An Eleven Plus Appeal

I’m off in a moment to go to an appeal.

We deal with around five hundred eleven plus children every year. This is only the third time in all the years we have been preparing children towards the eleven plus that I have wanted to speak as well as stand by the veracity of our reports and lesson histories.

We test children before they start work with us.

Last year we saw a ten year old with a listening comprehension of around six years old. Her non verbal reasoning was 121. Her English and comprehension were well below average. Her mathematics was also below average. English is a second language.

In the eleven plus tests she reached 141 on the verbal reasoning test. This is an extraordinary score. We had worked with her on a program of comprehension, vocabulary and grammar along with some mathematics. We added verbal and non verbal reasoning to her lessons when she was more confident.

Her mathematics only reached 110 in the eleven plus tests – so she was not deemed to be strong enough to earn a place. She has scored 121 on the nonverbal reasoning test.

She has, however, continued lessons with us towards the SATs where we have worked on her mathematics and written work.

The first time I attended an appeal was for a girl who had her first period on the day of the examination. We took along the verbal reasoning tests she had done with us to show the panel what a verbal reasoning paper looked like and confirm that she had achieved very good results in the past. She deserved a place.

The second time was to represent a refugee who did very well on the mathematics and non verbal reasoning tests but was a few marks down on his verbal reasoning. He had worked very hard and really deserved a place. His English was not strong but he had a burning desire for education. He was offered a place conditional on him improving his English before he entered secondary school.

We wish her and her family every success.