Transfer Test AQE 2014-2015

Mrs_mum

Just wandering if anyone knows of a child who got into Ballyclare secondary even though they didn't put Ballyclare secondary as their first choice? Apparently Ballyclare secondary only accept pupils if they have it down as their first choice. Just curious about this in case of a boderline AQE score and not sure if child would be accepted by Ballyclare high.

Veggie_Northern_Ireland

Varying difficulty in Practice Papers?

Has anyone else noticed a big change in how hard some practice papers are compared to others? We've been using the same type of papers for a while and getting 60-70%, but we used a different type today and got 87% ?

Mrs_mum

What practice papers had you been using before and which one did you use lately? Some papers are harder than others I think.

Veggie_Northern_Ireland

I had been using papers from thetransfertest.co.uk (she got 82% in some papers then 59% in others!). Today's was an aqe paper, I'll wait and see how she does in the next aqe practice paper and hope it stays high! Going to try doing 2 papers a week now until school starts back because she has sports 4 days a week from sept so we really won't have much spare time for aqe practice! Then it'll be one every Sunday hopefully that'll be enough.

I only have 2 more papers so I need to get more this week.

Mrs_mum

That was a great score she got on the AQE practice paper, I'm sure she was delighted and it will have given her confidence a boost. Yep it is going to be a juggling act when school and all their activities start up again as you dont want them to have to sacrifice activities they enjoy. Hopefully we can get the balance right.

Veggie_Northern_Ireland

Yes she was pretty excited by it lol I'll save being relieved about scores going up until she does the next two tests, hopefully scores stay around a similar mark.

What percentage is everyone aiming for to feel 'safe' to get a high enough score for grammars? I've seen some posts saying around 78% and higher should be around a score of 100... Tho we never know what it will be this year will be like.

With all the time that's spent thinking/worrying about AQE and doing work/papers, we'll all be lost after the papers and waiting for results!!

Mrs_mum

Yes I have also heard around high 70's but I would really like her to be staying consistently in the low 80's (although if her score was higher that would be fine also, lol) to have some sort of peace of mind by the time she is sitting the tests in November. Time management still seems to be a concern for my daughter though. If she is doing just normal exercise sheets of maths and English she is great but as soon as you say "Practice Paper" a look of panic comes over her!

flymetothemoon_2

Mrs_mum wrote: »

Just wandering if anyone knows of a child who got into Ballyclare secondary even though they didn't put Ballyclare secondary as their first choice? Apparently Ballyclare secondary only accept pupils if they have it down as their first choice. Just curious about this in case of a boderline AQE score and not sure if child would be accepted by Ballyclare high.

Ballyclare Secondary's entrance criteria used to state that preference would be given to kids who named it as first choice and this went on for a few years to the increasing frustration of parents in and around the Ballyclare area as they didn't know whether to try for the Grammar School when their kids got scores in the 90s because if they had and their child hadn't gotten into the Grammar then they were unable to get into the Secondary. As a result, some Ballyclare kids ended up having to travel to schools in other areas and other kids whose parents chose the secondary to be safe, later discovered that their child could have gotten into the Grammar. What a huge mess! Both schools were very aware of the problem and articles even appeared in the press pointing out that kids in Ballyclare area were being placed in an unprecedented position due to the Dept of Education's insistence that Secondary schools should fill their positions by using 'lst preference' above anything else. After much pressure, Ballyclare Secondary has now changed its criteria so that it considers children whose parents have indicated the school as first or second choice. It is hoped this will solve the dilemna for so many people. However, if you are considering this school I would advise you to check their admissions policy out very carefully. You could ring them for clarification.

Veggie_Northern_Ireland

Mrs Mum, could you post a link to the Bond Books on Waterstones Website? I looked but couldn't find them. Thanks

Mrs_mum

Thanks flymetothemoon, hopefully daughters score will be good enough that we won't be in the position of "will it be enough for grammar school" but just trying to cover all bases.