11 plus

betterlife

hi, im not sure if this is the right place to post this? (i think it is but i was wondering if anyone has a child that will be sitting there 11 + in november?
and if they have extra tutoring, at home or online, i no its less than 8wks away but i was considering using an online tutor , and was interested to see if anyone else uses one, thank you.

Debbie_A_3

betterlife wrote: »

hi, im not sure if this is the right place to post this? (i think it is but i was wondering if anyone has a child that will be sitting there 11 + in november?
and if they have extra tutoring, at home or online, i no its less than 8wks away but i was considering using an online tutor , and was interested to see if anyone else uses one, thank you.

Two of mine have gone through the 11+ (one more to go). I do think that it is important for children to practice the style of questions before the test. I have heard of children break down in the exam room because "they have never seen questions like these before", but if you have to resort to three years of tutoring (as some parents do) then maybe the child is not suitable for grammar school.

We used a local tutor (who is also a personal friend) for about a dozen sessions per child. But I could have done it myself (you can buy copies of practice papers and answers for NFER tests).

Good luck!
Debbie

purpletoenails

Both my children took the 11+ without any extra help, apart from some practice papers which were sent out to us before the exam.

A few of their peers who were heavily coached in order to pass the 11+ struggled badly to keep up with the standard of work expected of them once they were there, and this was reflected in their final GCSE and 'A' level results.

As DebbieA says, if a child needs intensive tutoring to pass the test, then perhaps they would be better off and happier going to a different school.

Best of luck

3v3

Never used one for any of mine; they passed on their own merit. I agree with Debbie A's sentiment regarding a child's suitability if private tutoring is felt to be required. And I also agree that exposing your child to the style and type of questions which they may face via NFER tests, is merely good practise and far more beneficial than private tutoring.

One more thought to bear in mind - children peak academically at differing stages; for some children, they'll thrive in primary years, for others, they peak at GCSE level. No 11+ exam or private tutoring will provide the answer as to when *your* child will reach their peak.

I remember when I took my 11+ exam (ok, so it was a long time ago ) but I never felt any pressure at all. These days, I'm not sure who/what it is that communicates the pressure and stress of it to the children: school? Peers? General atmosphere? Parents? Combination?

To hear of children of that age breaking down in the exam ... I feel that is just a step too, too far! Poor mites, indeed! Why is our society so geared to exerting this kind of adult academic achievement pressure/stress on young children? Not all children/people are academically minded; just as not all children are creative/artistic/have practical skills: but all children are precious and unique and should be valued in terms of their natural strengths/abilities and not made to feel that the 11+ success or failure means that *they* are successes or failures!!

I was fortunate enough to pass my 11+ but please, please, do not test me on how to lay a brick, decorate, perform mechanical tasks on my car, lay a carpet, re-wire my house, read music, dance, sketch, sculpt or a myriad of other hands on/practical/creative/"common sense" tasks ... they are not my forte: I leave those to the "experts" who know their stuff and have a natural ability in those areas where I am weaker

Whether your child is successful (or unsuccessful) in the exam, I wish your child every success in life. One thing for sure is, the 11+ result isn't a predication for whether your child has a successful future or not

betterlife

thank you for all your advice. my son is naturally above the age relate level for most subjects, i am currently using the test papers/books suggested at home with him to get him use to the questions and verbal reasoning, ive also booked him in next month for mock 11+ exams to get him use to the exam environment. There is no pressure on him, and he knows, yes it would be great to pass, so he has the option of grammer school (our local one has excellent results etc) but he also knows he will get a great education at the other local schools and that we are proud of him whatever happens. im of the same opinion as the rest, if they need to much tutoring that maybe they will stuggle in grammer school, but i do think it helps to be prepared. thank you again for the advice.

3v3

betterlife wrote: »

... my son is naturally above the age relate level for most subjects, i am currently using the test papers/books suggested at home with him to get him use to the questions and verbal reasoning, ive also booked him in next month for mock 11+ exams to get him use to the exam environment... i do think it helps to be prepared. thank you again for the advice.

I think the prep work you describe is about the right balance

MamaMoo_2

When I sat the 11+ I prepared by doing mock papers.
I used to do 1 every night or two, then once I'd finished, my mom would sit down with me & go through the answers, helping me understand where I'd gone wrong it worked well for me as I liked the practice.

neverdespairgirl

3v3 wrote: »

And I also agree that exposing your child to the style and type of questions which they may face via NFER tests, is merely good practise and far more beneficial than private tutoring.

I agree - but won't the school do that anyway?

betterlife

they do SATS at school in may next year, and they have done tests before but nothing like the 11+ (seperate tables etc) im finding my sons school is not very helpful, and alot of the teacher dont agree with selective schools, which is fine to have there own opinion but i would of thought they should be a little more helpful, at the end of the day i want the best education for my son, and when the local grammer school has nearly 100% A and A* for gcse results for last year and the 2 normal schools have 50/52% at A-C, then of course im going to try and get my son in the best school.

Desperado99

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/index.php

This is a great forum, they have sections split into areas as the tests differ depending on where you are, and a lot of the moderators are tutors.

Good Luck with it - My DD has just finished her tests, we're just waiting on the results......

Aimless

Not criticising your decision, as I have a child in grammar myself, but of course they have a higher pass rate, they are skimming off the top 10% or so of students. The value added scores are a better comparison to use.