PARENTS PLEA WITH GOVERNMENT TO POSTPONE 11+ EXAMINATIONS IN SEPTEMBER 2020

The question on the lips of so many families in England is “will the 11+ examinations be postponed in 2020 because of COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown?”

The lockdown has meant, that in some cases, the family’s focus on preparing for 11 Plus Examinations slipped when schools closed in March 2020 and it became increasingly difficult to motivate some pupils to study for their 11+ entrance tests.

Selective Grammar school’s Eleven Plus Entrance Examinations are held in September, in England, with results issued in October. Families are desperately hoping that this year, they will either be suspended or delayed.

The reason Boris Johnson’s government cancelled GCSE’s AS and A2 examinations, closed schools and imposed lockdown, was essentially to protect the NHS, reduce transmission of the disease and reduce the growing number of casualties. Families were affected in so many ways, primary aged children no less so. This decision could prove catastrophic for 11 Plus applicants.who sit examinations this September.

Some parents are stressing and are desperate for more time to get their children prepared for the 11 Plus Examinations and had hoped an alternative system could replace 11+ Entrance Tests for selective grammar schools this year, (similar to predicted grades for GCSE, AS and A Level examinations). In Northern Ireland where the 11 + Entrance Examinations take place in November; similar requests are being made.

The UK Government has received a petition to postpone 11 Plus Examinations in September 2020. The Petition was rejected, on the grounds that such decisions are not a matter for the government but for exam boards and individual grammar schools.

Parents are concerned about the stress on their 10- and 11-year olds. At the same time that schools were closed, vast amounts of Free Resources were made available online for all age groups for Mathematics, English and other subjects in the national curriculum. These FREE resources however, did not include Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, the main subjects taught and examined for 11+ Entrance Examinations, which has a specific format. With bookstores closed, parents have had to rely on resources they could find to download online.

Tutors, who play an important role in getting children ready to sit 11 Plus Examinations, found they could not travel to provide home tutoring. Face-to-face tuition had to be abandoned and lessons quickly transferred online. Distance learning is not easy or accessible to all pupils and overnight, some children had to absorb a completely new approach to learning. Those who attended tuition centres had an abrupt end to their lessons until alternative – usually – online teaching was made available. Home learning continued for some, using familiarisation papers with daily practise. There has been disruption in all areas with and for all children preparing for the Eleven Plus Examination, due to COVID-19 and the lockdown.

Countless families with children in Year 5, found themselves dealing with bereavements, fear, stress and anxiety cased by the pandemic. It is questionable how much time was devoted to 11 Plus Non-Verbal and Verbal Reasoning tuition under these circumstances. Some children simply are not mentally ready to focus on or sit Eleven Plus Examinations in September.

The expectation that the Eleven Plus Examination is a test of a child’s natural intelligence might well be put under the spotlight and scrutinised in this year’s 11 Plus Examinations, particularly among pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

All these factors provide strong grounds for requesting postponement of 11 Plus Examinations in September, perhaps moving the date a few months. Understandably, this change would be a nightmare for Grammar schools and secondary school transfer. The logistics of such a decision, painful to consider, but could result in a fairer outcome. Many schools are under pressure and face preparing for, and running examinations in the autumn for GCSE, AS and A Level students, unhappy with their predicted grade.

To date, neither the Department of Education, Local Authorities or Grammar schools have made any announcements. The only conclusion to draw, is that no action will be taken and the 11 plus examinations will go ahead in September as usual.

The selective 11 Plus Examination process is essential for high performing selective grammar schools. It ensures pupil of the right calibre join in 2021 to maintain the high educational standards at the school and its reputation.

It is expected that BAME community will be most hard hit if 11 Plus Examinations go ahead in September. Every grammar school publishes the number of spaces available for their Year 7 intake and these are fiercely contested by 11+ applicants all of whom want a place in the best schools.

It has been widely publicised that the BAME community has been disproportionately hit by deaths due to COVID 19. These children are likely to have the most fear and anxiety at this time. This may result in lower scores than ever before. Children from these families could be outperformed in this year’s 11 Plus examinations by their wealthier counterparts, many of whom attend preparatory schools. Although state primary schools are due to reopen in June, teachers are prohibited from teaching 11 Plus preparation material and their time and focus will be to get their class to catch up on the work missed during the lockdown.

A significant number of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds do not have access to laptops and computers, or printers and will have not been able to access online lessons. The gap between privileged and disadvantaged students for 11 Plus admission is expected to be the highest ever this year.

In recent years, the trend has been for some wealthy parents apply for places in grammar schools because tuition is free, rather than pay high private school fees. Securing a place at a selective grammar school is decidedly more competitive and difficult for BAME children. This trend is expected to continue particularly given the state of the economy since COVID-19. High levels of unemployment are predicted due to redundancies, caused by the closure of large and small businesses.

There are pupils who will not be adversely affected if 11 Plus Examinations go ahead in September. They represent those in private preparatory schools who come from homes with higher disposable incomes. Their parents will have paid for them be prepared for the 11 Plus Examination years in advance. Children who fall into this category often obtain the highest marks in the 11 Plus Entrance Tests and are selected for the best grammar schools.
This year, the candidates who receive offers for Year 7 might be predominantly made up of children from higher income, well – to- do families.