Monday, April 22, 2013

This year's 11+ students

As yet they have not made it clear what they are going to do with the English component of the tests; up until now it has been a story which has only been marked if the child was borderline.
Now, with the feeling that standards in English is falling, there is a push to bring those who will be going to grammar schools to be at a similar standard to those who will have had the advantage of a private primary education.
I have a feeling they will replace the story with a comprehension and that it WILL count. I cannot prove my statement but I do believe it is the only way they can move forward and satisfy the DfES.
As a consequence I am going to recommend a comprehension book which is quite cheap to buy and freely available in most bookshops and internet providers; Schofield and Sims: KS2 Comprehension 3 which is currently available on Amazon at less than £3. It is an excellent book and will give them plenty of practice at the level they require.
It will also stand them in good stead for next year when they do their end of KS2 exams ready for the secondary school; for grammar school they need to be comfortably working at level 5 or above for them to be able to keep up with the pace expected of them when they get there.

11plus students beginning September 2013

We are almost at that time of the year when I will be contacting you to ask for the best dates and times so I can start putting the timetable together for this coming academic year. It may seem strange to be thinking about September when we have only just got back after Easter, but you will be surprised just how quickly the next six months will flash past. Ask any of the parents already on the countdown and they will  tell you how quickly time passes.
The first communication you will receive will be to suggest if you are not already reading the blog then to begin, because I will be placing downloads and items of news which will be of relevance to you directly. To start me off getting to know your child, I am going to ask you all to get them to complete four different tests, English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, so I can see what they have already developed and what still requires developing. I will ask you all to NOT help your child even if they tell you they can't do it;NO reading it to them, explaining how to do the first one, NO help what's so ever, otherwise I will be finding out what they can do with support, not what they can do on their own and for me its important to know if they freeze. Often a child left to its own devices will find a way in the end and that is something else I want to see.
Freezing in a test can be attributed to many things but fear of the whole situation is one of them and the way it affects a child is not always what one would expect. I have known children to almost go blind, unable to read, whilst others just cry and don't want to face it. Each way they react to a situation requires different support and this is something I will teach them when I get to know them and support them with exam practice.
The following website has a perfect set of free tests to use, please use the link below and download a copy of each for yourself. Once your child has completed them can you please forward them to me; you will have received a copy of my address via email.
http://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/pages/books_11_Plus_free_tests.asp

The reason I use CGP as opposed to any other is because I have a great deal of time for their products and their standards. I have used them extensively in schools since they first started publishing  and have found them excellent at keeping tabs with current requirements and syllabii.

If your child scores low on any of these tests, that is less than 60%, I would suggest you buy a copy of the relevant Study Book. The following link will take you to the page where they link you to all their products for 11+
 http://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/pages/books_11_Plus_explained.asp 

I would suggest you do not buy their test papers as I have plenty of test paper practice here on site and more may 'muddy the water' with too much testing - it can make the child stale and not perform in the test.