Support Thread for parents of children sitting the AQE /GL Transfer Test in 2012

aqeworrier

Hi,
I'm new to this board and have been reading with interest, the thread on the 2011 transfer test. I thought it might be useful to start a new thread for parents of children sitting the test this year. I know I am starting to panic at the thought of going through it all so thought it would be useful if us parents could give each other support and words of wisdom on this issue. I would be particularly interested to hear of where I can get good practice materials as I am going to self tutor my DD largely due to cost. :eek: Are there any other parents in a similar position? We have started already and I know I'm going to be at my wits end by the end of it all although trying to hide this from DD as don't want her to worry - we are taking it gently and starting off with 1-2 hrs per week broken down into small sessions - is this enough? I've read some other posts on the AQE thread that they were tutoring their child 6-8 hrs per week?? Any help will do!!:)

Skulmartin

To be honest we left it (for last years test) to the local Primary School. The principal told us not to push it and they will begin easing the kids into it about May June. By the summer break they had sat a couple of mock tests. They were sent home with 11 tests to do over the break whcih was a handful. They then picked up the pressure a bit and aimed to get the kids to peak about mid November. We gave no added tuition just encouragement and financial bribes etc lol. To be hionest the tactic was perfect. The kids were all geared up by the time the tests came round. And the real measure of success. 80% of the kids who sat the test scored 100 or over. Thats pretty good for a fairly small village school. We were totally content with a 105 for our son whcih gives us a very good chance at his first choice.

aqeworrier

Thank you, that is useful to know - I think I am perhaps panicking too early We'll continue working as we are, little and often with not too much pressure and hopefully when the school starts to do practice tests etc her score should steadily improve.

I was hoping that talking to other parents on this forum, going through the same thing, will probably be better than talking to my daughter's friends' mums as then you get into the whole comparing each other's kids scores kind of thing, which I am keen to avoid. I also find that other parents are reluctant to discuss this kind of stuff with each other - all cloak and dagger and pretending they haven't thought about it much etc etc - you know what I mean

RikM

Our son's school did a pretty good job of preparation, so he didn't get any additional tutoring. It helps that the AQE is basically just key stage work. Not all primaries seem to be so supportive.

What we did do, is coach him on exam technique. No one had explained even the basics to him. It's kind of important that they understand about reading all the instructions and questions before starting. And to focus on the things they can do easily first (get the easy marks quickly).

dee1000

Hi

I just had to reply to this, we have just came out of this long road and I am so glad its over (until may at least)

My DD done AQE and GL and to be honest it wasnt too hard on her alot of people said it was too much and just put their child through one, she didnt know which school she wanted to got to and was tied between two. I am glad overall she done both because it definitely gave her more choice especially as some of the schools are so oversubscribed.
By the time she was doing the 3rd or 4th test she was actually looking forward to it. I would say I started revsing with her around this time too. Nearer the exam time she would do three a week for me, two in the evening during the week and one at the weekend. This was as well as doing a marathon amount of homework so at times it was hard but she really wanted to do it which helped greatly.
I bought the CEA practice papers GL and AQE and i also found the past papers on the AQE website helped because there seems to be some questions that come up every year.
Practising I think is good because its a time issue too, I used to set up a timer and set it for an hour or 45 minutes depending on what paper she was doing.
Then we would have went over the ones she got wrong.
Your school may help you too I think most do, its in their interests too to get good grades.
It may be hard at first and dont panic if their marks are all over the place, she had me panicing at first with some of her marks, but they slowly improved.

My DD got good marks which will hopefully get her into the school of her choice. Its easy for me to say now dont worry but until 2 weeks ago I had been in a state for about 6 months.
Its not easy but its worth it.:j

Take Care


Dee x

cazmcf

I will be following this thread with interest. My DD will be sitting the tests this year too. They are starting practice papers next week in school. They will be setting 1 a week until April and then 2 a week from then on. hey will be going over the questions in class. This is where they will be taking some of their learning from. It is also compulsory until June to do the tests before the teacher and parents decide whether the child would be capable.
My DD is panicking slightly even at this early stage about how hard it is going to be. I've reassured her that it's not the end of the world and she doesn't have to do the tests. I am going to try and give her a little extra tuition myself, but only if she wants it.
I can feel myself getting stressed already! lol

RikM

Part of the whole problem is that parents (and children) tend to see it as a pass/fail kind of thing, with the added disadvantage of a variable pass mark.

But that's not really how it's supposed to be. It's an assessment - a way of judging the ability/commitment of the child (and parents).

so stressing about it unduly is counterproductive. A little bit of stress is helpful, it adds focus and spurs you on. But too much will actually hurt performance.
This is where practice tests help. They can give a familiarity which reduces the stress which results simply from the strangeness. And (depending on results) can help reduce nerves by giving some expectations of the outcome.

cat313

My DD did the GL assessment test this year and did very well. She is a very bright girl but did struggle with confidence.
A tip that worked for her was doing one page of a paper then working together to correct the mistakes.

I have had four children go through the transfer system and I worried about them all despite knowing they were all bright all the way through primary school. For any parents with their first going through this, remember that the work is pitched higher than the level of ability of most ten year olds. When you tell your child that is why it was called eleven plus, I think it helps them when they struggle.

On the GL assessment tests that they produce, beware these are really difficult so don't get disillusioned by low scores 40%. This is what my daughter scored in one maths test and every time she looked at the same type of paper again she got scared. We built her confidence up with easier papers. But she never got much higher than 60% in these tests, despite getting 70 - 80 % towards the end on other types of papers.

At this stage your child has so much more maturing to do between now and November so go slowly. Things like timing etc can wait. Building their confidence is key when you see them getting five out of five on one page they are really pleased with themselves and are ready to move on to longer periods of work.

Each child is different my son who sat the same test a year earlier was not one bit interested until about two weeks before. I couldn't get him to do very much, then suddenly he sat every night and did papers and scored well also.

I did find that bribery works well for most at this age lol.

Good luck to all concerned parents and their P6 children.

aqeworrier

It is reassuring to hear from both parents of children who have been through this whole process and also from those, like myself, who will be approaching it for the first time. I stumbled across a site with really good resources - its called TheTransferTest.com I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is self tutoring. This is why I started this thread so that we can share ideas for resources as well as support one another through it all. I should also add that the CEA practice papers are only £5.50 on amazon including postage but they are £6.99 in Easons so a bit of a saving there!! Best wishes to all who are starting out and to those who now await their school placement and thank you so much for the very useful advice.

rowla

TheTransferTest.com has loads of info & resources. Thanks for the link aqe worrier. :T

BOBS

Bought papers 2 years ago off http://www.pmppublications.co.uk/pmptest.html
these are available from end of March. Can believe I am already looking at them again.!