Does anyone else wonder whose agenda is best served by that news of possible leaks ?

Sounds a bit strange to me.

I think many will think likewise.

snowJo

butterflymum wrote: »

I think many will think likewise.

LOL - A suitable leak at a suitable time I'd say.

the transfer mess continues for a while yet.........

YNWA-J96

I am so glad to see the end of this long weekend, been a pretty bad one for us. My dd has learnt a life lesson and seen her football team get beat in a big cup final..(she is a Man u supporter..) and found that all her friends are going to different schools than her in September. As a parent I have felt so helpless as I can't change any of it and the poor wee thing has cried more this weekend than any other. Here's hoping the next few months are much better for us.