1000 Eleven Plus Blogs

This is just to say thank you very much to all this blog’s readers. This is blog number one thousand. A milestone in my life!

The blog has had readers from around seventy countries. We have a steady stream of `returners’ and the blog has been read by literally thousands of people. It looks as if the eleven plus examination is a subject that interests many more than those actively involved.

I am most grateful to the children because they supply the unending source of ideas for the blog. I am very seldom at a loss as to what to write about.

I hope all parents and children achieve their dreams over the coming months and years.

Best wishes

An Eleven Plus Recipe

There must be some correlation between the ability of the teacher or tutor and your child’s ability to pass the eleven plus. Surely, however, you don’t need a gifted teacher in order to work with a very bright child. This would preclude many of us from feeling that we can help the children in our care.

We know that tests of ability, like verbal reasoning tests, do not necessarily mange to select children from very poor homes. Factors such as language and opportunity must come into play.

Every time a teacher is asked the question: “But will my child pass the eleven plus?”, then the teacher has to think of many factors:

Home back ground
Physical abilities
Emotional status
Social development
Interests

The key twin factors of ability and desire to pass the examination will no doubt flash through a teacher’s mind. If the child is not bright enough there is little chance of passing the examination. If the child is, however, bright enough then the teacher will think of the work that lies ahead, the co-operation from all those at home, how much pressure will be put on the child and if the child is mature enough to cope with the demands of a challenging course of study.

So if you want your child to become a doctor you know from the start that you expect, and hope, that your child may be more able than some of his or her teachers and tutors.

Your child will need innate ability.

You child must be prepared to work harder than most other children.

Your child must also be realistic.

Some parents will be looking for these traits early on in their child’s life. Extreme concentration playing with Thomas the Tank Engine will not, however, act as a golden sign that your child will, one day, become a physician of note. Ordinary children can concentrate, if interested, for long periods.

Learning to read at two years old could act as a significant sign. There must, however, be many serving doctors who did not read at two.

Your child may be very willing to work, for a long period of sustained time, through a full eleven plus paper – but also can not act as a sign that your child will become a doctor.

So we have a rare recipe for eleven plus success: a bright, hardworking child with concerned and supportive parents and dedicated teachers. If you are on this journey – take heart many others have gone before.

Eleven Plus Profile

Eleven Plus children do not follow identical paths towards the eleven plus. The children will be offered a wide range of inputs from their parents, different schooling and will work through a variety of eleven plus papers. How then do the children land up with the same eleven plus scores?

To come towards an answer we can look at a rather generalised picture of an eleven plus child.

It is possible that the child is aware that university is an option. The parents will have done their job and commented on future prospects.

It is likely that he or she will read widely from a wide range of books, magazines and periodicals.

Some eleven plus candidates will have had hobbies and interests that could be categorised as academic in nature.

He or she may be eager to express an opinion on everything under the sun. Some of the conclusions may actually be telling and worth listening to.

Very often, but not always, the eleven plus child will be good at sports – and be able to participate in a wide range of activities from athletics and swimming to the more individual sports of golf or trampoline.

His or her parents will come from many different economic levels. The one common element will be the interest they will take in the education of their child.

Not all children will show all these attributes. It must help if the children embrace at least a few!

Eleven Plus Good and Evil

During the period of teacher training would be teachers are encouraged to develop their education and attitude towards children. Almost invariably their attention is directed towards Rousseau who is often considered to be one of the early seminal philosophers of education. My Everyman edition of Emile goes back to 1966.

Emile evoked such strong feelings, back in 1762, that the book was banned and consigned to flames. For the next eight years Rousseau led the life of a fugitive – hiding from authority.

At the beginning of Emile he wrote: “God makes all things good, man meddles with them and they become evil.” He wrote about how a boy called Emile was to be educated. He then went onto to write about Sophy – the girl who Emile was to marry.

How many parents of eleven plus children will recognise this passage in their own daughters? “A woman’s judgement develops sooner than a man’s; being on the defensive from her childhood up, and entrusted with a treasure so hard to keep, she is earlier acquainted with good and evil. Sophy is precocious by temperament in everything, and her judgment is more formed than that of most girls of her age. There is nothing strange in that, maturity is not always reached at the same stage.”

He could have been writing about a number of eleven plus girls with these worthy attributes:

Precocious
Good judgment
Understand the difference between good and evil
Mature

Sadly Rousseau was not able to write about how Sophy was able to cope with verbal reasoning questions.

It is likely that Rousseau would have wondered at the need for questions that eleven plus children have to take for granted.

Take the following numbers in a `What comes next’ series:

9 5 8 4 7 3 ___

It is easy to see that a successful eleven plus candidate needs ability, interest, staying power and aptitude. Having good judgment and being mature are surely bonuses. It does seem likely, however, that it is possible to pass the eleven plus without really having the ability to distinguish clearly between good and evil. Would this be a more valuable asset in a grammar school girl?

Eleven Plus Evidence

Blog2504
What can you do if your child seems to have dyslexic tendencies and is struggling with some eleven plus work? You know your child and you believe in his or her ability. You feel that your child could cope in a grammar school environment – with some support of some kind.

You know that `The Authorities Behind the Eleven Plus’ do not go out of their way to help children with one sort of learning problem or another. You have heard stories how parents, in the appeal situation, have had their pleas for clemency and justice rejected.

Some of you may even have spoken to your child’s school who have intimated: “If he / she manages to pass the examination then he / she would find the work very demanding.” This is the polite way, used by some teachers, of saying that first of all there is only a slim chance of your child passing and secondly that your child may not be able to cope with the pace and complexity of the work at grammar school.

It is very unlikely that the spectre of dyslexia will suddenly come up in year five – because most parents will have had some inkling that all is not well – but the content of eleven plus work can provide a wake up call and thus trigger a reaction. Some parents have found that working through verbal and non verbal reasoning questions shows when their child can nor read the question confidently. Other children show that they can not absorb what the question is asking. Other children demonstrate reversals, difficulty with the order of letters within a word or a tendency to substitute letters or shapes.

It is essential that as soon as your instincts are alerted that you drive into action. Ask for straight forward answers from the school. Do not allow any obfuscation. You may be remarkably fortunate and have contact with a sympathetic and knowledgeable teacher. Treasure the input that you are offered – and listen with both ears!

Seek professional advice from outside. An educational psychologist should be able to answer most of your questions about the nature of the `dyslexia’ and the ability of your child.

Talk to your child and try to understand where he or she is experiencing difficulty. You may find that some of the discussion appears to be incongruous and inconsequential – but you may gather gems that will offer some insight.

Eleven Plus Verbal Reasoning

Verbal reasoning questions are designed to examine different types of ability. The answers, however, do not always jump off the page. Sometimes the brain needs to reflect and think before delivering the right answer. Two types of questions spring to mind – those dealing with anagrams and those with relationships.

At least when you, and your child, are working through eleven plus verbal reasoning papers, and you reach the section on anagrams you feel you know where you are. An anagram is where the letters of the word are mixed up. People who work on crosswords love anagrams. Writers of eleven plus tests and selection papers love anagrams too. It can’t take much time to write an anagram question. It can, sometimes, take lots of time to work one out!

Sorting out the anagram sometimes needs a combination of imagination and stealth.

What is the odd one out?

Deed level madam toot owc

Answer: The word cow as it is not a palindrome.

Concerned parents and teachers would then react positively at this point and take time out of the eleven plus paper to ask their child to think of a few more palindromes. This allows a sense of freshness and realism to the lesson.

Of course someone in the family will come up with:

Rats are to live as evil is to … (star)

Eleven plus tests also rely on relationships. Most relationships appear to deal with words rather than numbers. Sometimes the test writer will try to add a little twist.

The questions could start with:

Man is to foot and horse is to …. (hoof).

And then develop to:

Eskimo is to igloo as Swiss is to …. (Chalet)

Keep reminding your bright, alive and active child that a brilliant answer to the wrong question does not offer any marks! You could add that when doing multiple choice questions it is essential to select at least one of the choices.

The Eleven Plus in Ireland.

This is a different view on the Eleven Plus.

Eleven Plus Concerns

Where do the bright children who pass the eleven plus come from? We must imagine that bright well educated parents will have bright well educated children. To take this a little further the parents of bright children are likely to be employed in occupations at a professional or highly successful business level.

It could be thought that successful parents will be more likely to have a higher percentage of children passing the eleven plus - but this can not be universally true. There will be more children passing from ordinary families – simply because there must be far more ordinary families.

If children who come from all walks of life then who do some bright children appear to fail the eleven when they have been given every opportunity by their parents? Some very able children may not be all that good at social relationships. Other children may choose not to take advantage of all that has been offered to them. Some children will want to pass the eleven plus – and others won’t.

Some parents will continue to worry that they have given every advantage to their children. There will also be some parents who will continually look for signs of how well their children will do in the examination.

Parents’ concerns will include:

Did the teacher at school actually understand that we want our child to pass the eleven plus?

Have we offered our child enough stimulation and praise?

Should we have done something much earlier about an apparent lack of interest in reading?

Are we pressing too hard?

Do we force an argument or do we allow a continual clash of wills?

Is our child feeling insecure because we are putting too much pressure?

An eleven plus child does not need lots of money or all the latest gadgets – what will help most of all is stable and caring home environment.

The Caring Side of the Eleven PLus

What makes an eleven plus child happy? Answering 34 out of 50 questions correctly on a paper? Playing sport confidently? Having the company of true friends? Enjoying minimal pressure from parents? Being offered, and accepting, a well balanced education at school? The prospect of a good job?

It is possible that some children will be really happy when they can use their talents to help others. After all look at the number of adults we see go into the `caring’ professions. Some adults feel fulfilled by helping others –so why should we think that children do not have the same feelings.

How are the examiners who set the eleven plus examinations going to find children who have a strong desire to build a better society? It must be argued that the eleven plus exists to select children for a grammar school education. We hope that eleven plus preparation encourages children to extend them selves academically, physically and socially.

The present eleven plus examination is not designed to find children who feel empathy and a conscious desire to help others less fortunate. These talents are, however, surely nurtured within the grammar school by a wide variety of well meaning initiatives.

Perhaps some of the answer lies in the old saying: “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.”

Parents can help to nurture a spirit of giving – not only money but time. Some eleven plus children live a bewildering life full of lessons, sport, study and after school activities. How on earth will these children, who have so much to offer, be able to find time to think of others?

Some families are already living the challenge. Perhaps they could share their experiences with the rest of us.

Eleven Plus Changes

Bright children are constantly urged to work hard and do their best. Some parents and some teachers will extol the opportunities that arise with a place in a grammar school. Children with exceptional talent should enjoy this interest because it means that their talents are appreciated and not wasted.

One of the reasons for entry to grammar school that some parents must quote would be the chance to develop highly valuable economic skills. In other words grammar school plus university equals well paid and successful job.

We know that important demands placed on children as they work towards the eleven plus. Eleven plus children are expected and even willed to climb to academic heights well above those reached at school. Of course not all children manage to pass the eleven plus through no real fault of their own. Ability and opportunity must play a significant part.

How could we do a better job and provide a broader and more comprehensive pre eleven plus education? We know that a verbal reasoning test is a significant tool in the eleven plus examination. Many of the questions, however, are remarkably similar to those produced over fifty years ago. This in itself does not prove that the questions are inappropriate – but it does suggest that the view of education and ability espoused all those years ago still has a place in our society today.

We can be sure that verbal reasoning tests are still valid and important – but the tests and the questions only cover a small selection of the talents and ability often shown in really bright children. A ten year old child with Grade 6 in music will probably do well on verbal reasoning papers – but entrance to grammar school does not recognise this. Exceptional talent with a cricket bat will not open up a grammar school place – but the grammar school should be able to profit if the child is able to pass the entrance test.

We want creative and imaginative children. Surely these are skills and talents that are more important in the long run than an ability to pass a multiple choice test?

Quality Eleven Plus Work

Many children will be returning to school after the end of the spring term. The children are now starting the summer term. For a number of eleven plus children the next few months will prove difficult to cope with.

Some parents are going to have to be very careful that they do not over stress their children. Other parents will try to continue to maintain a steady balance between work, school and play.

These few months are really a golden opportunity for parents to work with their children. Now that the Key Stage 3 SATS have disappeared the next `big’ examination (after the KS2 SATS) will be the GCSEs. Some parents may find that they prefer to work with a ten to eleven year old rather than when their child is sixteen.

.Try to work on what is called `time wasting indecision’. Plan out what and when your child will work. (No T.V., for example, until after homework and eleven plus work.)

Try to help you child to understand the value of work on homework or an assignment as soon as possible – rather that leaving everything until the last minute.

Build eleven plus work up to be `quality time’ and not a drag or a bore.

A hard lesson for some eleven plus children is to understand the need to work on unpopular exercises – not just the bits that are enjoyable.

An Eleven Plus Balance

There is a strong argument to encourage some eleven plus children to lead a balanced life. The eleven plus examination is a means to an end – and not an end in itself.

We all know the saying: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

A further twist on this story could be:

Willie built a Guillotine

Willie built a Guillotine
Tried it out on sister Jean.
Said Mother as she got the mop:
“These messy games have got to stop!”

Effective Eleven Plus Preparation

James Callaghan, in a famous speech at Ruskin College in Oxford in 1976, talked about `complaints from industry that new recruits from schools sometimes did not have the basic tools to do the job required’.

It is very difficult to assess performance when trying to compare the present with the past. Various politicians have continued to grapple with the problem. We have similar problems with trying to understand the present condition value of the current eleven plus examinations.

Children from rural communities, for example, may have different life experiences to children drawn from a densely populated urban sprawl. One group of children may be `street smart’ while other children may be thought of, by some, as rural plod hoppers. Wherever the children are drawn from, we know that in order to pass the eleven plus we need confident and competent children. Being exam savvy plays a bit part in success in eleven plus examinations.

Parents have to try to work out how much work has to be done by the candidate - and the rest of the family. Parents also have to make continuous judgements on the effectiveness of the school and the tutor – if indeed one is involved.

Children also have to play a part in the decision making. They have to work out how much effort needs to be put into examination preparation. Children also need to be able to feel they can talk about how effective their teachers are at school – and how useful the eleven plus tutor is.

All parents, schools and tutors can do is try to give their charges the best possible opportunity, and the correct tools, to do as well possible in the eleven plus.

The Eleven Plus Examination

It is very hard for parents to work out just how effective the eleven plus examination is at selecting the right children for grammar school. Parents can judge just about everything else but they can not judge effectiveness of the actual examination.

The results of the eleven plus are most often offered to parents in the form of pass and fail. Sometimes some parents are told the rank order of their children – but for the most parents have to believe in the veracity and integrity of the examination.

The eleven plus examination exists in many forms. Some, for example, require mathematics, others don’t. Essentially the examination is trying to find children who would benefit from a grammar school education. A successful eleven plus examination would be one that produced good results - with selected children enjoying a successful grammar school career.

The eleven plus would not be a good examination if all it did was test how well children had committed facts to memory. It would also be a poor examination if gave too much away in the question. The eleven plus examination would only be really effective if it produced results that were in line with the purpose of the examination.

Some opponents of the eleven plus examination feel that while the eleven plus might be an effective examination in selecting children – the actual idea of the examination is not sound. This argument could be justified on moral grounds – in that part of the design of examination was to find poor children who were bright. There is also a political argument against the eleven plus – a Labour government swept away most of the grammar school – but no recent government has had either the courage or the will to challenge the place of grammar schools in society.

An eleven plus examination that went against the will of the majority of the people would be indefensible. It is likely, however, that there would be some considerable outcry if a future government decided to abolish the remaining grammar schools.

The Eleven Plus and Behaviour

Good news for bright children who want to work hard.

Parents will be hit by severe penalties if their children misbehave.

Eleven Plus Fees

Grammar schools were established years ago by bishops wanting to have development centres for their priests. In Saxon England much of the teaching in the grammar schools was in Latin.

The rise of medieval universities led the foundation and expansion of grammar schools. Where else would the universities find the able scholars? Allied to this was the desire of private benefactors to found schools to promote academic and secular learning.

During the seventeenth century the grammar schools developed on different lines to
`day schools.’ Grammar schools, however, began to go into a form of decline. The Taunton Commission (1864 – 7) found that many schools were needed reforming – and suggested that power for running many of the schools should be removed from the patronage of the bishops. Of course Church Schools remain today.

Education in those days, just as today, had to be paid for – so there was often a division between children who paid fees and the `free’ scholars.

One of the arguments today against grammar schools is that parents who can afford fees can help their children to pass by paying for books, materials and tutors – and so the children from poorer families continue to lose out. Parents with money can send their children to `good’ schools. Some parents can even move into `good’ areas where their children could have a better chance of entry to grammar schools.

Eleven Plus Leisure

There are some parents who like to think that their child needs to maintain a relentless drive towards the eleven plus. They encourage their child to do some daily work towards the eleven plus – but want their child to use the time working through paper after paper. Working through papers is an important part of eleven plus preparation – but it is not the only activity to take into account.

Some where in the mix of reading, learning definitions, going to school and attending various after school activities some parents may care to consider the place of leisure time. Almost every one will have a different view of leisure. To some families leisure is a family picnic on a weekend, to others walking the dog is a key component in family life. Other families will look upon a regular visit to the cinema and of course there is sport.

In an ideal world a child studying towards an academic education needs to be offered a full range of athletic, dramatic, artistic and other activities. The child, and the circumstances of the family, will determine the take up. (Apart from walking the dog round the block, almost everything else takes money!)

When the child reaches grammar school he or she will expect a full range of facilities from playing fields to sports halls and music rooms to art studios. These are all the range of activities which the grammar school child will expect to benefit from.

To be able to enjoy leisure pre eleven plus children need leisure time. This could mean fewer papers – but may lead to more directed work.

Abraham Lincoln gave us a good reason to make the most of our time.

I did keep a grocery, and I did sell cotton, candles and cigars and sometimes whiskey, but I remember in those days Mr Douglas was one of my best customers. Many a time I have stood on one side of the counter and sold whiskey to Mr Douglas on the other side, but the difference between us now is this: I have left my side of the counter, but Mr Douglas still sticks to his as tenaciously as ever.

Eleven Plus Independence

Some parents are often concerned about the amount of liberty and freedom they should offer their eleven plus children. This is a thorny question and teachers and parents are alike in worrying if too much or too little freedom is allowed. If the eleven plus child is to do well in the examination – and act independently, and without fear or recrimination – then parents and children need to know where they stand.

If the parents try too hard to control their children then they may find that their well behaved and mannerly child suddenly shows signs of rebellion. If the parents push too hard to control and `manage’ independence they may find that they can not predict how their children will react in the examination.

We clearly remember one extremely bright girl who did not want to go to an all girls school and failed her eleven plus abysmally. She wanted to go to a mixed grammar school in a different local authority. Her results in this second examination were so high that she ended up in the top 180 out of around 4000 children who took the examination. In other words she put her foot down and was fully prepared to take a chance. If she had not been in the top 180 – she would not have been offered a grammar school place.

The parents who have made their children too dependent during the approach to the eleven plus may reap the reward of unexpected results. If the parent has controlled the approach to the examination with strict rules of conduct, careful attention to detail and never allowing their child to make a mistake, they may find that their child has not had the opportunity to think for themselves.

As the examination grows closer some parents may have to try to cut the chains that bind their child and allow a slow growth into independence.

The Scope of the Eleven Plus

During the Second World War was necessary to train older men and women in skilled trades so that younger workers could be released for more specialised tasks. Experimental and occupational psychologists were used to investigate the factors involved in the acquisition of skills in various jobs.

It is not hard to think that when parents are learning new eleven plus skills with their children, there must be occasions when their child picks up a new skill faster than the parent.

The work of the psychologist during the war was to try to work how machinery and equipment could be designed to allow for human limitation – and so to minimise accidents or errors.

Some of the publishers of present eleven plus material do not appear to have thought successfully about the role of training parents to work through eleven plus papers with their children. Some parents, for example, may need more than the answer before they can help their child.

Some publishers do, however, seem to making grounds in their use of the internet to disseminate help and information. The problem is that the eleven plus has been around for many years – with remarkably little alteration in the scope and extent of the questions. Indeed there must be some parents and possibly some grandparents who sat the eleven plus years ago and are now working with their children.

There has been very little new and exciting in the world of the eleven plus. One school of thought could be: “If it ain’t broke – don’t try to fix it.” The eleven plus is obviously doing it job and is selecting the right kind of children for grammar schools.

What happens if there are children who can not pass the eleven plus – but could make excellent use of the academic education offered by grammar schools?

We could be pessimistic about the eleven plus but in truth most bright children love and thrive on the rigors of the present eleven plus. After all it is all we have at the moment.

Eleven Plus Mistakes

Some children, when faced with a problem, will immediately ask their parents, or their teacher, for help. It is very tempting to supply the answer. Some parents and teachers will be inclined to say. `Why not try that line there?’ instead of allowing the child to make a mistake or find the solution.

If your child solves the problem then he or she is more likely to remember how to solve a similar problem.

Most parents will have discovered, over the years, that their children think differently to them. The way a child thinks is often very different to how an adult thinks.

There is no one single best way to solve a problem. Your child may suggest a way of solving a problem that is wrong to you. As an adult, and parent, it is sometimes hard to back down while your every instinct is to maintain that the adult way is the best way.

If you have time, the race towards the eleven plus should slow down for a moment, sometimes, to allow a discussion on different methods of solving the problem. It is only when you child keeps fumbling for an answer that you will need to put your foot down and use those most useful words in a parent’s vocabulary: “Because I say so!”

Again – if you have time – you will naturally want to lead your child to understand your position on solving problems. Your child may feel threatened and overwhelmed if you point mistakes out – after all it may be better for your child to discover that he or she has made a mistake – than to be told that a mistake has been made.

Eleven Plus Schools

When Labour came to power in 1964 there was a diverse collection of policies on education. The composition of schools was as follows:

Modern 3906
Grammar 1298
Technical 186
Bilateral and Multilateral 69
Comprehensive 195
Other secondary 240

There were also 240 all age schools.

A lot of parents today would be a lot happier if there were still 1298 grammar schools!

Eleven Plus Advantages

The London School Board in 1870 decided to have infant, junior and secondary schools. In time this thinking led to a desire for some form of selection to allow children to be educated in a senior school which best suited their capabilities. Of course selection led to the eleven plus and it was this examination that tried to find children who would benefit from an academic education.

Junior schools then had to alter the work they did with their children to allow as many as possible enjoy the opportunity of attending a grammar school. The narrowing of the curriculum did not suit everyone – and, in time, there was a general revolt against changes in the junior school and the whole idea of grammar schools. There are now around one hundred and sixty grammar schools left in England.

We know that throughout the eighteenth century the curriculum of the grammar schools revolved around classics. The study of Latin and Greek do not, however, play so large a part in grammar schools today. A learned man called Dean Gaisford, and was a professor at Oxford nearly one hundred and seventy years ago, made the case for grammar schools when he wrote:

The advantages of a classical education are twofold – it enables us to look down with contempt on those who have not shared its advantages, and also fits us for places of emolument not only in this world, but in that which is to come.

We know that the word emolument comes from Latin – and is to do with the fees or wages of work. It is fun to think of all our precious little eleven plus children working as hard as possible to pass their eleven plus so that they can earn lots of money! (I hope they pass some to their parents in time to come!)

We hope too that these potential grammar school children do not look down on lesser mortals who do not pass the examination – or who are not offered the opportunity of sitting the eleven plus.

Eleven PLus Answers

Teachers sometimes use the technique of `Open Ended Sentences’ to gain information about what their children think about themselves, their parents and the eleven plus.

After school I will

Parents should always

I admire a person who

My younger brothers and sisters

My older brothers and sisters

My mother should

I would like my father to

When my aunts and uncles speak to me they always

I think that the eleven plus

I do enjoy studying

I hate

Above all I wish

Once you have encouraged your child to write down the answers, seal them without looking and then answer the questions yourself. I wonder just how far alike some of the answers really are.

Eleven Plus Goals

The eleven plus examination was devised to select candidates for grammar schools. In 1906 more places were offered to children in secondary schools. After 1944 it was decided to have different types of schools – and hence the need for selection.

When the supply of places in the more favoured educational establishments exceeded the demands of the candidates, then a selection device was needed.

The examination system has grown and grown – from `O’ level examinations – which changed into the more favoured GCSEs. `A’ levels and the International Baccalaureate (I.B.) are used, in part, for selection for places in university and colleges. Along the way we have had Key Stage 1 and 2 SATs examinations – and we used to have Key Stage 3 SATs. In among this huge logistical exercise we have children trying to win places in private and grammar schools. The Common Entrance, for example, is a highly competitive examination at the age of thirteen.

At the top end of the secondary school teachers try as hard as possible to help their children to earn good grades – this allowing, in some cases, entry to favoured seats of higher learning. But sixth form courses are not intended to be `preparation for degree courses’. Indeed if one day some minister decided to abolish the GCSE, the sixth form would need to bear the brunt of children being challenged by a number of subjects – as in the I.B.

A large number of primary teachers feel that KS2 SATs tests should not be used to test the width and balance of a school – and some teachers also feel that a system of grading of schools should be abandoned because league tables simply can not sum up the whole ethos and spirit of schools. Personalised learning and continuous assessment are the present `buzz words’.

In eleven plus terms there is a real justification for keeping the examination. Quite simply the eleven plus provides motivation for learning and encourages competition.

There must be always be some objections to an examination system that is inseparable from being competitive. One strong point is nearly always made – that competition is not good for children of primary school age.

The goal of winning a place in a grammar school cannot be transferred to a child who wants a place in a comprehensive school. The child who is set on a comprehensive will need to work equally as hard as a child aspiring towards grammar – but the emphasis and the syllabus will need to be different.

Until a better system is found the eleven plus remains the best method of ensuring the right children have the chance of a grammar school education. Naturally are some children who miss out a place completely unfairly. Until teachers are involved in selection and a system of continuous assessment is introduced, the eleven plus will need to stay in its present state.

Eleven Plus Boys

Boys, when they are approaching the eleven plus examinations, sometimes find themselves under pressure. History has given us a picture of boys from different cultures growing up accepting initiation and a rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. The boy has to become a man.

A boy often is expected to show manliness by being more rough and ready and more adventurous than girls. At the same time some boys are taught to be polite, clean and are expected to show some delicacy of taste and manners.

We hope that pre eleven plus boys will not demonstrate signs of delinquency and conflict. The occasional rebellion over completing an eleven plus paper is not, however, quite the same as throwing a stone through a window.

Some mothers will encourage their eleven year old sons to be independent and tolerant - after all these are essential parts of the make up of a balanced adult. Other mothers will emphasise the need for their son to work hard at school and maintain the family name.

An eleven year old boy, even a very bright one, will try to assert himself in a bewildering variety of ways – depending on the circumstances within the family. If a boy feels, for example, that he is subject to an injustice he may react in a very different manner to how he behaves when he has to submit to the will of the family.

The comforting thing is that very few true eleven plus boys feel the need to descend into juvenile anarchy.

We had an eleven plus boy with us some time ago. It was clear that he would pass his eleven plus. He was often off hand with our teachers. He would pass our receptionist on his way into and out of lessons without acknowledging her cheery greeting. His fights with his mother after lessons were legendry. There was little give and take. He had the ability to endure a whole lesson without a smile – and never offered a please or thank you. He simply demanded.

One day a much younger child sat beside him in the lesson. His whole demeanour changed. His voice and look became gentle. He offered advice, comfort and suggestions along with a ready and winning smile. The younger child blossomed and looked for approval. We had worked with the older boy for some months and he had never given any of us an inch.

There was some trigger in his personality to protect and succour. He did not need to be taught to be manly and pleasant. These traits were within him. The nature and breadth of formal eleven work simply did not allow him the opportunity to display his ability to be friendly and co-operative. We wondered if he was very resentful about having to work towards the eleven plus. It could be that because he was so bright that he could cope with much of the work at school – but he met new and different work as he laboured towards the eleven plus.

Was there a happy ending?

It is difficult to know. Was it our place to ask him why his behaviour changed so much? I am not so sure.

Eleven Plus Frustrations

When we read text books about relationships between children and their parents we often see the case stated of a girl and her parents. There was repeated conflict between the girl and her parents over wearing a coat to school. Every morning she maintained that she did not need a coat. Every morning her parents insisted that a coat was necessary.

Finally they talked the matter over and the girl agreed that 50 degrees Fahrenheit was the proper dividing line. The family consensus was that if the temperature was over 50 degrees on a sunny morning or 55 degrees on a cloudy morning she did not need to wear a coat. Any other temperature: “You wear that coat!”

The breakfast fights stopped. The girl went outside to check the temperature.

Conflicts between parents and children often seem to revolve around remarkably similar areas.

Untidiness and disorder will probably come very high in the list.

Un-reliability and being late or unaware of the time must come pretty high.

The why and when of any eleven plus work must also cause, at times, some degree of conflict.

There must be plenty of other opportunities for conflict within a family including money, clothes, late nights, reading, obedience, answering back and general disagreement.

Not all families are faced by challenges of authority by their eleven plus children. Some children are able to grow up smoothly, without behaviour problems. These are children who do not want to make demands on their parents and they do not wish to vex and frustrate their parents.

In the initial example the family decided to draw a line with a temperature of 50 degrees. But drawing a line when eleven plus children are supposed to be working does not mean that all forms of democracy within the family have to be abandoned. The eleven plus is not all about punishment and discipline.

Some eleven plus children only need to be obedient when it is necessary. After all they will rationalise that obedience is a means and not an end. To counteract this most parents will use social controls like rewards, explanations and suggestions as a means of steering their children towards good behaviour.

The big problem that families face is that of time management. Almost every thing an eleven plus child does is governed by the clock. Years ago the family used to have a large grandfather’s clock that rang the hour. Time was heard to be measured. Primary schools today often ban the use of a watch , indeed some children do not appear to have much idea of the passage of time. But watches can not be thought of as toys to eleven plus children – they should regarded as essential tools in the management of time.

Good time keeping will remove some frustrations in the lives of parents and children in the lead up to the eleven plus. Good time keeping will help with completing papers on time – but will also help with when to start and when to stop a paper.

As your child approaches the school gates – collect the watch. When you pick your child up from school hand the watch back. Bit by bit you hope that your child will start to become aware of the passage of time.

It is worth a try!

The Eleven Plus and Working Mothers

I was chatting to a mother today about her son’s results. She explained her frustration about being able to work with her son because she worked full time and could not arrive home until late. Of course we talked about the possible need for a timetable so that her son knew what was expected of him every day. The mum agreed that at some time in the evening she could sit with her son and work through some short but intensive exercises.

Driving home, at the speed limit, I was overtaken by two young men in a back BMW coupe. I wondered why they were in a hurry. Were they going home to cook the family meal? What domestic tasks would they perform?

The woman of the family is real leader – and not just as the sun goes down. She organizes the family in terms of leisure and co-operation.

The mother becomes the family chauffeur. She drives the children to school and various activities after school. She collects the children from school, drives them to swimming and tennis, takes the second child to a music lesson, collects the first, fits in some shopping and the collects the second. She then supervises any homework as well as offering a quick hot snack.

The mother then is expected to cook the meal, start on eleven plus work, watch part of a familiar soap, supervise the behavior of two children, ease them into water, read to them (sometimes), encourage bed time, clean the kitchen, iron the clothes and sink to the favorite armchair.

The mother of the eleven plus child is also expected to cope with telephone messages, make inquiries, pay bills and maintain the family accounts. She is the family computer operator, accountant and part time gardener.

There seems to be even less time for a mother who has to work full time to be able to spend quality eleven plus study time with her child.

To the son, who feels like work but has difficulty in settling to work on his own, the mother appears to be enjoying a full time job outside of the home – as well as a full time job within the home. The mother also has to be the unparalleled eleven plus teacher, the motivator and the judge of any argument or heated discussion. In fact there are probably a wide collection of tasks and roles that probably have been missed.

The mother can not show irritability and fatigue or display hostile tendencies. Mother has to be relaxed, pleasant and all knowing. In those stolen eleven plus moments
She has to appear to be patient and under worked. She can not regularly appear to be frustrated and over worked. After all, the hours that a mother puts into running the home are largely unpaid and sometime undervalued.

It must be wondered why this blog explores the role of the mother in the eleven plus journey – well the answer is simple if those two young men had not exceeded the speed limit and rushed off with raised fingers then a different story might have been told.

Of course, if any mother (or father) would care to comment and add to the duties outlined above, please feel free to comment.

Eleven Plus Help Needed

There is a saying that no-one should ask a question if they do not know the answer. The reason is that you may not like what you hear!

Horace Smith wrote an Elegy to Miss Emily Kay who was a cousin of Miss Ellen Gee of Kew – who died in Ewell but was buried in Essex.

Please ask your eleven plus child to crack this code – because I can only guess at some of the content:

Sad nymphs of UL, U have much to cry for,
Sweet MLEKU never more shall c!
OSX Maids! Come hither and D, O,
With tearful I, this MTLEG.

I found this verse a little easier:

With her Piano-40 she did press
Such heavenly sounds did MN8, that she
Knowing her Q, soon iU2 confess
Her XLNC in an XTC.

My guess was pianoforte, minuet, and excellence in ecstasy.

The last verse is very sad, I think ….

Sweet MLEK in SX they bore,
Taking good care the monument 2YIO,
And as her tomb was much 2 low B4,
They lately brought fresh bricks the walls to 10 (heighten).

Please send any solutions your child may come up with. In my work I often meet children who are much brighter than I am!

Thank You

Eleven Plus Emotions

There are some tests that are useful for testing children of widely differing ages. The likely outcome of the test would be performance described in terms of age. An average would be worked out for all the children of a certain age – and these would be called age norms.

Tests that are designed for children of a certain age, like eleven plus tests, use percentile levels – and are given the name percentile norms.

It is much easier to develop tests based around multiple choice questions where each answer is complexly objective, than a test where the opinion, training and qualifications of the examiner has to be taken into account. The answer in a multiple choice test is either right or wrong. Any person, or machine, marking the same multiple choice script should achieve the same answer.

In an intelligence test the age norm is usually called the mental age. Intelligence is usually described in a ratio of mental age to chronological age. This is then expressed as a percentage.

The age norm in educational attainment tests is referred to as an attainment age. We can have an attainment age, for example, for mathematics and one for reading. The attainment quotient is the attainment age divided by the chronological age multiplied by 100. If all the attainment ages are added together this would give a general educational age – and the ratio of this to chronological age gives an overall educational quotient.

Intelligence and attainment quotients interpret test results in terms of the average achievements of other age groups. A quotient of 120 gained by a ten year old suggests a result equal to that of an average twelve year old.

Eleven plus children often need to arrive at a standardised score of around 120 – hence need to be able to work successfully at the level of a twelve to thirteen year old. Parents often wonder at the content of some of the mathematics papers. “These questions are too hard for a ten year old.”

If the eleven plus examination is pitched to capture bright children - who have the ability to answer questions two years ahead of their age – then parents need to feel reassured that the level of questions in reputable books and selection papers is probably going to be appropriate. It is no good giving an eleven plus child too much work at the ten year old level if the content of the examination is aimed at the thirteen year old.

To answer some kinds of verbal reasoning questions your child should, if possible, be reading books at the twelve or thirteen year old level. The vocabulary and themes of a book aimed at thirteen year old children is sometimes markedly different to a book aimed at a ten year old. Naturally there are books that will appeal to all ages – the Harry Potter series is a good example.

It is frustrating for some parents that the emotional age of their child does not always appear to be at the same level as their educational age. A ten year old child can sometimes appear to have the emotional age of six year old when tears and tantrums erupt. Some parents will naturally feel an urge to try to continue talking to their child as a twelve year old even when the lower lip trembles and the poor little face crumbles. If only the eleven plus could take into account the emotional age – then a number of children would probably be able to `clean up their act’ and start behaving sensibly.

Mothers and fathers of bright and well balanced ten year olds would love to think that their emotionally secure child would have an even better chance of gaining a coveted eleven plus place. We have the pleasure of working some remarkably mature children who would never ever consider having a tantrum over work. These confident and happy children love the chance of stretching themselves and being challenged by demanding work.

Imagine your eleven plus results.

Verbal Reasoning 120 – twelve years old
Mathematics 125 – twelve and a half years old
Emotional 140 – fourteen years old.

This would offer parents an emotional rush!

The Eleven Plus and Consequences

It was argued back in the 1950s that the eleven plus examination was the only fair and objective form of selection.

Examinations today are often looked on in different way – for example as a measure of national standards.

There are some who feel that if all examinations were done away with there would be no guarantee of quality.

Others feel that examinations provide recognisable goals. The Eleven Plus certainly acts as spur to parents and children.

We know that examinations as we know them today originated in the universities at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Medieval universities used examinations to recruit people to their guilds. In 1760 Cambridge had written examinations – but it was Oxford in around 1800 that provided the basis of a system of examinations as we know them today. The great plan was that better candidates would be identified. The scores of the top twelve candidates were published. One near by local authority promotes a list of the top 180 eleven plus candidates! Who says that there is anything new in education?

Children working through the eleven plus papers need to listen to their teachers, tutors and parents. They also need to concentrate and learn. The present eleven plus syllabus is remarkably restricted for many children. Some good mathematicians are hampered by fact that there are so few topics in a typical eleven plus syllabus. Other children naturally find the scope daunting.

The eleven plus is often a route of discovery for parents and children. Children learn about themselves – and often parents find that their knowledge of mathematics is far greater than they would have thought to be possible.

Many families find that the eleven plus provides a focus to study. It is tempting to all concerned to stay on a narrow and prescribed path. The eleven plus also provides a wonder opportunity for parents and children to work together. The examination provides some sort of barometer of relationships with in the family.

At some time or another the child simply has to settle down and do some work. The consequences of failure? Well we all remember one boy who did not listen to his mother:

Little Willie from his mirror
Licked the mercury right off,
Thinking in his childish error,
It would cure his whooping cough.
At the funeral his mother
Smartly said to Mrs Brown:
“Twas a chilly day for Willie
When the mercury went down.”

Eleven Plus Vocabulary

Some eleven plus children find elements of verbal reasoning papers difficult because of their vocabulary. In crude eleven plus terms vocabulary is simply the words that the child has available to use. A three year old boy, for example, immersed in Thomas the Tank Engine will be able to understand and use many of the words appearing on the DVDs, games and television. It is possible; however, that one or two of the words may appear on a verbal reasoning paper.

A child’s vocabulary will be as varied as character, personality and appearance. Vocabulary depends on a variety of factors. All of us will know the story of Tarzan – brought up by apes – yet so handsome and muscular that the prettiest of all girls could look past his limited vocabulary and fall in love with him.

Education must play a large part. Mothers used to be applauded for baby talk – how cute? “Is this mama’s little boy? Itsy bitsy bluesy woozy shoesie woosie.” This type of vocabulary has been replaced with deadly serious pre eleven plus vocabulary. “My boy, before you have a pair of blue shoes. They are made in leather and crafted in Italy. They cost just under £39.50, but your mother promises that she ill buy the branded pair on your first birthday.”

Occupation must also play a large part in the development of vocabulary. A pre eleven plus child growing up in an inner city will hear the words; “Take care and beware of strangers,” far more often than a child growing up on a farm, deep in the heart of Kent. A farmer’s child will have a richness of vocabulary arising from knowledge of the seasons along with an awareness of habits of birds and small wild life. The child in a two bed roomed flat in the heart of a housing estate may, for example, have had more time to be immersed in books with easier access to a library than the child from the farm. The paradox is that the roles of vocabulary can easily be reversed.

A famous author is said to have had a working vocabulary of thirty thousand words.

A waitress, apparently, needs around seven thousand words.

The bankers in `control’ of our present financial crisis will probably need a much wider vocabulary. Yet it is likely that the word `sorry’ will spring more likely from the lips of the waitress than from a banker.

Roget’s Thesaurus was published for the first time in 1852 – and had fifteen thousand words. If our eleven plus child had a good knowledge of these fifteen thousand words then he or she would have a pretty good, but dated, eleven plus vocabulary. New words are continually being added to our store of words.

The vocabulary used within setting questions at an eleven plus level will probably need to be rather restricted by the author’s view of the `required’ vocabulary of an eleven plus child. I wonder if there would be an outcry if the serving eleven plus papers were undated to take into account the words eleven year old children were likely to use today?

The Expense of the Eleven PLus

“I hate multiple choice work. There is no room for working out.”

“I like working sums out.”

“Sometimes I just guess.”

If assessment is not done via a multiple choice test – then there must be other viable alternatives. One major problem is they may not all be as cheap and effective. A couple of invigilators opening a sealed packet of multiple choice questions, and then returning the packet to the examination board, can not be all that expensive. The papers then are processed and computer generated results are regurgitated with all the scores in rank order – showing the `Eleven Plus Pass or Fail’. Human emotion does not play a part.

Some parents have to resort to psychometric tests to augment eleven plus test results. If their child does not pass they then seek to use the evidence of a psychologist to try to secure a place. In a psychometric test a child is given a set of questions or tasks in a prescribed manner. The results are then compared with the norms of other people. The examiner (the psychologist) is not allowed to alter the questions, prompt answers or give clues to help. The tests measure intelligence – or aspects of ability.

A different type of assessment can be offered to try to find out how well a child will react to a range of situations. Will a child react well under pressure? Can the child rise to the occasion? Does the child have the ability to work in noisy conditions? Some parents have to make the decision whether their child would be happier at or near the top of a non selective school or languish near the bottom of a grammar school. Information from a professional could help decision making.

The present Eleven Plus tests are sometimes criticised because they seem to be testing what has been learnt and do not really reflect what the child is capable of learning in the future. Parents hope that the speed and the scope of the grammar school will stimulate their child to learn even faster in the future. Children could, for example, be taught something during the assessment – and then, immediately, be tested on this. A benefit of this type of assessment is that it would not need to be a really silly eleven plus verbal reasoning question.

Another method could be to assess the child through observation at school and at home and then try to draw conclusions about the potential of the child to flower in an academic environment. This could be difficult because no two homes or schools are alike. It may be, however, that the grammar school needs to know more about the child’s intellectual development than how the child behaves in certain situations.

Parents could also contribute to the eleven plus assessment if they were included in the equation. Parents, for example, could complete questionnaires about a child’s willingness to work and attitudes to key pre eleven plus exercises. Parents could evaluate the child willingness and desire for a grammar school education.

Any single one of the methods mentioned above must have drawbacks that far out weigh the present system of setting machine marked multiple choice tests. Most of the other methods would, however, be remarkably expensive to develop and sustain. We hear of grammar schools where there is extraordinary competition for every single place. On local authority tests around four thousand children each year. Four thousand bits of paper is a lot cheaper that four thousand interviews.

Utopia is quite simply far away.

Eleven Plus Nerves

Being very bright is for some children a bit of a handicap. If the family is bright, verbal and articulate - and their child displays similar tendencies – then it is likely that the family will be largely accepting (and very proud) of the evidence of ability. Other families may be slightly resentful if one of their `ducklings’ shows signs of being different.

A bright child does not just live in a family but also grows in in society. We must assume that society is a force that will have a huge impact as the family work towards the eleven plus. The child will be affected, for example, by the immediate neighbourhood. Does the child live in a `good’ neighbourhood with leafy gardens? Is material success important in the family – and in the neighbourhood? Are there good neighbours with a purposeful neighbourhood watch scheme?

Are the children the eleven plus child will come into contact with after school preoccupied by sport? Is there easy access to a playground or leisure facilities?

A bright child living on a busy road with large scale industry and a family living in semi poverty may, however, have the same burning desire to do well academically.

Most parents of children working towards the eleven plus will prize intelligence and emotional stability very highly. Mood changes and uncalled for aggression naturally play a part in the development of the child. The odd temper tantrum could, however, help to clear the air. (Are we talking about a tantrum from a parent or a child?)

Having a bright child does not mean that you land up with an unhappy and frustrated child. It only means that some bright children are sometimes unhappy and frustrated.

It is difficult to see how the present eleven plus system caters for bright but frustrated children. Quite simply the eleven plus examination is not designed to help children adjust socially. We need an examination system that will select bright children for entry in a grammar school. It is difficult to see how a restricted diet of verbal and non verbal reasoning papers will make a child feel fulfilled and happy.

The strange thing is, however, that sustained endeavour and effort of answering question after question does very often do the job of helping a child feel confident and fulfilled. Children do start feeling that they can tackle `hard’ problems and solve them.

Anecdotal evidence from chatting to parents suggests that some children do begin to `calm down’ before the examination. The `handicap’ of feeling that they don’t fit in with peers seems to dissipate with the realisation that in the new school – the grammar school - they are likely to meet children at least as bright as them selves.

Parents can do a lot to help with pre eleven plus nerves. They could try to help their child to understand that whatever tears and upsets that may occur along the eleven plus journey it is important to keep the time spent studying as free as possible of tension. Some parents find that simple eleven plus timetable helps. The timetable will suggest a time to work and a time to play.

Every eleven plus child can not live in a gated community. Not all children will have unlimited access to tutors. Some parents will continue to struggle with parts of papers. Children will continue to throw the occasional wobbler. It is likely too, however, that pre eleven plus nerves will be more in the minds of the parents than children.

Eleven Plus Twitter

Primary school pupils will be offered lessons in Twitter and Face Book. We need to develop our Eleven Plus Twitter.

0605 MumDream - Waiting for first cup of tea. All children asleep. T.G.

0608 DadUp - Milk has run out. Jogging to buy.

0609 Neighbour – His shorts look great. I do like blue on a man.

0610 Sunny – Hi mum. Slept on 34 as you suggested. Still can’t do it.

0611 Papershop – He’s taken full cream. I told him you like skimmed. Sorry.

0614 MumDream – Try removing the third and the fifth letter. Any good?

0620 DadUp – Jogging and Twittering is a new experience!

0614 Daughter2 – Mum – Jill’s in the bath. Tell her to hurry. Leave third letter.

0618 MumDream – Shower is wonderful.

0620 Neighbour – And from behind.

0625 Sunny – Pips. Onto 45 now.

0636 DadUp – Wooops! Wrong milk. Must have been different cow.

0656 Eleven21 – I hate exams.

0657 Daughter1 – Breakast is Yuck. Love Mars to start.

0657 DadUp – Where is?

0658 Friendly – The 7.12 leaves New York 20 mins.

0658 Welly – Just milking Jersey cows. Richer cream content.

0659 Neighbour – Washing net curtains today.

0659 Sunny – Mum, battery’s low.

0659 Mischief – Fish for supper tonight.

0700 Sunny – What is the square root of 36? (Please)

0712 Daughter2 – I prefer Blur.

0713 Mischief – Missed the 7.12 – will fly to Boston instead.

0714 Sunny – Nearly done. Can I walk the dog?

0715 Daughter2 – Don’t return. I hate that dog. It smells.

0720 MumDream - Breakfast.

0721 MumDream – Come on.

0722 Neighbour – Might leave curtains down.

0723 DadUp – Manchester United is real.

0724 Daughter1 – Physics today. All wound up.

0724 Neighbour – How silly.

0725 Daughter2 – Off to catch the bus.

0730 Sunny – Battery is still low.

0731 Daughter1 – Are you plugged in?

0745 MumDream – The square root of 36 is 6.

Eleven Plus Arguments

A survey done some time ago suggested that the more difficult the child’s behaviour was at school, the more hostile the parents were towards the school. Adverse factors like poor housing, broken families and disrupted family relationships could also, at times, affect a child’s behaviour. A parent whose child’s behaviour at school is difficult may be inclined to blame the school. The child could feel that because the parent is hostile towards the school then he or she has full licence to behave badly.

Naturally this could impact on a few Eleven Plus children. We remember the words from Macbeth when the witches crouched round the pot: “Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.” Some bright children could live on a virtual cauldron of problems at home and at school – and not all of the problems caused by the parents!

Some children could be actually bored – as their ability is not recognised. We had a boy once who came out around just below average on core English and mathematics tests. He had lessons with us that tried to boost his skills. He talked incessantly and was disruptive to the point on needing `a serious talk’. He completed a rather easy comprehension passage, set at around the eight year old level, early one session. He then picked up a verbal reasoning paper that had been used by the child beside him. The boy simply wrote the answers down almost as fast as he could read the questions.

He had spent his time with us working to a level of expectation. He was not expected to do well at school and at home. Our initial results did not reveal a `high flyer’.

There were three witches in Macbeth. It is to be wondered if he saw the teacher at school as one witch, his parents as another and us as a third. Macbeth’s witches threw all sorts of ingredients into the pot. Perhaps the easy access to something that really stimulated our boy – the verbal reasoning paper – altered his perception of himself.

This salutary tale suggests that poverty, overcrowding or substantial environmental problems are not always the answer to children behaving badly.

We all inclined to use some form of system of reward and punishment when dealing with obvious attempts to disrupt work. We will reward our eleven plus children when they are sitting quietly and working hard. Of course confrontation when behaviour slips is to be avoided when possible. When the child is pushing for an argument it is sometimes easier to give way and live to fight another day. Some parents will actively and purposefully reward good behaviour – but be less confident about applying sanctions.

The one tool that parents do, however, have in their armour is the reassuring knowledge that the bright but disruptive child will, one day, be living independently. Roll on the day!

Eleven Plus Lessons

When we are working with some very bright children we are continually challenged to provide bright and meaningful lessons. We have, for example, some children with us who will pass the Eleven Plus without any extra help from us. These children will not really benefit from Eleven Plus papers and exercises – because they can already do the work. The parents are aware that the children do not need regular work on papers; the children too know that there is not much for them to do. The children come because they quite simply enjoy themselves.

The Foundation GCSE paper of the WJEC lasts for two hours. Candidates are asked to spend around 50 minutes on Section A. Section B is made up of two questions with 35 minutes for Question B1 and 35 minutes for Question B 2. There are 40 marks for Section A and 40 marks for Section B.

Question A1 of a recent paper asked the candidates to read a leaflet and find five places in Warwick Castle to visit. (5 marks). This is quite an easy question and all the children have to do is make a list.

In Question A2 the candidates are tasked to find 5 pieces of information. (5 marks) Once again this is reasonably easy for a child with a high reading age.

Question A3 read: “How did the leaflet persuade you to visit the castle?” (10 marks) Some children fall down when they demonstrate that they are not sure of how to write persuasive language.

Question A4 required a different article to be read and Question A5 needed a comparison between the two sources. (10 marks each). The children are likely to have read the first passage carefully (covering questions 1 – 3) but some may tend to skim the second and shorter passage that is used in A4 and A5.

Our brighter Eleven Plus children can usually cope very easily with questions one to three. They tend to struggle with A5 (10 marks) – simply because comparing two passages is not a skill taught at the eleven year level in most primary schools.

The Questions in Section B are different. This part of the GCSE paper looks at writing skills including presentation. There is a stern warning about the need to take special care with handwriting, spelling, punctuation and layout.

There is also a highlighted suggestion that: “The quality of writing is more important than its length. You should write about one or two pages in your answer book.”

Question B1 was an article recommending places to visit. Question B was a letter to the newspaper about the proposal by a business man to hold an outdoor music festival in the area.

Why not allow some of our super bright eleven plus children to have a go at trying to reach a `C’ grade in at least GCSE English and mathematics? They could then `bank’ these results until they were needed on their C.V. The teachers at grammar school would surely welcome the idea of having certificated children in their top Year 7 classes – thus allowing a much wider curriculum and truly innovative teaching.

The Drudgery of the Eleven PLus

Parents often have to run a fine balance when they are working with their children towards the eleven plus. Some parents will feel that the eleven plus begins to play such a large part in the lives of the family that everything else has to be subordinated. At the one extreme the eleven plus candidate has to be fed and watered. Few parents of eleven plus children would mind about supplying basic food and water. At the other end of the scale parents can sometimes feel that their own spontaneous impulses and interests have to play second fiddle to the whims and wobbles of their much loved candidate.

The sheer drudgery of parts of eleven plus work can spread across the whole family.

Drudgery is different things to different members of the family.

The Eleven Plus child may feel that working on his or her own is drudgery. “Please can I do this later on? I really want to play with my friends today.”

The parents may feel that drudgery is cooking, cleaning and `waiting on’ the rest of the family. Drudgery can also mean the second job to pay the fees and the additional eleven plus expenses.

The family will find that eleven plus drudgery can not be eliminated – but it can be reduced. The eleven plus child can stop whining and get on with the work. Other children, when possible, can share the load of the various household tasks.

The family have to unite to try to build a common attitude towards the eleven plus. There will be areas where compromises will have to be made. Leisure time should not be neglected. If the family has the opportunity of going on holiday just before the eleven plus, for example, then the family should go. The eleven plus should not take over the whole family. It should be firmly relegated into its place.

A drudge is a person who has to do uninteresting work. It is to be hoped that no eleven plus child will ever feel that the work is drudgery. We can pray too that all concerned in the family approach the impending eleven plus with hope and fortitude.

We must sincerely hope that the young lady in the limerick that follows was not a victim of an eleven plus malady. Why not ask your child to explain it to you?

There was a young lady of Ryde,
Who ate some green apples and died.
The apples fermented
Inside the lamented,
And made cider inside her inside.

Changes to the Eleven Plus

Between 1933 and 1941, in America, there was an eight year experiment in which thirty schools and school systems co-operated to try to discover the consequences of removing the external pressure of traditional entrance examinations.

About three hundred schools and colleges agreed to admit students on the basis of the evidence of school records. (In our eleven plus terms children would apply to the grammar school of their choice. The grammar schools would look at the marks and reports from the primary school – and would then select the children they wanted.)

The Americans found that the students were more confident and independent if they had not been made to pass an entrance test. Each student was paired with a student with equivalent school grades – but who had passed a competitive entrance test. More than fourteen hundred students were paired. Participation in extra curricular activities was also part of the equation. The study thus did not only look at how well the students did academically – but also how the students developed and participated in university life outside of the lecture hall.

The findings suggested that progress at university was seen in a number of key areas:

Intellectual curiosity and drive

Interest in contemporary affairs

Social Maturity

Emotional stability

One conclusion that was drawn from the study was that because the feeder schools had a much freer atmosphere to learning and education – that in the end there was no real reduction in academic standards.

Think of generations of eleven year old children being prepared for grammar schools without having to work through paper after paper. Think of eleven plus tutors being charged with broadening the minds of their charges. Imagine encouraging children to learn to take an interest in current affairs. Think of children who were taught to think logically and argue thoughtfully.

Think too of the position of the grammar schools. Do they really want children who have been coached to a very high standard – but have no outside interests or desire to become involved in current affairs?

Grammar schools, as they stand today, only select on the basis of children who can pass examinations. If your child does not achieve the marks on the day – then a place is not offered.

If the grammar schools really want mature and stable eleven year old children, full of intellectual curiosity then the grammar schools will need to call for a change to the present system of eleven plus selection.

Eleven Plus and Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is with us today. All round England children will have been thinking of ways to thank their mothers for everything they have done for them. The card they write is in effect a summary of the love they feel towards their mothers.

One advantage of including English in any Eleven Plus examination is that the whole scope of the examination can be extended. Verbal Reasoning looks at ability in a prescribed manner. Some authorities even have a set number of types of reasoning exercises. Most present forms of the eleven plus examinations are set in a multiple choice format. Adding English would require a whole congregation of qualified markers.

Eleven Plus English could include stating the writer’s arguments on a particular topic, giving reasons, commenting on differences or similarities and arguing a case. There may also be a good case for including a test of the ability to summarise.

The skill of writing a summary includes being able to use a broad vocabulary. Many of us will have read Dr. Benjamin Spock. He set out to write a book that took young mothers through a step by step stroll through the troubles they could meet. He included statements like: “All children are relatively self centred and eager for possessions.” This can be summarised in a variety of ways including the rather prosaic: `Children are greedy.’

Summarising can be taught. The eleven year old children would need to be taught to read the entire passage – and then read it again. On the third reading the children would then write a title, and jot down basic thoughts. The skill of summarising then includes using a wide vocabulary, omitting jargon, figurative language and illustrations.

The children would then write a draft in their own words, they would then count the words and then rewrite the summary to produce a polished piece of work.

Compare the intellectual processes involved in this exercise with the thought processes in: “Find the odd one out ….”

What about trying your children out with this Mother’s Day exercise?

Write a summary of the sentiments expressed in this anonymous epitaph in one word:

“Here lies a poor woman who always was tired;
She lived in a house where help was not hired.
Her last words on earth were: “Dear friends, I am going
Where washing ain’t done, nor sweeping nor sewing:
But everything there is exact to my wishes;
For where they don’t eat there is no washing of dishes.
Don’t mourn for me now; don’t mourn for me never –
I’m going to do nothing for ever and ever.”

Eleven Plus Folk Lore

Many years ago, a long time ago, well before the eleven plus was even a twinkle in the eye, people used to pass on folk lore though songs.

Today the folk lore of the eleven plus is passed on at dinner parties, the play ground, forums, blogs and Twitter.

Folk songs were conceived as melodic entities – so it was not essential to have harmony or complex arrangements. Today’s folk songs will often be sung with a full round of accompanying melodies, singers and sometimes even a large band of players. There is still a place, however, for the lone singer captivating our imaginations and holding us enthralled.

Just so with the eleven plus. Some children and families still prefer to work together in a tight unit – relying on books, papers, materials and the internet. Other children (and their parents) prefer work towards the eleven plus in small groups.

What ever the combination that is adopted within a family, eleven plus work has to be harmonious. There has to be give and take and acceptance of strengths and weaknesses. An illustration of the need for good communication can be found in a really old English Folk Song called `The Rich Old Lady’.

There was a rich old lady
In London she did dwell;
She loved her old man dearly,
But another twice as well.

O she went to the doctor’s shop
As hard as she could go,
To see if anything she could find
The make her old man blind.

Sing to the I-ree-O,
Sing to the I-ree-O.

She got two walloping mar’-bones,
She made him eat them all.
He said, Oh my beloved wife,
I can not see you at all.

If I could see my way to go,
I’d go to the river and drown.
She says, I’ll go along with you
For fear you go astray.

O she got up behind him
Just ready for to plunge him in.
He stepped a little to one side
And headlong she went in.

O she began to kick and scream
As loud as she could bawl.
He said; O my dear beloved wife,
I can not see you at all.

He being tender hearted
And thinking she could swim,
He got him a great long pole
And pushed her further in.

Eleven Plus Cooking

Some children will spend as long as one hundred hours working towards the eleven plus. This is not an average length of time – it was simply picked from the ether. Parents, school, tutors, teachers and children all hope that if enough work (of the right sort) is done, the word `pass’ will echo round the land.

Let us take the same child, and instead of encouraging work towards the eleven plus, we could spend the same amount of time teaching cooking. One hundred hours of cooking tuition, with all the books and resources that are thrown at the eleven plus child, should produce a child who can cook. Will all this effort, however, develop a gourmet cook?

What happens if the grammar school calls for all eleven plus children to be gourmet cooks? Surely cooking to a high standard is a measure of excellence? The ability to follow a recipe, sort out ingredients, organise time and the kitchen as well as prepare and present the food, must require a great majority of the skills demanded by an eleven plus examination. Why then should a child be accepted to go to grammar if he or she has simply has aptitude in the ability to pass a verbal reasoning test? In one sense the verbal reasoning test calls on many skills and talents – but a tasty meal delivered on time with the right panache should count for something. (Ask any mother about this!)

I wrote an appeal letter today for a boy who started with us with average mathematics and verbal reasoning – and well below average non verbal reasoning. His results after a mere four months of tuition and work were 133 for verbal reasoning, 124 non verbal reasoning and 109 on mathematics. He `failed’ the eleven plus by two marks – and the parents have had to appeal.

A boy like this shows just why the eleven plus was created. Here is an obviously bright boy who had not been able to make full use of his talents – until the right eleven plus recipe was invoked. What was the magic ingredient? Probably the boy began to feel confident in him self.

We need to remember Abraham Lincoln. He said: “You may repeal the Missouri Compromise; you may repeal all compromises; and you may repeal the Declaration of Independence and the events of history, but you can not repeal human nature.”

The sheer effort of the boy mentioned earlier must be applauded. It is easy to suppose that if he had one hundred hours of cookery tuition he would be able to deliver an outstanding meal. We just hope that in time to come he will become a politician who can lead our country. We can but hope that he will develop the depth of thought of Lincoln – and make an equivalent contribution to the free world. We must all hope that one day someone will say: Of course he was a grammar school boy.”

Eleven Plus Stories

It is hoped that one of the specific aims of education must be to try to endow children with an appreciation of literature. After all the acquisition of knowledge must be a prize not a burden.

Parents of prospective eleven plus candidates will have used stories as a means of bringing pleasure to their children –as well as trying to impart knowledge. The foundation we give to little children can provide solutions to some types of reasoning questions. Stories will provide much of the vocabulary and richness of language that the eleven plus child will feed on.

The books we try to encourage our eleven plus children to read can not have pages of introduction before the story proper starts. Our children will want to have books that get on with the story. After all the films and T.V. they watch, and the computer games they play, attempt to engross the audience from the first second.

It is likely that if children do not develop a taste for reading during their childhood, they will find it difficult to become readers in later life. Some parents find that if they read stories to their children they can sometimes take some of the `drudgery’ of reading out of the occasion.

These thoughts on reading sprang from the comments of a nine year old boy who was working on a verbal reasoning exercise – where he had to find two words that were similar. He commented on one of the words with, “Oh, I know that word. My teacher told us the word at story time.”

I remarked that it was like the words in the story about the Jabberwocky.

Wouldn’t it be fun if our eleven plus children had to cope with words and imagery like?

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.’

The ending is as striking today as it must have been over a hundred years ago:

`And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms my beamish boy!
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
He chortled in his joy.

Some eleven plus children would love to be able to write and think in terms of the language used in Through the Looking Glass. The constraints of the eleven plus examination must be denying many children with verbal stimulation and enrichment. After all how does your child make time to read and reflect if he or she has to do a paper a day?

Eleven Plus Comprehension

Back in 1968 a man called Barrett argued the case for a taxonomy of ideas on comprehension. What he was trying to do was describe different types of comprehension. He presented five main types:

Literal comprehension: this is where your child will answer questions by direct reference to the text.

Re-organisational comprehension: here your child will try to classify or group information from within a passage.

Evaluative Comprehension: an attempt is made to interpret and evaluate assumptions and intentions.

Inferential Comprehension: this is thinking and making deductions beyond what appears in the text.

Appreciative Comprehension: where your child is expected to show awareness of language or emotion.

When your child is working through verbal reasoning questions – then reading comprehension is a high order skill. Sometimes you will be just plain grateful for a response even if it is the wrong one – because you then are presented with the opportunity to urge:

“Have you read the question again?”
“We could look for key words together.”
“Do you remember how you approached a similar example?”
“Why not have a go at eliminating answers which simply can not be correct?”

You could now add some rather more formal language:

“Have you considered that this verbal reasoning question requires a literal answer?”

“We could try and re-organise the sentence.”

“What do you think the question is trying to achieve?”

Eleven Plus Tables

There have been many different theories about why King Arthur had a round table. One reason that is often given is that King Arthur wanted a round table to that there was no question of dominance. Every knight was supposed to be of equal importance.

The problem with this theory came in the relative distance of the knights from their King. The closer the knight sat to the King, the more trusted and `in favour’ he was.

We are sometimes given glimpses into the world of Number 10. We are offered a view of our leader sitting at a rectangular table surrounded by hench men and women. Sometimes (very occasionally) there are smiles.

Children at school sometimes sit in formal rows. At other times they are gathered into little groups of tables. Sometimes the groups reflect status – as in the top group for mathematics. (“I am not so good at the eleven plus because I am only in the middle group.”)

Where your child sits at home to do eleven plus work can also, to a degree reflect how the family react to the importance of the occasion. One child could feel put upon by being banished to the bedroom to work, while another might relish the opportunity to escape from the normal mayhem of the average household.

Most eleven plus children will be able to find some space to work. Some may have to tidy their books and papers away from the dining room table, while others will have access to their own desk and chair.

To stop children feeling bored while working through papers some parents find it helpful to keep ringing the changes. “We only need to spend ten minutes on this mathematics, as we are going onto verbal reasoning.”

Imagine if your child could have his or her own sushi bar for eleven plus work. Exercises would drift pass – open at the page. An eleven plus hand would reach out a grab hold of a reasoning exercise. A few examples could then be done by the time the revolving bar returned. Surely this would keep the interest up? Surely too the continuous revolution would help to add a touch of urgency to the proceedings?

Sometimes very bright children just have to work at the same pace as the rest of the class at school. With the very best will in the world no teacher can offer your child a diet of fresh, new and exciting work in every single lesson. When you are working with your child at home it is sometimes difficult not to get drawn into a scenario where your child works purposely and steadily – but slowly – through an exercise. There will be occasions when your every breath is fighting not to encourage your child to work at a faster pace. “Oh darling, I do wish you would work a little faster. You have been on that question for at least ten minutes. Please try to work a little faster.” The alternative is: “Look, just finish the work so we can get on with the rest of our lives!”

It does not really matter whether your child sits at a round, square or rectangular table. The table can be stationary or even revolve. Your child could sit peacefully or exhibit passive resistance – and at the time it doesn’t really matter - so long as the work gets done.

Eleven Plus Planning

A key part of some eleven plus assessments is the written task. On some occasions the children are asked to describe how they would feel about being blind, a different assessment could cover the controversial topic of when it is valid for a child to lie. Other children are simply asked to write on a topic that interests them.

In every case we encourage the children to write a plan. Some children are able to cope with planning – and others need help in trying to work out how to develop the answer. Of course we remind the children that planning involves coming up with ideas – and then working out the order that the ideas are put into. Some children, however, continue to write their essay without the benefit of a plan – and some of these children then come up with a jumble of ideas.

A number of children are able to write a plan – and then have trouble following the plan into the body of the story. Some times it is evident that the child has had a different idea – or that the development of the story is simply taking a different route.

Some children have difficulty in writing a short plan – of a reasonable length. However many times they hare reminded to write in bullet points or to employ a spider diagram, some children persist in writing the plan using full sentences. The plan on some occasions lands up longer than the story – because the child has run out of time.

Even very bright children some times have difficulty in getting to the point. Some will persist in developing an introduction that could emerge into a written piece where the introduction dominates the story.

Weight and the Eleven Plus

A sweaty, vivacious woman came close to me yesterday. The conversation went like this:

“Can my daughter come at 9.30 instead of 10.00 for her eleven plus lesson?”

“Of course, Mrs. H., naturally there will be no problem.”

“You see my class starts at 9.30, and I am enjoying my work out.”

“Oh. Are you doing the step class?”

“No, it is far more than that. We do a lot of running around too. Do you know that I lost eight pounds in two months?”

“That is wonderful!”

“Yes, I used to go shopping while the lesson is going on. I used to walk across the road and spend money. Then one day I sat there drinking coffee while the class was going on – and I saw everyone having such a good time. I joined the class. It was fantastic. I have lost eight pounds.”

“Well done!”

“Look, I have a photograph. Just wait. It is on my phone. Look, that is what I looked like at Christmas. I am so pleased. I have dropped a dress size! The class lasts one and a half hours and that is why I want her to start at 9.30. I want to do the whole class. I think I can lose a lot more!”

“There will be no problem with the 9.30 start.”

“Oh, thank you. I never thought I would enjoy exercise. But this class is great. Every thing gets mixed up. I am sure I can lose more than eight pounds. Wait a bit. I have another photo. Hang on, please. Look, that is what I used to look like. Look how my face has changed.”

“Well your daughter did very well today. She did verbal reasoning and mathematics. Her tables are sound now.”

“Thank you. We need to go now. Thank you.”

Many years ago we, when we started working in Leisure Centres, we had the slogan: “Children Love Learning in Leisure Centres.”

We now need a really snappy slogan to beat: “Mothers lose weight while their children are learning in leisure centres.”

Please help.

Well done to the mum! Many would love to lose around four kilos in such a short time!

Eleven Plus Appeals

The eleven plus, after considerable effort, blood, sweat and tears is reduced to pass or fail. A parent has to accept the final eleven plus score – and the score itself is hard to challenge. The suppliers of the actual eleven plus tests are able to hide behind the anonymity of multiple choice tests. Scores and marks on an essay can be challenged. It must be much more difficult to challenge the ability of an optical mark reader to count and score correctly.

Any sound eleven plus mathematics course will remind parents of the meaning of the word `mean’. The eleven plus child needs to know a paraphrase of `add them all up and divide by the number’. Very few eleven plus children need to be able to describe a mean in terms of: `a measure of central tendency’.

When the computer has gathered up all the eleven plus test results a statistical measure called `Standard Deviation’ is applied. This is where all the squared deviations of all the scores from the mean are added up. The square root of all the deviations from the mean is then taken. Again words like `square’ and `square root’ are part of the eleven plus syllabus. The standard deviation can be used to explain to a parent just how far their child is away from average. A mean score on a certified eleven plus test must necessarily be at a different level to a mean score on a test offered to the general population. The eleven plus test would need to have different questions than that offered to all the children – other wise the test’s predictive options will be compromised.

Suppose, for example, a child scored 122 on a test where the mean score was 90, then it would be safe to say that the child had done well. A child, however, scoring 122 on a test where the mean was 115 may not appear to be as far away from the average.

To try make this a little clearer we need to remember that the distribution of eleven plus scores depends on the children who are writing the test, the difficulty of the test and how the test is marked. Take for example the scenario of a large number of children preparing for the eleven plus. The children will have worked from a very similar range of practice eleven plus papers. On the day of the examination the perfidious examiners throw in fifteen questions that do not appear in any pre eleven plus paper. Oh! Woe is me! Poor children! But if all the children are subjected to the same questions then some of children should be able to do some of the questions. Is the test still fair?

This is where the word correlation comes into the equation. Correlation is the degree of correspondence between two or more sets of measures. The examiners can compare the results of one test with another that has already been standardised and verified.

Every item that appears in an Eleven Plus test is scrutinised and evaluated – and tried out on a sample of children. There is, therefore, little need for parents to be concerned about the content of an Eleven Plus examination – and any appeal board would naturally give short shrift to any attempt to add a complaint about content or the method of marking of the test.