Good luck - 11 transfer Northern Ireland

cheesypuff

I know YNWA I totally agree with you, so glad its over too. My DD has got over her disappointment now at not getting to Glenlola her first choice and is now happy enough to go to Bangor Academy lets just hope they do ok whereever they go...

icelandic_queen

Well my DD didn"t get into the local grammer but did get into the 2nd choice . She was over the moon as she had changed her mind about going to the grammer anyway and it has saved me a bit of ringing around trying to get things changed!! Although she can't understand why some of the boys in her class who got the same score and in some cases a lower score than her are able to go to the local boys grammer!! I'm just glad it is all over, she's my youngest and now all my girls will be at the same school of which I am a past pupil and it is one of the highest achieving non-selection schools. As for the GCSE's, my 16 year old is like Jekyll and Hyde!! If she has to re-sit, either me or her will have to move out!!

Doggies

johanna12349 wrote: »

My DD didn't get her first choice - Slemish College in Ballymena. She is gutted and so are we!!. I have just been told that the school she has been excepted for is a failing school - Ballee High?? What do I do now? Do I let her go or wait and see if I can get a space somewhere else?

Hi Johanna, My ds if she hadn't of got into the school she wanted she had picked a school which was in the paper a week ago for underperforming and failing the pupils. Even though it was supposedd to be excellent and turned around through a new headmaster. If she had of got it I would have changed to the other local secondary, well asked to anyway. They never have turned anyone down. So if your daughter is not against it, I would certainly enquire at a different school. That is what I had planned.

Doggies

cheesypuff wrote: »

I know YNWA I totally agree with you, so glad its over too. My DD has got over her disappointment now at not getting to Glenlola her first choice and is now happy enough to go to Bangor Academy lets just hope they do ok whereever they go...

Hi, a guy I work with, his son is going to Bangor Academy. He didn't sit the transfer test. But they are delighted he is getting to Bangor Academy. Apperently its a fantastic school. I''m sure he will do brilliantly!

facingthefuture

snowJo wrote: »

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

I wonder which school/region this allegedly happened in.....if so who and what exactly was the motivation?

Flower-power22

Doggies wrote: »

Hi Johanna, My ds if she hadn't of got into the school she wanted she had picked a school which was in the paper a week ago for underperforming and failing the pupils. Even though it was supposedd to be excellent and turned around through a new headmaster. If she had of got it I would have changed to the other local secondary, well asked to anyway. They never have turned anyone down. So if your daughter is not against it, I would certainly enquire at a different school. That is what I had planned.

Thanks for your advise. I'm patienty waiting for the schools to reopen tomorrow. They were off on Monday for the bank holiday and today for teacher training!! Typical
I havn't said anything directly to my dd just probing? She said that there is another school she would be happy to go to. What happens if I contact that school and they are full with no vacancies? Soo stressed:eek:

snowJo

icelandic_queen wrote: »

Well my DD didn"t get into the local grammer but did get into the 2nd choice . She was over the moon as she had changed her mind about going to the grammer anyway and it has saved me a bit of ringing around trying to get things changed!! Although she can't understand why some of the boys in her class who got the same score and in some cases a lower score than her are able to go to the local boys grammer!! I'm just glad it is all over, she's my youngest and now all my girls will be at the same school of which I am a past pupil and it is one of the highest achieving non-selection schools. As for the GCSE's, my 16 year old is like Jekyll and Hyde!! If she has to re-sit, either me or her will have to move out!!

Icelandic Queen, I seem to be in a similar position to you. My son didn't get into his choice of grammar school and is heading to the local high school where his sister is currently sitting her GCSE's. The past 2 years I have spent going over practice 11 plus papers with one child and coursework/modular exams for GCSE's with another child. I'm not too worried about most of her subjects, just 2 in particular. English - as she hates it and isn't that good at it and Maths - she wants to do it for A level and really needs to attain an A grade. My fear is that English may have to be repeated and I don't know if I can stick another year of nagging "read a book" to her. The joys of kids in education!!

butterflymum

johanna12349 wrote: »

My DD didn't get her first choice - Slemish College in Ballymena. She is gutted and so are we!!. I have just been told that the school she has been excepted for is a failing school - Ballee High?? What do I do now? Do I let her go or wait and see if I can get a space somewhere else?

You can read the latest Ballee report from DENI at:

http://apps.deni.gov.uk/insp/inspection_reports/2010_03/standard-inspection-ballee-community-high-school-ballymena.PDF

Reports for other schools are always available via the DENI website too or at the following link:

http://www.etini.gov.uk/index/inspection-reports.htm

and (particularly for families reading this thread and about to go through process this coming year 2011/2012) should perhaps be read at the earlier stage of putting down school choices (and can be much more revealing than a school's own glossy prospectus), albeit sometimes people have no other options left as it is impractical to have their child travel further afield.

I assume you did list Ballee as one of your choices? Or, was it allocated as all your choices had been exhausted? If you did list it, did the Primary school principal not give any advice at time?

Doggies

johanna12349 wrote: »

Thanks for your advise. I'm patienty waiting for the schools to reopen tomorrow. They were off on Monday for the bank holiday and today for teacher training!! Typical
I havn't said anything directly to my dd just probing? She said that there is another school she would be happy to go to. What happens if I contact that school and they are full with no vacancies? Soo stressed:eek:

Hi Johanna, My ds head advised that the secondary school we had picked was a good choice. Obviously nobody actually knew that they were underperforming until this report came out in the local newspaper.
I would definitely get on the phone first thing in the morning with the other school. Make an appointment to speak to the Head and explain the situation. Say you made the wrong choice and you and your ds have changed your minds. If you don't ask you don't get. Like I said if my ds hadn't have got the other school, I would be doing exactly the same thing tomorrow and pushing to change to the other school. Anyone can change their mind or be ill advised. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and accept her.

Flower-power22

butterflymum wrote: »

You can read the latest Ballee report from DENI at:

Reports for other schools are always available via the DENI website too or at the following link:

and (particularly for families reading this thread and about to go through process this coming year 2011/2012) should perhaps be read at the earlier stage of putting down school choices (and can be much more revealing than a school's own glossy prospectus), albeit sometimes people have no other options left as it is impractical to have their child travel further afield.

I assume you did list Ballee as one of your choices? Or, was it allocated as all your choices had been exhausted? If you did list it, did the Primary school principal not give any advice at time?

If only we had known this as trhe time we wouldn't have choose Ballee as 1 of the choices.
It was only on saturday I was speaking to my cousin who works in Antrim Grammer. We were discussing the transfer and I had said my dd was accepted into Ballee. Her face said it all. She was the 1 who told me it was a failing school and to go and check the report online.
The primary principle didn't give any indication of this at the time. I'm soo angry

I'm patiently waiting onthe principle of Dunclug College to call me back.