Eleven PLus Loss

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A handbag was stolen last night while a group of fifteen of us were eating out. We all know the extent of a woman’s hand bag. The whole of life is encapsulated within the confines of a capacious handbag.

I would not presume to understand the intimate details of a woman’s handbag but a preliminary list must include keys of various descriptions. It is likely that there will be as many as ten different keys on a key ring. There must be house keys, car keys – and various unknown others.

We then need to come to cards. These will include debit cards, credit cards, store cards, gym cards, bank cards and at least another five types of largely forgotten but intensely important cards. The loss of the driving licence will remain a great inconvenience.

Then comes a collection of personal items – probably up to as many as fifty different items ranging from tissues to spare lipsticks and combs.

Naturally there will be various communication devices - from telephones to ipods to stick it notes.

Every self respecting woman will be able to recall not only the contents of her bag but the actual pockets everything resides in. When we realise that an average handbag has at least seven different significant places where items of varying importance can lie we can understand the relevance categorising and organising – and possessing instant recall.

I am sure if you laid out, in random order, every item on a large table – and then covered the table with a large white sheet any female over the age of six would be able to demonstrate total recall.

It is possible that this deep inherited trait is one of the most important distinguishing characteristics dividing men and women. Ancient cave women must have been able to lay their hands on every item they possessed as the cave became darker and darker and day light faded.

This why no mere male would presume to play Kim’s game for money with any female of his acquaintance.

This is also why some eleven year old girls are able to solve incredibly complex reasoning exercises. They can retain information. Most will display an advanced short term memory. They will be able to recall everything they wish to remember. They will be able to play the card game `Cheat’ with total conviction.

The Eleven Plus examination for many girls is no more than a passing rite of passage. They will enjoy the challenge of the examination. They will be able to appear calm and unstressed.

After all failing an Eleven Plus examination can not be as catastrophic as losing a handbag. My heart goes out to all women who have suffered such loss. The have lost their past, their present and their future. An Eleven Plus examination can not be as important as that.

Exceeding Eleven Plus Expectations (16/02)

I watched, with interest, different sets of children around the age of eleven today. Some of the children were obviously at a good state or even possibly a private school while a different group appeared to be fending for themselves.

It is likely that both groups of children were carrying the same amount of money. The one group was looking to buy and the other trying very hard to sell. The technique of both sets was remarkably similar. There was no petulance, no tears, and no histrionics – just persistence.

Group A were attempting to buy matching garb. The tops, pants and shoes had to match. This was the cult of the sisterhood in full sway. The fathers, looked at with reproachful eyes, were no match. The girls reached their objectives in a remarkably short time.

We never saw the parents of the other group. They looked clean and well dressed. They were carrying very little and were determined to sell their goods. The children were selling little wooden snakes, small inlaid boxes and sweetmeats. There was nothing complicated in the price negotiations because the price they asked for their good was so small. They also achieved their objective in a remarkably short time. Their technique was to take refusal in good heart and then circle round and reappear some ten minutes later. They had already made contact, established a form of relationship, picked their mark and were determined on a sale. There were the same children that Charles Dickens had described so well many years ago.

Bothe sets of children had developed a form of awareness of a situation – and had the tools to be able to bring a situation to a conclusion. The one set would never do an Eleven Plus examination – and would grow up to because self sufficient adults. The other group of children will go on to pass examinations and sail through university .



In years to come their lives may come together – some selling and some buying. Both sets capable of exceeding expectations.

Eleven Plus Materials (15/02)

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Every single person in the whole world has seen one of these before me – but I saw an innovative and exciting product today at our local airport. We are all used to seeing refrigerator cabinets dispensing soft drinks – in all shapes sizes and forms. The cabinets brother is the machine that dispenses all the goodies that children desire but are not allowed. This has the sweets, chocolates and crisps. One of our local leisure centres has a smaller cousin which offers remarkably tasty popcorn for a mere pound.

Standing a little away from the forbidden `fast food’ family was a bright and shining new addition. The items were all seemed to be priced at less than ten pounds – which has a relief. The case seemed to be almost twice as wide as a traditional refrigerated dispenser. I saw too that the product had won the award for the most innovative award presented to BAA in 2007.

By now every reader will know what I am taking about (which in itself must be an unusual event).

Quite simply if you offered the machine a sum of money – and then selected a title you could buy a book without talking to a human being.

One of the major features of chain like Waterstones is that the company seem to employ university students. Some one on the staff will have read a book that you want to but – and you can discuss the book with a fellow human being. This must be good a feature of good recruitment ambitions and training program that recognises the value of repeat customers. As you stand behind the counter in a Waterstones you smile and talk to the customer and listen – and have the time to engage in a dialogue.

All I could do was to take a photograph of the machine. Now the book dispenser did not smile or preen. It did not turn its head slingthly to present the `best’ side. It just wanted my money.

The choice of around thirty books was varied and catholic in taste. I am sorry to say that I did not find one book devoted to the Eleven Plus and Eleven Plus examinations. How on earth are we going to educate and enrich our children if they do not have access to the proper facilities?

I know that Etc has its own online book shop – but we do try to show our telephone number so that customers can contact us and discuss the content of books. After all some parents want a nook of formal tests. Other parents will want a little explanation.

In the lessons we offer our children choice of books and learning materials. Some children choose the `demanding’ books and exercises. Other children seem to prefer to work through exercises that are accompanied by diagrams and explanations.

So when you go to a major bookshop to buy new Eleven Plus materials it is essential that you take your child to allow the candidate to make a selection. We have a remarkably bright Eleven year old who loves to whip through half an exercise from one of the Bond 9 – 10 verbal reasoning exercises before settling down to do her work. When she gets sot the Eleven Plus level book she always looks for the hardest sections. The reason for this is that she loves to stretch her teacher and the loyal assistants. She takes pleasure in watching someone try to solve a problem.

Eleven Plus Respect

I had a chat today with a very pleasant man while he cleaned my shoes. We had stopped to look a rather strange looking tricycle.

The tricycle was built out of three quarter inch iron pipe. The welding was crude but effective.

A feature of the bike was the high handlebars supporting two hand pedals connected by a heavy continuous chain to sprockets on the front wheel. The chain quite simply drove the front wheels. It looked as if it took some power to drive the tricycle on a flat surface – much less up a slight incline.

The twin real wheels were driven by a small petrol motor. The plug looked as if it was years old. The porcelain end was a grey orange colour. When the plug had left the factory it would have been white and pristine in appearance.

The seat was as broad as the two wheels – and was covered by cushions.

The wheels were the old wheels of a small motor bike. Our immediate first thought was the designer of this three wheeled carriage had cut the front off a small motor bike and then welded the frame to make the body.

The shoe shine driver explained to us in French that he had had polio when he was nine years old and had lost the use of his legs. He showed us the callipers supporting both legs – much like the one I had to wear for just over a year as a first year student. He also demonstrated that he had no control over the fingers in his left hand. The fingers simply flopped loosely as he moved his hand.

Our shoe shiner explained that the pedals on the steering wheel were for when he had not made enough money to be able to fill his minuscule petrol tank. The tank was around the size of a large mug - about the size of large Starbucks mug.

He explained that shining shoes was rather a precarious career. He earned a basic living and had to hope for tips to top up his income. His clothes were clean – but his tricycle was dusty and dirty.

So I naturally thought about our Eleven Plus children. We enjoy the fact that our children are bright, alive, physically able and remarkably articulate. Yet here was a man who no doubt had had to suffer incredible privation as he struggled to come to terms with his newly enforced disability. I thought too of the worry that his parents must have had as he grew up – not only concern for him as a child but real anxiety about what the world would hold for him when he became an adult.

So when our fine young children stride into school confidently and feeling secure it is natural that we feel considerable pride that we have been able to offer so much to our children. We must have also have had a little concern that our children have made the best of the opportunities that have been offered to them.

The Eleven Plus examinations are demanding. They are competitive. They are draining on parents and children – but there must be a sense of perspective when we remember the struggles of this determined shoe shiner. He did not appear to be sorry for himself. He was not whining about his unfair lot. (“Oh mum, do I really have to?)

We must offer every opportunity that we are capable of towards any disabled child and their parents. We do not need to feel sorry – but we do need to feel respect.

Surviving the Eleven Plus

I have never been ship wrecked on a deserted island. I am sure we would all react in different ways. We have all seen the reality programs like `I’m a Celebrity – get me out of here.’ Some elements of some of the programs were vastly entertaining.

The first thing to think about would need to be water. I think this would come before personal safety. How would we collect and store the water?

Collect water in as many containers as possible. The receptacles would need to range from a hat to a bowl.

In very dry environments condensation forms over night on different surfaces.

If you are very thirsty then tie rags around your ankles – the dew gathers on the cloth. Simply wring the cloth out -and there is water!

Catch fish –as fish contain moisture. Squeeze the raw fish in a cloth to extract the water.

It is clear that when survival is uppermost in our minds that it is unlikely that we will meekly accept our lots, we will fight – and fight hard.

So as new parents enter the Eleven Plus arena – and wonder how they are going to survive they should take heart – because working on the Eleven Plus can not be as hard as the first few days on a deserted island.

Your Eleven Plus Survival Guide needs to include:

Talking to everyone about what is involved.

Being realistic about your child’s chances.

Collecting books and commercially available resources

Listening to your child’s thoughts.

Anything must be better than drinking from a cloth tied to the ankles.

Good luck to all concerned.

New Eleven Plus Directions

This weekend just gone we bought a Weber gas barbeque.

It has 2 stainless steel burners with a Crossover ignition system.

There are Porcelain-enamelled Flavourizer bars and a lid with a thermometer.

The thermoset work surface is removable and there are two condiment baskets.

So we enter the world of a new vocabulary.

“Crossover ignition system’ – easy because there are two burners.

A Flavourizer bar is a little more difficult to comprehend. A bar that makes the meat taste good? Who knows?

A thermoset work surface – this must be something to do with the thermostat controlling heat.

So when your Eleven Plus child is struggling with a verbal reasoning question and makes a new word up – please don’t laugh. The ability to make a new word could lead to a wonderful career as an advertising executive.

Just think of describing your child as a `verbgenist’ – a genius at verbal reasoning questions. Perfectly legitimate – and very descriptive.

Try too `grumpnonverb’ – this is a child who is grumpy over non verbal reasoning questions.

And finally a `Ohmumnotnow’ – a child who is not in the mood.

So if you hear of any new words or feel like composing some new type of verbal reasoning question please let me know.

The Spirit of the Eleven Plus

I chatted to a mother over the weekend who was clearly `into’ the spirit world.

Her clothes were a bit of a give away. She wore a long skirt with groups of butterflies, A long skirt in itself dos not make a medium – but the presence of a shawl cast over the shoulders and held by some ancient Celtic clasp seemed to complete the attire.

She also employed that other well known spiritualist technique which was to stare into space. I have known for a long time that my conversation is bleak and unworldly but since we were chatting socially and not professionally, I thought it was a little odd. She seemed to be a little preoccupied. In reflection I think that she was possibly communicating with someone. On the other hand I may just have been boring her to death.

I know that in some environments tables can be made to move – along with pencils and pens. I have read too that mediums sometimes choose to communicate with animals mainly, I suppose, because a dog or a cat can’t talk back.

So here we have the ideal mother of a child taking an Eleven Plus examination. There may be, however, some unexpected outcomes.

Suppose the examination answer paper, with fifteen minutes left to go, floats out one window only to appear seconds later in a window some fifteen feet away. (You would need to train your child not to give a start when he or she recognised that some answers had been changed and the remainder of the questions were now complete.) This would give your child a head start.

Suppose too that you were the truth seer and it was your child, who could manipulate a pencil to pick the correct answer, you too would be might proud, I’m sure!

The third help that may be offered to your child would be for the table and chair to lift slowly from the floor and float out the window. This would allow you to give that little bit of extra help to your child.

These were the thoughts that floated through my mind as I watched the mother move away in a dignified and loving manner.

In any event we will never know just how big an influence can be generated by a mother who calls on spirits for extra help. It can’t be illegal – can it? After all in an examination a table can move can’t it? Some wind could cause a paper to float out the window. An answer paper could drop to the floor and be picked up by another child. There could be perfectly normal reasons for what appears to be visits from the spirit world. But we do need to wonder – don’t we?

The Year of the Rat

We went to London yesterday to join the celebrations around the `Year of the Rat’. It was a joyous and very nosy occasion. There was lots of movement, colour and noise. It was a real paradise foe all concerned.

We watched this minute Chinese girl playing Mozart. Few of us are privileged to see and hear such talent at such a young age. I bet she could pass the Eleven Plus.

We also walked through Green Park on our way to Buckingham Palace. I bet these three little girls can also pass the Eleven Plus.

We saw that the Queen was in because her flag was flying. We knocked on the gate but there was no reply. I bet all her grandchildren can pass the Eleven Plus.

Parents of bright and privileged children have just the same dreams and desires for their children as the rest of us do.

It would be a very different examination if all concerned could pass!

Ten Eleven Plus Questions

J. Pierpoint Morgan used to say that a man always has two reasons for everything that he does: a good reason and the real reason. The same, by all accounts, must be true for women.

So now we come to the nub of the question: What is a good reason for your child passing the Eleven Plus and is it different to the true reason?

The object of the following assessment is tried to bring truth to the surface. A low score does not mean that there is a problem and equally a high score does not mean that all is well.

1. Do you realise that your child is a separate individual and may not have the same attitude towards the Eleven Plus as you have?

2. Are you quite certain that you really listen to your child?

3. Do you exercise control over your bright eleven year old child or do you allow dialogue?

4. Do you allow your child a full and free opportunity to be able to offer an opinion – or are you most often correct?

5. Have you recently praised anything your child has done?

6. Do you refrain from criticising your child in front of others?

7. Are you deeply concerned that your child should have a good opinion of you?

8. Can you talk frankly with your child or do you do you pass over the opportunity?

9. Do you try to have some form of recreation that you and your child enjoy?

10. Are you willing to allow your child some freedom?

Give yourself a score from 0 to 10 on each question.

If you reach 100 then you may need to think again.

If you only reach 10 you may be too hard on yourself.

When you have completed your sums ask your Eleven Plus child to give you a score on the questions.

Be kind to each other!

The Profile of the Eleven Plus

I am sure we are all following the American Elections with great interest. Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama are locked in a fierce battle for the potential presidency of the United States of America. It is likely that the outcome will be undecided until Democratic convention in Denver in August.

We know that the candidates have to raise a phenomenal amount of money to support their drive for leadership of America.

The pictures of voters canvassing for their candidates are compelling.

The sums of money involved appear to be enough to be able to solve a good many of the problems faced by all of us in Britain today.

I wonder if we could adopt American tactics to raise the profile of the Eleven Plus examinations.

Parents – even prospective parents – could join great organized rallies to promote the efficacy of the Eleven Plus.

The National Association of Grammar Schools could take on a new lease of life.

The Government could be encouraged to build grammar school rather than Academies.

More girls could be called Hilary and more boys Barack.

An Eleven Plus Simulator

I drive past the nose cone of an aeroplane on most days. The cone takes over the majority of the front garden. I often wonder if he has a full blown simulator in his cone. Does he fly missions all over Europe? Does he have a favourite route that takes him to Perth and then on to Las Vegas?

We know that Lewis Hamilton has access to a sixty million pound simulator that allows him to prepare for different race circuits. This must be a `state of the art simulator’ – because of the price and the use to which it is put.

There are other kinds of simulations –like role playing and business games. “Pretend that you are the head of your school. Would you allow examinations?”

So a simulator is more than the equipment itself – it is the operation or tasks that have to be accomplished.

So what kind of simulator do we need for our eleven plus children?

It has to move. (Preferably upwards, sideways, forwards and backwards and round and round.)

It has to have light. (Some children would refer bright, flashing and invasive lighting.)

It has to keep a constant temperature. (Shut that door.)

It must give detailed and comprehensive answers. (Just like any parent.)

It can not criticise or cause offence.

It must be able to simulate the Eleven Plus examination.

Why can’t we all get together to develop a valuable Eleven Plus simulator? It would need to develop into a warm, friendly, knowledgeable, goal orientated and strong machine. I can’t help thinking that even the most sophisticated piece of educational equipment is not as valuable as a hug and a kiss from mum.

The Wonder of the Eleven Plus

I wonder how many children who have been encouraged to spend a year of their lives working through Eleven Plus verbal reasoning papers ever land up reading and writing poetry?

Take for example Sir John Betjeman 1906 – 84 who wrote:

Miss J. Hunter Dunn, Miss J Hunter Dunn,

Furnish’d and burnish’d by Aldershot’s sun,

What strenuous singles we played after tea,

We in the tournament – you against me.

One way and another I am sure that all of us will remember the last verse:

And the scent of her wrap, and the words never said,

And the ominous, ominous dancing ahead.

We sat in the car park till twenty to one

And now I am engaged to Miss Joan Hunter Dunn.

A cautionary tale to every young man! An easily understandable story to every bright eleven year old girl! I doubt that he worked through any eleven plus papers when he was eleven.

So if some eleven year old brains can easily abstract verbal and literary concepts I wonder why all eleven plus children have to be able to cope with questions like these:

Fill in the missing number or sign:

4 ____ 3 ____ 9 ____ = 16.

The two types of thinking are completely different. If one form is acceptable in an Eleven Plus examination I wonder why the other isn’t?

Eleven Plus Opposites

`In a certain code the words DAB is written as BAD. And the word PART is written as TRAP. How would the word GNAT be written?’

Well as a young child I remember reading about `The Contraries’. These were the Red Indians who always did the opposite of what was expected.

If you said to a Contrary that white was white he would argue that white was black.

So good was evil, work was play and light was dark.

It must have been very difficult to argue with a Contrary. What every you said was right would be wrong.

This is a bit like arguing with a very bright eleven year old who wants to test your limits.

Scene One

“I think it is time to go to work.”

“Well you said that I did not have to go to work until much later on.”

Scene Two

“I think the answer is 64.”

“No it is 46. 23 + 23 makes 46.”

Scene Three

“If DAB is BAD, how would GNAT be written?”

“TANG”

So this is where a Contrary becomes a little less wearing and actually gives you the right answer! You are the winner! (For Once.)

The DNA of the Eleven Plus

At one time fingerprints appear to provide the answer to tracking down criminals. After some time criminals began to wear gloves. Or they wiped every surface they touched very carefully.

Every living person has a unique pattern of ridges and depressions at the tips of their fingers. Fingerprints were used in China over three thousand years ago as part of legal contracts. Computers are used today to look at the digital images of finger prints and can search large files very quickly.

But DNA has now come along and seems to offer a much wider and different method of tracking down criminals. Because every person’s genetic make is unique so a DNA match is able to give almost reliable information. DNA chains can have up to one hundred million base pairs.

Now each newborn child inherits half its chromosomes, together with their DNA, from each of the parents. The genetic fingerprint must correspond in every detail with that of one or the other parent.

So when we say that a child takes after one or another of the parents we are certainly correct. The DNA will prove the relationship. If your Eleven Plus child is described as a `Chip off the old block’ you will certainly be very proud. You will naturally claim that the characteristics of hard work, ambition, ability and brains all come from you. It would very hard to disprove.

Eleven Plus Learning

It has been `put around’ for many years that a great percentage of older people learn more readily if they `discover’ things for themselves.

I understand that now that I have reached the delicate stage of being an `older person’ that I will potentially react badly to following spoken or written instructions. Apparently older people are not all that good at either listening to instructions or reading books to learn.

So with an older person it is essential that their work is structured in such a way that there is no need for some key attributes.

The older person won’t be able to rely on memory as comfortably as when they were young people.

Some older people do not like to be subjected to too many interruptions – in case the flow is disrupted.

And the third, and possibly the most important point, is that it is essential that older persons are successful as often as possible. In other words the older person wants to feel a winner.

So no mother or father of an Eleven Year old would class themselves as an `older person’. (Young in years and young in heart!)

So if we need to sensitive and understanding when dealing with older people – we can but hope that we also treat or your Eleven Plus candidates with the same sensitivity and understanding.

We would not say to an older person: “Go to your room and study.” It is legitimate to say that to an eleven year old?

We would not say to an older person struggling to learn a new concept: “If you don’t complete that paper you can’t watch T.V. any more.”

Enough said?

New Eleven Plus Examinations

If our children could be offered a different type of Eleven Plus examination then naturally the content would need to change.

We could try limericks. Look at this anonymous effort.

There was an old man from Blackheath

Who sat on his set of false teeth.

Said he with a start,

“O, Lord, bless my heart!

I have bitten myself underneath!”

Think of the pleasure that composing a few lines in this vein would give to some eleven year olds.

“Write the missing number 5, 14, 23 ….. 41” does not have the same resonance.

Suppose that one of our eleven plus children landed up writing a timeless classic like:

Doctor Foster

(Anonymous)

Doctor Foster went to Gloucester

In a shower of rain;

He stepped in a puddle,

Right up to his middle,

And never went there again.

We would be proud of that child for time immemorial.

Some Eleven Plus questions do have an element of challenge – for example:

A certain class has twice as many boys as girls. All the boys have dark hair, but only half the girls have dark hair. Five girls have fair hair. How many pupils are there in the class?

So please, we are working with children. Let us give them Eleven Plus exercises that might make them smile. If you are working with your own child would you rather smile and laugh together or try to put a few words into the right order?

My Dog

(Anonymous)

I’ve got a dog as thin as a rail,

He’s got fleas all over his tail.

Every time his tail goes flop,

The fleas on the bottom all hop to the top.

How to Pass the Eleven Plus

It is very important that children play and work by rules.

Take for example the rules of Snakes and Ladders.

Players are trying to reach the square numbered 100.

Each player rolls the dice and who ever rolls the highest number goes first.

Play goes in a clockwise direction.

On your turn to play, roll the dice and move your counter forward the same number of squares.

If the counter lands at the foot of the ladder, move it up the ladder. If it lands at the head of the snake then move it down to the tail.

Now what happens when a child tries to change the rules? The adult, or the other children, say: “No, that is not in the rules. If you keep doing that I won’t play any more.”

That is all very well, Rules are rules.

But if the child who wanted to change the rules was merely experimenting with a different version of the game? Should everyone complain bitterly and walk away?

When the first bag-less vacuum cleaner arrived some people embraced it immediately. Others preferred to wait and see.

Many years ago people had to walk in front of a car with a red flag to denote danger. Now cars are perceived as dangerous when the driver is texting or adjusting the sat nav.

So if a child tries to change the rules in an Eleven Plus examination then the answer must be wrong. Incorrect answers could stop the child the chance of passing an eleven plus examination. The eleven year old could be gifted with an unusually bright mind and then denied a place just because his or her mind did not work the same way as that of the examiners.

I watched a nine year old quite recently trying to explain the rules of a three dimensional noughts and crosses game – with four across, four down and four along. He said that this was his invention and he drew model out and then started explaining the game. He had just successfully written a mathematics paper where he coped easily with a number of Level 5 questions. If this boy is held back by the rigours of the Eleven Plus examination then we may be stifling his creativity and imagination. Do we want a grammar school full of conforming children or do we need some with a thirst for adventure?

Why not pull out the snakes and ladders you last played with your child when he or she was four or five years old? See if the family can come up with an acceptable set of rules. Think of the fun. Think of the endeavour. Think of the feeling of accomplishment. Banish any dissenters to the new Snakes and Ladders rules to the T.V.

Surely there must be a place for an examination pass where an eleven year old can show that he or she can think?

After all we must wonder if a grammar school really does need a whole year group of children who are good at answering `best endings of sentences’.

A river always has (trees, rocks, a waterfall, water, a bridge)

What a boring exercise!

Choosing an Eleven Plus Tutor

Today I would like to talk about Firewalls. There are as many different firewalls as there are Eleven Plus papers. With firewalls we need to be able to compromise between ease of use and security. Without a firewall your connection to the internet becomes a source of concern.

The firewall defines what information is allowed onto your computer. If you define a small area then you reduce the area you need to protect from the Internet.

So you can set your firewall up to refuse anything that you have not already selected.

The other way is to allow everything and then block the services you do not want.

So the first method is rather restrictive and the second gives far more freedom but does allow gaps where your computer can be attacked.

So some teachers working towards the Eleven Plus will want to teach only what they think will come up on the perceived syllabus. Other teachers will want to maintain a broad curriculum that allows them to prepare their children in a much freer manner. Most teachers will be somewhere between the two extremes.

All this is to suggest that when parents interview prospective Eleven Plus tutors they need to pose the question: “How do you configure your firewall.”

If you want narrow but effective tuition you choose Option A. Option B gives far wider latitude to your child’s preparation.

Your choice of the tutor will be as much about you as about your child’s preferences. Anyway if anything goes wrong you can always blame the firewall.

Modern Eleven Plus Questions

We were chatting today about how some elements of some Eleven Plus papers appear to be rather dated.

Laura, who has eleven GCSE passes and three A levels – and is working on her other three volunteered to bring a sample up to date.

Three girls have coloured tops and shoes.

Amy Whitehouse has black hair.

Jlo is wearing jeans, different coloured hair and wears red shoes.

Amy has the same coloured top as Jlo’s shoes. She has green shoes.

Britney has the same colour bag as Amy’s shoes. Her top is the same colour as Amy’s hair. She ha yellow shoes.

Jlo has brown hair with a top the same colour as Britney’s shies – and a green bag.

Britney has blond hair.

Amy’s bag is the same colour as her hair.

Please attach your answers – or email.

Who said the Eleven Plus examinations are getting easier?

Juggling Eleven Plus Time

We often use the word `juggling’ to describe a sense of wonder at how some people (mainly mums?) are able to manage a busy life of home, children, school, work, social and friends.

The word has roots in Latin, French and Old English. So it looks as many people have had to cope with `keeping a number of balls in the air. The first rule is never to look at your hands.

Start by throwing the ball in an arc from one hand to another. Practice until you can throw the ball about a hundred times without looking at the ball. Now thrown the ball with one hand, catch in the other and pass it back to the first hand at waist level. Practice this another hundred times.

Now add the second ball. Start with one in each hand. Throw one in the air and pass the other to the first hand. As the first ball starts to drop throw the second. Do this about a hundred times.

Then add the third ball. Do this one hundred times.

So juggling children, school, sports activities, clubs, dance, football, cinema, friends and life in general takes practice.

Adding in work with Eleven Plus papers is no more complex than adding another ball.

I would rather cope with a verbal reasoning question than try to juggle with a trio of chainsaws!

New Eleven Plus Departures

We launched today the first of a new battery of web sites: www.extratuition.com/gravesend.

The hard technical work has been done by Mauro. Thank you Mauro.

Jonathon has project managed the development of our on line presence. (www.wordsandpix.com)

Pinar has been our Senior Researcher – and we are grateful for her meticulous work.

The ever cheerful Dan has found the links and written much of the material.

This is a new venture for us. We hope you enjoy the obvious benefits of the site.

If you would like an Etc in your town please let us know.

Eleven Plus Preparation

We know that many of our Olympic athletes are off training in South Africa. I heard Denise Lewis talking about the training camp the other day. The first thing that she mentioned was the height above sea level. Apparently training at around 1500 feet is the good for the lungs. I hope this is correct – if an athlete trains too high above sea level then there is too much pressure on the blood and the lungs. Training too close to sea level does not harm the body – but is not conducive to winning two Olympic medals.

So now if 1500 feet is a good height for middle distance runners I wonder which height is best for other Olympic disciplines? It goes without saying that those involved in sailing need the sea to train at sea level.

The lucky few who take part in the pole vault may need to be a little higher than sea level.

Marathon runners do seem to enjoy high altitude training – witness the Kenyans and the Ethiopians who seem to flourish by running up and down mountainous tracks.

There are many different Olympic disciplines and each of them must require specialised training schedules. So this must lead us to trying to establish optimum conditions for Eleven Plus preparation.

Presumably the whole family should be able to take off the three months before the Examinations. This would provide the candidate (your son or daughter) with:

Doctor
Physiotherapist
Waiter
Driver
Taxi
Dentist
Laundry
Teacher
Mentor

And finally, but not the least, a mother and father. We know that sea level would provide optimum conditions. Hot sun, the beach, gentle waves – lots of rum it all sounds idyllic. Some choices could be:

The Great Barrier Reef
Maldives
Bahamas

As the day grows nearer there may be a need for a little altitude training. This would need to be near great skiing. How about:

Davos
Aspen

This would help the family to come togther and start operating as a self contained unit. Naturally the candidate’s focus would start to improve.

Finally on the three days leading up to the examination the family should be encouraged to camp in the school grounds in large well equipped caravans. The children could walk over to the school hall and watch the chairs and tables being set up.

Naturally all this would need to be paid for by lottery money. After all just as Olympic athletes deserve the very best preparation – so do our children. If any parents would like to participate then please do not hesitate to contact us: www.dream-on.com.

Our History

This chair has a long and distinguished history.

Back in 1943 number of Italians were declared to be the equivalent of Prisoners of War in Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe).

The Italians were not held in prison but some were given a placement on farms. A number of prisoners with similar back grounds were banded together. My Grandparents farm, Mooifontein, near a small town called Umvuma was designated as carpentry centre.

Six Italians were billeted on the farm and lived as part of the family. This chair was made by the group of talented men. The chair was one of four in the set. It came into the possession of my son, Jonathon who has done all the work on our website.

Jonathon’s daughter is Carla – who is the present face the Extra Tuition Centre. We are very proud of her – and her father!

The carpentry workshop was large. There were four large benches and an amazing collect of tools. I have a hand made wooden saw – created by the Italians.

All this took place some time before the Eleven Plus was put into general practice. I am sure that some of those talented Italians could have passed the Eleven Plus.

Eleven PLus Holiday Work.

We have all heard stories about Teddy Bears travelling all over the world with no more than a message tied to the teddy’s neck saying: “Please take me with you.”

We know too about `Bookcrossing’ which is turning the world into one great big library. It is very simple you leave your book in a public place and someone will pick your book up and leave a book of their own. Over half a million people in over 130 countries take part. (www.bookcrossing.com}

I would like to initiate www.extratuition.com/elevenpluscrossing

Quite simply when you have finished with an eleven plus paper you simply leave the details on the website and you can exchange it for another.

Over the summer holidays you will not need to take a whole pile of papers – all you will need is to arrange a mutual drop off point.

Going to Rome? No problem – the third set of stairs on the right as you look up to `the window’.

In Paris? Easy. Under the clock at the railway station.

In Copenhagen? By the little statue of the Little Mermaid.

Scotland? By the 18th at St Andrews.

Any ideas?

Eleven Plus Papers

The M25 was virtually empty. In a few hours the road would be full of frustration and vehicles.

The car slid into the car park – just three spaces from the bus stop. The bus was a few hundred yards from the bus stop when we arrived. There was no waiting. The bus stopped outside the entrance to the terminal.

The walk to the departure gate was brief. With only hand luggage there was no waiting and no queues. The boarding card printed out the previous evening did its job. No smiles or eye contact with the man at the desk – but quick service. There was no waiting at the scanner and x-ray – and again no words were spoken.

It took no more than nine minutes from parking the car to passing scrutiny. Fantastic service by BAA. I wonder if this was a world record?

All went very well until we were sitting on the plane. With just five minutes to go the captain announced that the plane was carrying a cargo of cold foods. Too much weight had been in the front cargo compartment and some needed to move to the rear. His voice came over the tannoy a few minutes later to say the plane had missed its slot and would be leaving an hour late.

So we need now to fast forward to the day of the Eleven Plus examination. The children are all sitting in their seats. The examiners and invigilators are standing around the table. The Head Teacher whispers a little message. A sharp eared eleven year hears that the car carrying the key to the safe has been blocked in by the refuse cart. No key = no examination.

Should the Head have had two keys?
Should the carrier of the keys have remembered that it was collection day?
What else could go wrong?

Think of the security behind the papers. They will arrive with registered security. The Eleven Plus papers will be signed for by a designated person. The papers will be locked away in the safe. Very few members of staff will have access to the safe. The papers will be opened in front of the children – and this will be monitored by an outside observer.

After the examination the papers will be locked up. They will be collected and signed for.

So how does the Head Teacher entertain the children while the school is waiting for the safe to be opened? Community singing? A quiz? Some last minute advice? Should the children simply sit in silence locked in their own thoughts? How much longer will every one have to wait?

When the Head writes the report on the day’s proceedings is there a plea for some form of compensation for the children? Will the Eleven Plus authorities take any disturbance of this nature into account?

Feeding Eleven Plus Minds

It is always difficult for us seasonal gardeners to work out when to feed our plants. We know, because we are told, that there are key moments in the year to apply fertiliser.

So then we get to the questions of what kind of fertiliser is needed, when it should be applied and where is it needed.

It would be very useful if we could apply a gadget to a plant and know just when fertiliser is needed and how much is required.

Obviously if the leaves change colour then there is a problem – unless it is at a certain time of the year. If weather gets too wet or too cold or too hot then a plant can also suffer – and show a need for help and assistance. In some cases all we need to do is to carry the plant inside – or even outside. Other plants may simply need water.

In all these things prevention is better than cure – and this is true of plants and Eleven Plus children.

With plants we can fertilise by a range of methods:

Top Dressing

Feeding with diluted water based solutions

Broadcasting

Feeding through the leaf.

We would naturally apply the right type of fertiliser for different conditions.

With the children in our care we are trying to stimulate their minds and excite their imagination. We are trying to develop their problem solving skills.

We want our children to grow up sprightly and upright. We don’t want saggy rootless children. It would be very useful if we could attach a gadget to a child and know just when to act. I am sure you would much rather think of your child as a `Luscious Strawberry’ than as a `wilting green bean’.

Eleven Plus Day-dreams

We had a note from one of our teachers today who had spoken to a concerned mother last night.

The boy’s mother had explained that her son did a lot of day dreaming while he was working through papers. To find out just how much time he spent day dreaming the boy’s mother would need to sit beside him with a stop watch! This would be a trial for all concerned.

Suppose the boy was working through a verbal reasoning paper – and he had an hour to attempt the paper he could day-dream for 15 minutes, think for 20 minutes and write for 25 minutes.

As a proper Eleven Plus exercise we need to work out what fraction of the time he did the following:

Day-dream

Think

Write

If the test time of one hour is represented by 360 º on a pie chart, what angles represent the following?

Day-dreaming

Thinking

Writing

I think you should know that I have chatted to the worried mum and explained that day-dreaming is often the mark of the very able. Great painters, authors, poets and musicians have all spent time day-dreaming.

Our world would be a much poorer place with the influence of the day-dreamers of this world.

I am not sure, however, of how satisfied the worried mother was with my words of encouragement.

Eleven Plus Aces

I am always amazed by the speed some children are able to grasp a complex system of rules. When we are working through Eleven Plus exercises it is sometimes a great help to all concerned if some basic rules are assimilated and then applied.

We know for example that there are many basic variations on the game of poker. The object of the game is to try to assemble the highest ranking cards into a hand. The winner takes the `pot’.

Before any cards are dealt each player has to put some money into the pot. One person is the banker and takes charge of the chips or the money. The players cut cards for the dealer and the player with the highest card deals the first hand. Cards are dealt clockwise – and the betting is in the same order.

In order the value the winning cards are:

Royal Flush – ace, king, queen, jack and ten of the same suit.

Straight Flush – five consecutive cards of the same suit.

Four of a Kind – any four cards of the same value.

One pair – two cards of the same value.

So it is easy to see how quickly a set of rules can evolve.

The highest cards win.

Players have to put money into a pot.

There is a banker.

Cards are dealt clockwise.

A Royal Flush is the best hand.

Now not all families and Eleven Plus children will want to learn to play poker. For those families who do play the basic rules are reasonably simple and quick to learn.

What takes time and noisy arguments are the extraordinary collection of variations on the basic game. Working through Eleven Plus papers is reasonably simple – but there are a wide variety of questions and types of questions that the children will meet. Just as poker can become addictive we would all like some children to become equally addicted towards Eleven Plus papers.

The poker term `Ace High’ comes from an ace being the highest ranked card. We all want our children to be `Little Aces’, don’t we?

Eleven Plus Education

We use the term Education to cover many different aspects. An Eleven Plus education would appear to apply to the mental and, to some extent, the physical training and development of our youngsters.

The word comes from Latin and it means to draw out.

We just hope that children do not find their Eleven Plus work long and drawn out.

The Eleven Plus Habit

This photograph was taken on the side of the road leading up to our Industrial Park where our Headquarters are situated. We can see that thousands of years have lead up to this moment in time. The soil and the vegetation are comparative newcomers.

I wonder how many of our bright and able Eleven Plus children will go on to enjoy studying topics like this during the course of their education.

“Oh yes, I know that his study habits need some work – but he can do it if he is in the mood.”

Examples of sound habits could cover:

Ability to perform with speed and accuracy
Pleasant speech
General cleanliness of the body

Desirable Eleven Plus Habits:

A moral, truthful and honest child
The ability to cope with bursts of constant repetition

Parents help build good habits by:

Providing access to good examples
Encouraging regular study
Understanding that study involves deeds as well as words

Eleven Plus Skills

I arrived at the office early this morning and immediately started thinking about the skills a children needed as he or she prepared for the Eleven Plus examinations.

Skills for Health
I need a healthy body because I have been told that a healthy body makes a healthy mind. I know I am a bit lazy at times. A big dog would be a help because I could take the dog for long walks.

I know I must consume only the right food and drink. I think that Dad is right – I will have only one packet of pop corn and one coke at the cinema.

Skills for Logistics
I know I have the ability to manoeuvre Mum or Dad to take me to endless activities including school, social events. Mum has told me that the list is endless. She says she drives too many miles in a week.

I really do know how to learn to thank Grandmother and Grandfather prettily after they have collected me from an important event.

Skills for Care and Development
I am learning to think about others. Do I really need to argue with my mother about extra work and what I wear? I know she is tired and worried.

Should I really ask Dad to help me with my homework? I know that it is bed time and I could have done the work three hours ago but ….

I really will try to help my brother to learn better social skills. I will try not to call him those funny names.

Energy and Utility Skills
I will turn the light off when I leave my bed room. I will not run my tap water when I am brushing my teeth.

I do not need a night light in the hall. I know I am nearly eleven so I don’t need to burn all that extra electricity. I will also make sure I turn my computer off in the study before I come upstairs.

Asset Skills
If I drop a packet of crisps in the car I will clean my side of the inside car. I will collect all loose pieces of paper off the back seat and the floor of the car. I will not argue about which side of the car my empty bottle has landed.

I will rake leaves (sometimes) in the garden. I know that I can do it. I will try harder.

Lifelong Learning Skills
I will not put off what I have to do today to tomorrow.

I know that I will have to go on learning after I have completed the Eleven Plus examinations.

Skills for Justice
I will say thank you to my parents. After all without them ……

Eleven Plus Examinations are Harmful.

“It is not the Eleven Plus Examination that is harmful but the preparation.” Discuss.

Parents and teachers have been debating this topic for years and years. We are still no closer to a conclusion.

We know that most of girls will be conscientious – and more given to overwork.

Some of the boys will be all too ready to close their books and leave their selection papers in pursuit of some physical activity. “I just have to …..“

Picture the scene. A group of Mums and Dads sitting round the fire on a January evening. The meal is over the wine has left the table. All that remains on the table are the plates of chocolates and cheese and the cups of Irish coffee.

Mum 1: “I don’t agree. Eleven Plus examinations are harmful. Some of us have to start two years early and it is hanging over our heads all the time.”

Dad 2: “Well, how can that harm your child? You know that you will be making sure that your child has the best possible preparation. Hard and sustained work never hurt anyone.”

Mum 2: “You can’t talk. Look at the pressure your parents put on you to do well at school. You left before your `A’ Level examinations – and you had to study when we were first married. You never stopped moaning.”

Dad 2: “Well, I got there in the end, didn’t I?”

Mum 1: “But our Amelia just works all the time. She often says that she does not mind the work. I know that she loves getting ahead of the class in mathematics. But I worry sometimes that we are putting too much pressure on her.”

Eleven Plus Reading

Numerous attempts have been made over the years to try to discover exactly what children like to read at various ages. Once children learn to read the choice of books is endless. What a child reads is largely determined by teachers, parents and librarians.

A child who learns to read at three may want to read classics or Shakespeare or Dickens – or even books on science or discovery. A voracious reader may want to read a book a day. A child with no interest in reading may read only at school – and only when urged to do so by the teachers. For many children the `Knowledge’ books are of great interest.

There are some wonderful websites aimed at encouraging children to read and buy books.

So until some great author comes along and sweeps us into a frenzy of reading most us just do our best when we are recommending books.

If parents are `readers’ will their children become readers too? I suppose the answer is sometimes – but not always. Equally some children may become readers even when their parents never seem to read at all.

All parents can do is keep trying.

Bexley Eleven Plus Examinations.

The Bexley website suggests that there will be only two Eleven Plus examinations this year.

The examinations will be in September.

Parents will get the Eleven Plus results before they fill in the application form.

Ten Eleven Plus Steps

A time will come when parents will want to raise themselves above the level of simply trying to answer questions to attempting to pass on words of wisdom about test technique. This is helping your child on a higher astral plane. It is more like writing the horoscopes rather than reading one. To achieve this Zen like state parents will need to work hard to develop full confidence in themselves.

This then is the Eleven Plus `Stairway to Success’.

Step One: Encourage your child to read the question and work out has to be done.

Step Two: Develop the point that a brilliant answer to a question earns no marks.

Step Three: In a multiple choice test it is essential to make a choice. An empty answer box can not earn any marks.

Step Four: Demonstrate over and over again the need to spend a sensible amount of time on a question.

Step Five: Help your child to understand the need to go back over questions where there was an element of doubt. Do this exercise practically.

Step Six: Try to avoid working with your child when you are both tired.

Step Seven: Keep everything in perspective. Try not to let your child carry the whole burden of winning a place in a grammar school.

Step Eight: Listen to your child. Try to engage in dialogue.

Step Nine: Try to help your child to understand that to pass an Eleven Plus examination he or she needs to be good at taking tests.

Step Ten: Explain that passing an Eleven Plus examination does not automatically make a more pleasant, loving and fair minded person.

So once you have climbed these ten steps – what lies ahead? Who knows but you do have to build your child’s confidence and test technique step by step.

Time and the Eleven Plus

There is an old story about the boy who arrived on his new bicycle at his grandfather’s house.

“Oh, grandfather, I have saved ten minutes on my new bike coming here. I am so glad I saved so much time.”

“So you have saved ten minutes, my boy, I am so pleased for you,” exclaimed the old man. “What are you going to do with those ten minutes?”

So now we need to carry these ideas into the world of the Eleven Plus.

“Oh, mum, I have saved ten minutes on the new Eleven Plus paper you bought me last week. I am so glad I saved so much time.”

“Well done my son, you have saved ten minutes on the new paper. What did you do with those ten minutes?”

We now need to move a few months forward to the actual Eleven Plus examinations.

“Oh, mum, I found the paper easy. I finished ten minutes early on the paper.”

“I am sure you did your best. What did you do with those ten minutes?”

Somehow you will need to try to teach your children that time is rather like money. It can be kept or lost. It can be saved or wasted. Time can be made or spent.

It could take the full saved ten minutes to explain these concepts to your child. At the end of this `lecture’ your child may be enticed to spend the final ten minutes of any paper checking work over – rather than have to hear the `lecture’ again.

Eleven Plus Attitude and Desire

What happens when we add another element to Eleven Plus examinations? We know that examinations are currently measuring a combination of reasoning and attainment skills.

Let us add the criteria of the assessment of attitude and desire to do well.

Teachers would need to be able to mark children on a five point scale. There would be no need to a new test to be developed. Teachers would simply need to fill a form which described common attributes:

• Interest in passing the Eleven Plus examinations.

• Willingness to work with parents, teachers and tutors.

• Persistence and pride in work.

• Attitude to school and work.

• Desire to do well academically.

Let us look at the criteria for the section dealing with “Interest in Passing the Eleven Plus Examinations”:

1. Eager and happy to work. Always keen to initiate extra work. Shows depth of thought.

2. Interested in passing. Occasionally needs to be reminded about doing some extra work.

3. Works willingly – and never complains about extra work. Would like to pass.

4. Not all that interested – but would like to attend grammar school.

5. Not at all interested. Does not want to go to grammar.

I wonder what the children would make of the findings? I wonder too if our children could be enticed to complete the five sections of the survey with the five criteria prepared by teachers? Would it then be a useful tool to used to compare the teacher’s observations with those of the children?

Pre Eleven Plus Reading.

Which came first the chicken or the egg?

Which came first reading or writing?

We think that the symbols of what may have been the first writing system were probably pictograms. This would have been a pot or a fish or an animal. A fish with an open jaw may have introduced the concepts of hunger or even eating.

The problem came when early man and early women wanted to express an abstract thought. In text speak we say `b4’ for before. If one of the early authors had wanted to express the idea of before he or she may have had to draw a bee and then make the signs for four.

What we do know is that most of the major civilisations developed writing – and then reading – over a long period of time. The alphabet was probably influenced by the empires in Egypt and Mesopotamia. But all this has happened only in the last four thousand years.

So when I advised a very bright nine year old today to read some `hard’ books to develop his vocabulary I wonder if I did the right thing. After all what is the point of reading hard books if you don’t know what the words mean.

Possibly what I should have encouraged the boy to do was to write a series of short little stories. He should then have used his thesaurus to add an enriched vocabulary to his story. This could possibly have taught him far more new words than hoping to pick up a random vocabulary of `hard’ words from a `hard’ book.

So we are back again to the conundrum which comes reading stimulating books or writing stimulating stories. Either way the boy will need to use his dictionary or thesaurus to develop his reading vocabulary.

Eleven Plus Robots

I went to Bett 2008 yesterday. This is the show where suppliers demonstrate their wares to Local Authorities, Schools, Teachers and Parents.

There were some truly amazing stands with lucid and compelling sales people. Other stands were to inform and educate.

I met a couple who told me their son had special needs and they had developed a robot that would entertain and help him to learn. I could not help but be impressed by how this couple had taken a product developed `on the kitchen table’ through to having it built in bulk in China – and were now selling the robot to schools. The depth of love and attention and focus displayed by that couple is to be admired. I wish I had been able to meet their son and see him playing with the robot. Look on the web for Robosapien V2. http://www.robosapienv2online.com/

I am sure a number of readers already have at least one of these little robots.

Imagine if we could program a robot to be able to do well in eleven plus examinations with certain types of questions. This would mean that we know the robot would be able to answer set questions. How much extra programming would be needed for the robot to be able to cope with one or two unusual questions thrown in by the examining board?

In the same way I wonder if it is the responsibility of teachers, tutors or parents to only teach what they think will be in the eleven plus examination? Surely children taking eleven plus examinations need to be able to solve problems and think?

I also met a man at the show who talked about Aristotle’s ethics. He was arguing that Aristotle’s views on virtue were still relevant to parents today. He felt that parents wanted to be involved with their children’s education.

So is it ethical for a teacher only to teach what is in the examination or does a teacher or a tutor have much wider responsibility? After all the last thing a parent wants is a little robot sitting in an examination.

A bit of Eleven Plus training.

I heard today about a school where an outside invigilator misinterpreted elements of the administration of the Kent Eleven Plus examinations.

Poor school.

Poor children.

Poor parents.

Poor teachers.

Poor invigilator. I bet she wished she had had more training.

Good luck to the children and their parents.

Timing of Eleven Plus Examinations

One of the main arguments against the Eleven Plus examinations is that they take place on a certain day at a certain time.

Recently the Government announced that SATs tests would be offered to children when the teacher thought that the children were ready. This will require some flexibility on the part of the teachers, the children, the parents and the relevant authorities – not least the grammar schools themselves.

One problem with Eleven Plus tests is that results can be affected by physical conditions on the day. We often hear parents say: “We will just have to see what happens on the day.”

`On the day’ there could be problems with:

Major physical conditions – for example illness.

A minor ailment like a cold or a stomach upset could lower concentration.

The temperature of the room could affect some children. (Some like it hot, some like it cold!)

Some children could be affected by an unfamiliar desk or chair.

As the day moves on the light in the room could change – and affect performance.

Parents could try to `gee their children up too much’.

Siblings could pick a fight.

Nerves could creep in.

So the suggestion is that children should be able to take the examination when they feel they are ready – mentally and physically.

Can the Eleven Plus actually predict success?

Back in 1957 the educationalist Yates wrote `Admission to Grammar Schools’. The premise of the report was to do with the extent to which 11+ examinations correctly predicted success at secondary school.

Over sixty years later there must be a case for the ability of the eleven plus examinations to predict future success to be re-examined.

What do Eleven Plus Examinations test?

We have examinations for a number of reasons.

Examinations try to diagnose

Examinations are used to evaluate the curriculum

Examinations attempt to predict future success

Examinations assess attainment.

So if Eleven plus examinations are trying to predict future success should they also contain elements that look at attainment?

Many years ago the Eleven Plus examinations were developed in such a manner that they looked closely at what children had been taught. There was not the same emphasis on reasoning skills as there is today.

Eleven plus examinations would be fairer for some children if all eleven plus children followed the same curriculum. Some parents would want more than the `same curriculum’ for their children.

Some children would find a common eleven plus curriculum boring and stultifying. These children would need greater enrichment and stimulation.

So if the Eleven Plus examination is to be used to predict future success then we may need to find tests that ignore a common curriculum and tests that do not try to assess attainment.

11+ Changes

When the 11+ examinations were first designed the examinations were supposed to try to predict future success.

The idea was that children in the final year of primary education would be examined to try to work what kind of senior education would be of most value. All those years ago the choices in schools were:

Grammar schools for the academic

Technical – as in technical schools

Vocational and in early secondary modern schools.

Today the comprehensive schools with their `accelerated’ stream and the new academies cover a similar range of skills, talents and abilities.

In the end the Eleven Plus became characterised by as a form of selection for grammar schools.

The recommendation of the head teacher became an essential part of the selection process. Problems arose when parents began to question just how good the eleven plus tests and the head’s assessments were in predicting future success.

Educators and those in Local Authorities have been debating selection and schools for many years. Nothing much is changing!

Eleven PLus Maths

Collecting Like Terms

In algebra, “like terms” are those that are of the same letter, like 2a and 5a. These can be gathered together, so instead of writing 2a + 5a, it can be simplified to 7a. HOWEVER, different terms, For example:

2 bananas + 3 apples + 4 apples added together is 2 bananas and 7 apples. As apples and bananas are different, these must be kept separate.

In the same way, x and y cannot be simplified and must remain as x + y.

Simplify 7t – 3 – 3t + 9.

7t – 3 – 3t + 9 = 7t – 3t + 9 – 3

= 4t + 6

Bright eleven year old children love the challenge of topics like `Collecting Like Terms'.

Eleven Plus Ability

Over the years teachers have used many methods of assessing children. The essay is traditionally used at Sats, GCSE and A level. Some Eleven Plus examinations still use a written English exercise as a selection device.

Some verbal reasoning questions do appear to be a little pointless – yet they are taken very seriously by teachers and parents all over the country. I know that analogies are an essential part of the reasoning process. A question like: Hill is to Mountain as small is to …. does seem to be a rather weak method of determining ability. Naturally a question with a more complex vocabulary and thought process would be a move valuable assessment tool.

Why can’t our bright Eleven Plus children try to cope with questions like?

Imagine how you would think and feel if you were the last person on earth.

Are two parents necessary for a child to develop successfully?

The problem of noise in modern society.

Should every school have a speed camera?

Disregard for the moment the problems associated with marking a range of test papers. We have seen how so many GSCE examinations can be marked through the internet and online. The sheer fatigue associated with marking lots of scripts can be solved.

Think of the difference in the content of lessons as teachers and tutors work to help children to learn to think and discuss a wide range of subjects. There would be no need to complete a large number of questions in a short time (as in verbal reasoning questions) rather children would be admitted to grammar school on the basis of their ability to reason and write a polished essay.

Every single parent knows when their eleven year old is trying to present a polished and reasoned answer. Why can’t we channel this evident ability into a deserved eleven plus pass?

Misery before an Eleven Plus examination.

I wonder how many children retuned to school feeling unhappy and miserable? I wonder too just how long the misery lasted.

When I was a housemaster with a boarding element of around 140 boarders I used to watch the children being dropped off by their parents. The families would arrive in a variety of cars, trucks and lorries.

Very occasionally a family would arrive in a `best car’ – but usually in a car that looked well used. As the children arrived they had to report in on the duty manager or the house master. Most of the ten and eleven year olds were blasé about being dropped off – but I did feel sorry for some of the seven year olds.

Think of the tears of the parents – and their children – as the parents had to leave their much loved seven year olds for a few weeks of boarding school. Children and adults do grow up - thank goodness.

You may feel an element of loss as your child enters the Eleven Plus examination room without as much as a backward look.

So rehearse arriving out side the projected examination room just about on time. Rehearse too standing there with dry eyes you push your child towards the exmination room. Try to be as matter of fact as possible. Try not to have any tears in your eyes – as you might get into the habit

Think about the Eleven Plus examinations as a simple rite of package. The examinations have to be endured. The children have to write the examinations. You have to wait for the results.

If all concerned in the family pull together, just for the foreseeable future, then saying good bye in a cheerful and positive manner could really help your child.

Eleven Plus Goals

There are some amazing new exhibits at the Science Museum in London. The `Launch Pad’ is fascinating. There are over fifty interactive exhibits. The exhibit is aimed at 8 to 12 year olds. I saw plenty of mums and dads fully engaged in experimentation, discussion and investigation.

One of the most interesting elements is the ability of the experiments to cross boundaries. The Science Museum is recognised internationally. The clientele are international. As you push air through a tube to watch a vortex appear the multilingual appeal of the exhibits is evident.

Year 6 children will entranced by the rooms full of science – after all it is the Science Museum.

If you want to be able to discuss different types of Science Based careers – the room by room will provide all the stimulation you need.

Studying for an Eleven Plus examination can not only be about short term goals.

The career path of Grammar School, University and a `good job’ should also play a large part in Eleven Plus preparation.

Eleven Plus Resolutions

Resolution 1

I will do my best to help my child to do as well as possible.

Resolution 2

To make no more resolutions.