Is it time to prepare for the 11+ Exams

Key Information on 11 Plus Exam Preparation

It’s the time of year to think about getting your information together about secondary schools and organising expert 11 plus tuition for your child, in time for the next round of 11 plus exams

Year 4 is a good time to start extra tuition for the 11 plus exams. You can start earlier (which might be necessary depending on the schools you are aiming for).  At this age it’s a more gradual process than if you start in Year 5.  Year 6 is too late. The reason is because if left until age 10, your child will have to cram information and will feel pressurised. It is a very good idea to have an independent academic assessment as it will give an indication of just how much extra tuition is needed and how much work has to be done for the 11 plus exam.

Forget about comparing your child to someone else’s son or daughter, no two children are the same and, each child will learn at their own pace and have a different level of understanding in  the various subjects. It will be easier for some to learn Non Verbal Reasoning techniques for the 11 plus exam and, for others to learn Verbal Reasoning techniques.  Be guided by the experts.

Here are some of the most common questions we are asked.

Question
“My son’s Key stage two teacher tells me he is doing really well in class and does not need to be tutored for the 11 plus exam.  He is 9 and does get good marks in class but I am worried because I know all the other children on the ‘bright’ table have 11 plus tutors”.

We are asked this question often by parents who are entering  their children  for independent and grammar school 11 Plus entrance tests.

First of all, let’s establish whether your son is in a reputable prep school which has a reputation for excellent 11 plus exam passes or is a feeder school for an independent school. I don’t think you would have anything to worry about if that is the case, you can probably accept the advice with confidence. However, if you are speaking about a local primary school which does not  prepare pupils for the 11 plus, it would be helpful  to obtain more specific information from the teacher. Your child may not be competing with pupils in his class when he sits the 11 plus examination, but with children who have attended prep school for a number of years or have had 11 plus tutors for several years. Another matter of concern is whether your son will have to sit 11 Plus Verbal Reasoning and Non Verbal Reasoning as part of the  11 Plus exam and,  whether his school has introduced it as part of the curriculum.  If he has some knowledge of the reasoning exercises and can do them competently, then its easier to accept what you have been told.

Question

“How do I find the right person, teacher or tutor to prepare my child for the 11 Plus Examination. There are so many options, tutors, Saturday schools, do it yourself, CD’s, books, but how do I know I am making the right choice?”

The simplest answer is to ask for a recommendation from a parent whose child has already passed their 11 plus entrance test, especially if the child  received multiple offers. Speak to someone you can trust. That is the best recommendation you can get,  and you can expect that tutor or school to be heavily be oversubscribed.   Ideally,  you should  make  enquiries early.  The reality is that many parents are very reluctant to to give any information whatsoever about tutoring.

Question

“For the past two years I have been asking parents in the school playground if they know of good 11 plus tutors and nobody ever knows! Or they tell you that all the good tutors have been booked up months in advance. I don’t get it, either they don’t tell you, or they lie. What can I do if parents won’t share information?”

Some parents have told us that they will not share information about 11 plus tuition because it could cost their child a place, especially where pupils are competing for the same schools. It’s the fear factor due to scarcity of places in good schools.

You could ask in the school office. They may know of good 11 plus tutors, Saturday schools, or may suggest a teacher at your child’s school.  However, 11 Plus preparation is frowned on and there is a strong movement  to stamp it out altogether.

If you start 11 plus tuition early, even if the first tutor does not meet your expectations, there will be time to change to another   11 plus tutor and start again if necessary. Do the necessary research, keep your ear to the ground and find someone that your child likes and enjoys working with.

11 Plus Exam

The importance of the 11 Plus Exam

11 Plus examinations are considered as the gateway to an exceptional academic future, and a successful and rewarding career. Passing the 11 Plus Exam is considered by aspirational parents as a milestone in their child’s life.

For decades various governments have attempted to abolish or discredit the eleven plus examination system but it remains as popular as ever. Parents are desperate for their child to have access to the level of traditional teaching, exemplary facilities, controlled environment and opportunities that this level of education at a top grammar or private schools can bring.

It is not uncommon for the most successful private schools to have a
Prep school annex which specifically prepares its pupils for the rigors of the eleven plus exam and are direct feeder schools for the ‘Upper School” This guarantees that a significant proportion of students entering the Main School are already high flyers. The remainder of the intake is acquired by selective testing through the 11+ exam.

What does it take to pass the 11 Plus Exams?
The structure of the test varies from school to school, and for grammar schools, according to area. However, pupils can expect to sit papers in some or all of the following: English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

Annually, up to 1500 students can compete for as few as 100 places at the best state grammar or private schools. Demand for these places is such that local police have had to control crowds of parents attending opening evenings as well as have a presence at train stations on eleven plus exam days.

As demand for the 11 plus exam soars, it is the top rated grammar schools that have seen the most significant increase in applications.

Similarly, demand for appropriate 11 plus exam preparation for pupils not attending Prep school has increased significantly.

State Secondary Schools using unfair tactics to attract the best pupils

Headteachers are courting the parents of bright children and manipulating waiting lists, say academics from the London School of Economics

An article published  in.guardian.co.uk claims that

Headteachers are employing underhand tactics, such as courting the parents of very bright children and manipulating waiting lists, academics from the London School of Economics said.

The findings came as the chief schools adjudicator warned that the government’s new code (www.dcsf.gov.uk/) on school admissions provided a “bonanza” for lawyers being hired by parents, schools and local authorities.

Ministers hoped the stricter code, which came into force in February, would make admissions fairer, but the LSE study of five local authorities found that the code was not enough to stop schools tricking one another, and that it was “not difficult to find schools that fell foul of the code”.

Researchers were told that the headteacher of a school with surplus places had contacted parents to persuade them to reject offers from a more popular school.

Another school was said to rank children on its waiting list according to its own criteria rather than the official rules which put children with special needs before others. Another was said to have picked pupils according to how near their homes were to a building half a mile from the school, in an attempt to upgrade its intake.

A secondary school had tried to impress parents by naming one primary as a “feeder” school, without telling the primary school.

These dubious practices can leave some families in “dead zones” – neighbourhoods where children stand little chance of an offer from any popular school in their area, the academics told a conference on fair school admissions in London today.

“Major concerns remain about school admissions, raising questions about fairness,” Philip Noden, an education research fellow at the LSE and one of the study’s authors, said.

The study said: “While most admissions authorities were thought to operate their admission arrangements in accordance with the relevant rules, there was some evidence of a small number of schools breaking admissions rules or adopting practices that would be unlikely to be supported by regulatory authorities.” “There is a world of suspicion out there,” Noden said. People were “very doubtful about the motives” of some schools. “While the code states that it is ‘necessary to improve the chances of more disadvantaged children getting into good schools’, it is clear that those interpreting the code are not taking advantage of all opportunities to improve those chances,” he said.

The study found that many of those who decide a school’s admissions policy struggle to understand the new code. Even those “working day-to-day on admissions stated that they found the code a difficult document”.

Rather than tighten the rules, ministers should give local authorities more control over the administration of school admissions, the researchers suggest. This would include faith schools and academies, which have their own admissions arrangements.

Last year, the education secretary, Ed Balls, revealed that some state secondary schools in England had been caught charging parents for the privilege of being given a place.

Now competition at top state schools is fiercer than ever as middle-class families seek to save on private school fees in the recession.

Meanwhile, the chief schools adjudicator for England, Ian Craig, told the conference that lawyers were cashing in on the complexity of the code as more parents, local authorities and schools hired them.

He said: “Unfortunately, the more complex the code, the more lawyers are earning their money trying to find ways to around it. There will be more challenges in the high court on admissions issues. I’m convinced of that.”

Parents are making great sacrifices to get their children into top private schools

Tutors and Saturday Schools are ‘helping students into private schools’
Parents are investing a lot of time and money in ensuring their children are accepted into top private schools.

It refers to the case of ten-year-old, whose parents have put her on an intensive 18-month programme to make sure she passes her 11-plus exams.

“I am doing the best for my child, helping her strive towards her dreams. At the moment she wants to be a vet and I want to help her achieve that,” commented her mother, 39-year-old Rebecca Bailey.

She even acknowledged that she would pay for the school fees in whatever way possible, even if she had to sell some of her personal possessions.

The Guardian revealed that in some cases, 20 children or more are battling for each independent school place, with private tuition seen as the difference between passing or failing.

http://www.sfs-group.co.uk/news-industry-19404484-tutors_helping_students_into_private_schools.htm