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Friday, February 24, 2012

An Eleven Plus Vision


You have a vision. You enter the dream world. You can see your bright and able eleven plus child walking through the gates of the local grammar school. You can sense the excitement of your child – even though it is heavily disguised in the most laid back form. Few brand new Year Seven children will deign to kiss their parents good bye at the gates of a new school!

We may possibly, however, have a big problem looming in the eleven plus world. The more advanced and more involved parents are, the less likely are they to be able to feel that a prophecy or a vision should be taken seriously. It is possible, however, that a little extra eleven plus hesitation may stem from Jeanne of Arc’s story. She had wonderful visions – and they helped to put a King on the throne. Charles VII ascended the throne as a direct result of her intervention. This did not do her much good as the Burgundians sold her to the English – who burnt her as a heretic and sorceress in 1431. Perhaps eleven plus parents should not dream of fire and passion – because we just don’t know where it will all end!

Of course some parents may dream about their child passing the eleven plus, going to university and landing a good job and going on to make money. The making the money part of the dream may be characterised by a roulette wheel. If your child owned the roulette wheel in Monaco then all is well. If, however, your child was playing roulette then you may need to take drastic steps.

You need to explain to your child that every gamble on a roulette wheel is designed to help you to lose money. Some spins you will win but most you will lose. The important factor to keep in mind is how much money you are prepared to lose. When you bet on a single number the odds are one to thirty eight. You explain this to your child in exactly the same way as you would explain any eleven plus question.

If you bet £10 then your chances are (One divided by thirty eight) + (Thirty seven divided by thirty eight multiplied by minus £10). Your child’s quick eleven plus brain will work out that you will lose fifty two point six pence for every £10.

Now many of us would argue that losing fifty two point six pence is worth losing if the odds allow us to win £350. But will your child see it that way? After all you, and your family, should be saving for university fees not wasting the family heritage.

You just don’t want to be burnt at the stake for the sake of the loss of 52.6p!