An Eleven Plus Study Group

A number of parents find it relatively easy to build an eleven plus support network. There is the close fraternity of the playground as well as the attraction of the anonymity of the internet. To each his own!

But what about eleven plus children? How can they build support networks? We can easily visualise how children from different schools and varying levels could come together to organise an eleven plus study group. After all some eleven plus children have access to telephones, emails, and social networks. The work children could do in an eleven plus study groups could only be limited by their imagination.

Children, with the obvious consent of parents, could arrange to meet each other to encourage work on a variety of eleven plus activities.

The children could go over papers with each other to clarify points and work in close co-operation.

Some children may care to raise specific eleven plus problems – and would then be grateful for any help and assistance from peers.

Some children may find that simply listening to each other may be helpful.

All this sounds rather utopian – but the message is that some children may benefit from being able to talk about their problems, their successes and their failures – without feeling that they are being judged and categorised. There could even be some children who would want to discuss the consequences of success or failure without having to behave like mini adults.

Building Eleven Plus Confidence

There may, possibly, be one or two eleven plus children who feel a crisis of confidence at some stage of the eleven plus year. Parents, of course, are usually very quick to react. Some eleven plus children may need a little more support than others. Naturally parents will employ a variety of therapeutic techniques.

Supportive Therapy

This is often put into effect immediately to try to help with anxiety and panic. Mum and Dad try to be warm and genuine. The parents will strive for emotional security and try to take away any hint of implied criticism.

Insight Therapy

This is where the parents try to re-educate their child about the route towards the eleven plus. There will be discussions about what happens if the candidate is successful, the steps that will be taken if failure is on the horizon, and the effects on the family if goals have to be altered.

Working-Through Process

Each of the members of the family may have to make some form of adjustment. The eleven plus child, for example, may not want to be treated like a baby – but might be striving towards independence. Some parents may be asking too much of their child – and need to back off. The pressure may need to be taken off if the child begins to worry too much. The whole family may attempt to be more relaxed and accepting.

Monkey Business and the Eleven Plus

Lots of children seem to like monkeys. Monkeys are sociable animals and live in warm regions – such as parts of Africa and Asia as well as Central and South America. Eleven plus children will know that monkeys make their homes on dense forests or on tropical islands. They have as their leader a wise male monkey who leads them to new homes. Of course monkeys are extremely sociable – and appear to chatter and play all day long.

Monkeys are very different from other animals in many respects – but one big difference is that while animals have four feet a monkey has four hands. A monkey can seem to be rather clumsy while walking – but can climb trees in the most marvellous manner – clinging to the branches with long and powerful fingers.

The following words can be made from the word `monkey’. (There may be others.)

me, no, on, key, men, Ken, yen, monk, yoke, okey, Nome, money and monkey

Could the word `okey’ be used in an eleven plus question? We know that O.K. is an endorsement – as is okey.  

The word `nome’ may not appear in the vocabulary of some eleven plus children – especially when we explain that the word is to do with an ancient province.

We know that eleven plus children need a strong vocabulary – but extensive reading may not throw up `okey’ and `nome’. It is likely that it would not be fair to include these two words in an eleven plus question.

What could be fair, however, is a little exercise on some monkeys racing for food in a zoo. All the monkeys were at the top of their cage – playing with an elaborate knitting of ropes. The keeper entered the cage with a bowl of fresh bananas. Half way down the ropes the first five were Simon, Gerald, Peter, Eugene and Roger. To the excitement of the watching spectators, some of whom captured the sequence on their video cameras, it became obvious that Roger had passed Eugene, Peter and Gerald. In a late surge – by dropping several feet – Edward overtook Peter.

Which monkey came first?

Which monkey came second?

Which monkey came third?

Which monkey came fourth?

Which monkey came fifth?

Some children will prefer finding words within words – and others will enjoy the challenge of solving problems. All parents can do is to hope that it all comes together on the day.

Eleven Plus Dreamers

What makes a boy or girl into an explorer? What drove Ellen McArthur to want to circumnavigate the world? Will working on eleven plus questions help a child to achieve greatness?

I used to like reading about Eric the Red. His son, Lief Eriksson, was blown off course on his way from Iceland to Greenland and was reputed to be the first European to reach America.

Of course another hero was Bartolomeu Diaz who was the first to round the Cape of Good Hope – right at the bottom of Africa. I used to sit on the beach while on holiday down in Cape Town and think of his bravery in setting off to see the world.

Christopher Columbus probably led too complicated a life for me to feel that I could idolise him. He wanted to prove that that the world was round.

I also liked Vasco Da Gama who sailed to India and brought back amazing goods for sale and as presents.

A name that must creep into any top ten is that of America Earhart. She coped with many problems before, during and after her great flights.

Men and women of this ilk are remembered and go down in posterity. All must have had key characteristics – some of these will be needed by ten year old children writing the eleven plus.

A desire to achieve and reach a goal

A dream that encompasses hard work and endeavour

A willingness to put up with personal deprivation and hardship

An understanding that failure is not an option.

Of course these are worthy attributes. Think, however, of the hardship undergone by a ten year old not going out to play because of the need to work on eleven plus papers. Think of little or no television for the duration of the eleven plus year. Imagine what it must be like to be a child and have to listen to homilies and eleven plus pep talks from parents and teachers alike.

Eleven Plus Advice from Your Doctor

There may be a number of us – when we were much younger – who were very serious about distillation. You will recall that the problem with distillation is that if liquids mix – or do not mix – or if there is a solution of a solid within a liquid – then distillation may become something that has to be thought about.

Let us look first how to obtain a pure liquid from a solution of a solid within a liquid. If the solution is evaporated, then only the liquid boils off and the solid remains. You will also recall, possibly very clearly, that the term vapour is used, sometimes, to refer to a gas which can be easily condensed back to a liquid.  The process of evaporation – followed by condensation – is called distillation.

When we wake and find that our bodies have gone into toxic overload – with a blocked sinus and a heavy head – then we may need some form of help with our nutrition. (This `cure’ should also help if the bottle of wine that was enjoyed last night was emptied or left three quarters full.)

250 g carrots

50 g radishes

1 large apple

Ice cubes

Juice the carrots, radishes and apple. Pour the juice into a blender or food processor and process with a couple of ice cubes.

Your food classes at school will have told you that radishes are a great expectorant, carrots have lots of Vitamin A and apples help to remove toxins. Now every eleven plus parent knows that a hangover cure is not a replacement for advice from a physician. But can you imagine making an appointment to see your doctor.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning doctor. I was working with my eldest on eleven plus exercises last night and felt a powerful desire to distil some gin. The recipe changed into vodka and I think I tried it in too pure a form. I am not feeling very well.”

“I am sorry to hear that. Continue with the eleven plus work. Take long walks to reduce eleven plus stress. Let the vodka distil completely before you try it.

(There may be a long pause.)

I can remember when I was a medical student and we tried to make vodka in the labs. Some worked and some did not. I think I can recall fairly vividly waking up the next day.

If your eleven plus child is thinking of becoming a doctor – bring him in to have a chat with me about which universities have the best labs for brewing.

Thank you and good luck.”

“Thank you doctor.”

The Eleven Plus Border Line Zone

Is it possible, please, to think of a Local Authority that has grammar school places for 22% of all the children in the year group who will be completing their primary school? What is the minimum quotient that is needed for your child to win a grammar school place?

Playground chatter would maintain that last year the eleven plus was harder to pass than the year before, but this year the pass rate could be easier. But how is the cut-off point arrived at? The mathematics is reasonably easy and could, possibly, be understood by your eleven plus child.

The line separating the top 22% is at the 78^th percentile. You will probably recall from your mathematics lessons at school that percentiles can be used as an alternative way of comparing marks.

If the border line between pass and fail is too narrow then some remarkably able children may fail to reach grammar school. Your local authority may have to examine the border line zone very carefully every year. The examination may or may not be any easier or any harder – but the border line zone may become narrower or broader.

In practice examination results tend to revolve around the number of grammar school places – and not about an eleven plus examination being too easy or too hard.

The Music of the Eleven Plus

To some of us attempting to solve some of the more arcane eleven plus questions is both pleasurable and painful. Some questions seem to need a special language or vocabulary. It could be, for example, like trying to learn a foreign language or read music.

We can believe, possibly, that some eleven plus parents will have studied music at the Sorbonne – and thus have a far more gentrified knowledge of music than the rest of us. Think back to your music lessons at school when your music teacher broke away from trying to encourage the class to sing in parts and encouraged you to look into a little theory.

You will remember that the major scale of C is simply the white piano notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. If we start on one white note, B, for example, and use only white notes to write our scale we produce a different pattern of tones and semitones. From B to C is a semitone. C to D is a tone – and so on.

Years and years ago musicians composed music which fitted tone and semitones. They were called modes. You will recall that in your lesson on the 17^th of May (some years ago) your music teacher chatted about the seven basic modes. The first three are:

Aeolian – TST TSTT – the white notes from A to A

Locrian – STT STTT – the white notes from B to B

Ionian – TTS TTTS – the white notes from C to C (We use this scale today)

So if we start helping an eleven plus child answer some abstruse question – and we start off on the wrong note – then we could be leading the child into a world of discordant sounds. Your pleasant, well-meaning and harmonious voice could, possibly, be promoting disorder and disaster. “Start as you mean to finish, my dear, start on Middle C!”

Some of the terms used in music would certainly apply in any organised eleven plus lesson.

Accel. = accelerando = gradually faster (Hurry up dear, I need to put the meal for the whole family on.)

Dim. = diminuendo = gradually softer (This does not represent how you feel about yourself if you cannot answer an eleven plus question)

Pp = pianissimo = very soft (How you feel in the head when your child is quicker than you at some questions.)

As the lessons ends you walk away shaking your head espressivo (with expression) and dolore (with grief) that your impetuoso (impetuous) child has to struggle with misterioso (mysterious) questions.