Eleven Plus Arbitration

Every now and then, and hopefully not very often, the eleven plus child may feel inclined to throw a wobbler. Sensible and down to earth parents will watch, with interest - and a little concern - their child become more and more agitated. As the one sided tension builds, the concerned parents will feel that they are standing on the side of a cliff. The word `acrophobia’ springs to mind. “Oh dear, we are on the slippery slope,” could also enter the conscious. Of course the concept of `mixed metaphors’ can not apply when parents are aware that a `slight discussion’ is imminent.

To pre-empt a strike parents need to employ all their skills in negotiation. It is no good taking up a too rigid stance. There has to be some flexibility on both sides. Forward thinking parents will immediately bring into action the `Eleven Plus Parent Mantra’:

Readiness
Evidence
Suggest
Bargain

It is important that parents do not feel they have to react to a situation. They have to be ready. After all the signs must be there that a build up towards a problem is looming.

Collect the evidence. If the discussion is about a family matter – listen carefully. If the potential dispute is eleven plus related, look for clues as to what could be bringing the matter to a head.

Hear and assimilate suggestions from `the candidate’. Offer your own thoughts – after all negotiation does not need to be one sided.

As the discussion draws to an end, try to strike a bargain. Give a little bit here and a little bit there. Ask in return for a little bit here and a little bit there. Be prepared to volunteer a little bit more than was offered in the opening salvo.

If possible allow a little time for reflection. Ask your child, “What was all that about?”

“Mum, Dad, you know I like to take a hard line in negotiations. I tell you what. For once I will not use MSN to communicate. I will write a real letter, in my own hand, and post it to you. If the letter arrives before the weekend I will complete the paper. If, however, circumstances beyond my control prevent the delivery of my letter then I expect you to accede to my demands.”

“But dear, there is a postal strike on. How can your letter be delivered?”

“Too bad. You should have made alternative arrangements. Not even arbitration by an outside body will help. I am not going to complete the paper again. I have already done it once. So there!”


(No parent will take exception to this final remark. After all children also have to have the last word, sometimes!)

An Eleven Plus Tale

It is Thursday today. This is a highly significant day in the annals of the eleven plus. It was on a Thursday, many aeons ago, that a girl was working towards her eleven plus. She did her mathematics conscientiously and worked hard at her verbal and non verbal reasoning. Her parents were very proud of her but worried that she was working so hard.

“What can we do to help?” asked the mother anxiously.

The bright and willing girl replied, “You have given me everything. I am so grateful. I am fine. Just let me do one more paper and then I will go to bed.”

That night, as she was going to sleep a fairy god mother spirited into the bedroom and asked: “What can we do to help?”

The girl was sleepy; after all she had completed three full papers that day, and murmured, “It would be wonderful if I could answer every question correctly.”

The fairy waved her glittering wand and vowed; “Tomorrow you will not need to worry. You will find the papers easy.”

The girl slipped happily into sleep. She felt secure in the knowledge that a promise is a promise.

She woke the next morning refreshed and ready for work. Her parents were astounded to see her skip down the stairs and chat merrily without any grumpy one word answers.
School was over, and the girl returned home. She hugged her anxious parents, agreed to a glass of milk, nibbled a piece of cold cod from the fridge (brain food you know) and ran singing up the stairs.

Her pencil flew over the papers. She had never felt better about her eleven plus and her prospects. The time went by in a flash. She even forgot to complain about the noise her little brother was making. She ran down stairs to her parents with her papers and the answers in her hand.

Her parents were sitting side by side on the couch in the lounge. They had sat their holding hands for comfort during the entire time their daughter had been upstairs working. To their everlasting joy every single answer was correct. There was no rubbing out or evidence of second thought. They were so proud of their daughter.

They turned to each other and said together: “I wish ..” They stopped and laughed. Two minds with but one thought. There turned to their daughter and asked her what they could do to help.

The girl was mindful of the fairy’s ability to deliver promises. She knew in her heart that she had had a warning.

Life was never going to be easy. She had to be sensible about the work she did. There was no need to overdo anything.

Time went by. She passed her eleven plus. She went to grammar school and then to university. She married and had two fine children. Her eldest daughter was due to take her eleven plus. Her eldest daughter was hard working and keen. One day her daughter turned to her and said: “I wish.”

The mother held up her hand to stop her daughter completing the wish. She knew in her heart that the last thing that was needed in the journey towards the eleven plus was pressure and an anxious face. She hugged her daughter, secure in the knowledge that the wheel had turned a full circle.

Little Green Men and the Eleven Plus

Our Eleven Plus system must be looked at with some interest by outsiders. Not only do we have different interpretations of our educational systems within schools but we also select some children to be taught in specialist academic schools. There is supposed to be an all embracing National Curriculum - designed to even out pressures on teachers and schools. Standards with schools seem to be climbing every year – and this rise presents more and more children with wonderful opportunities.

What would a Martian find if he or she arrived in a green space ship into an area where the eleven plus was offered?

The Martian would find some happy parents, secure in the knowledge that they had children who would be able to pass the examination – and then go onto to profit from an academic education. There could be other children who tried very hard – and still would not pass.

It is difficult to know if a Martian, approaching the problem of the eleven plus and grammar schools, would opt for a wholesale re-introduction of a much castigated system of education.

There may still be a few children who would love their eleven plus preparation to be carried out by little green men.

EBay and the Eleven Plus

I read about `Concert Hands’ today. The £6000.00 system includes wrist pilots that help beginners – and the more advanced – to memorise a piece of music in just a few steps. The wrist pilots guide the fingers over the keys.

Can’t you see this in eleven plus terms? Your child puts on a magic wrist band, holds his hand over the paper – and the wrist pilot takes over. Your child could complete a whole paper in less than fifteen minutes! What a saving of time. What a saving of emotion. What a pleasure.

After the eleven plus is over you could sell the `Eleven Plus Band’ on EBay. Think of the bidding as next year’s examination grows closer!

Will there ever be a free market for used eleven plus materials? Will one day families rush to collect bundles of cheap and used books?

EBay Adverts could include:

Used Eleven Plus papers for sale.

Slightly written on NFER papers. Pencil marks only. A good rubber will remove all traces of previous user. Some sections have no writing.

A full set of the Bond Verbal Reasoning and mathematics papers. The set starts with the verbal reasoning papers 7-8 year olds – and ending up with the 11- 12 papers. Some books are hardly used.

A comprehensive collection of free eleven plus papers. Many of the papers have the answers worked out – making it easier for you and your child.

The most expensive part of the second hand eleven plus used paper market could be the post and packaging. With post and packaging at an average £2.75, parents could soon be snapping up bargains.

A set of slight used NFER mathematics papers at only £4.00. Full worked answers for an extra £2.30. All answers checked and verified by both parents. (There were arguments over Question 30 because there is more than one way of solving the problem.)

If the market does grow then there could be opportunities for parents to look out the eleven plus papers and exercises they worked through. Copies of rare editions could add premium prices! Bidding wars on EBay could start.

A boxed set of 1987 verbal reasoning. Used by Dad for grammar school – and then by the son last year. The papers were kept in the attic by the dad’s mother until her grandson was approaching the eleven plus. A quote from the grand mother: “My grandson has done better on the papers that his dad, my son, did.” Only £4.50 and p and p for just £2.75.

In the end you do offer an EBay bundle.

One slightly used `Eleven Plus Band’ and a pile of slightly used eleven plus papers.

Bidding needs to start at £ ……..

Any takers?

How do Eleven Plus Children Learn?

Why can’t elements of eleven plus tuition be provided by a home shopping channel? Children are used to fast moving action on the screen. By the time they have reached ten years old they are likely to have watched a variety of powerful adverts.

Home shopping channels appeal to basic human instincts. You either love them or hate them. The goods and the "hard sell" is fast, informative and compelling.

Picture a one minute presentation aiming at reducing a fraction to lowest terms in only one minute. There would need to be a carefully researched script, unforgettable music and an easily memorisable `Lowest Terms’ jingle.

Your child would walk to his or her bedroom humming a passionate song:

“Lowest terms
Lowest terms
Divide the top and the bottom by the same number
Lowest terms
Lowest terms."

Would your child prefer a little Beethoven? Should the top rated `Lowest Terms’ be sung as a lullaby or a hip hop? Would a rap do it for your child?

It would be fun to try a little experiment. You may need to ask a few friends around for a fractions party. After a ten year old version of pass the parcel and large slices of birthday cake, spilt the children up into groups.

Group 1
One minute of a paper and pencil presentation of lowest terms.

Group 2
An explosive jingle `Lowest Terms’ – with full sight and sound.

Group 3
Ask this group to spend a minute reading a mathematics book.

Arrange to have the children back again to test their recall. Which group would remember how to do `Lowest Terms’?

An Eleven Plus Victory

It is generally considered to be a sign of weakness. Real men do not it. Reading a book of instructions is not considered to be `manly’. It is much easier to simply follow common sense in the knowledge that `it will come right in the end’.

This rush of blood came about because I was almost forced to read the instruction for a `BT Access Manager’. This is a piece of software that is needed to install an E170. An E170 HSPA is a USB stick. Information guide, a little book about 6cms by 6 cms, has 12 pages of instructions .The safety information is covered in detail pages 13, 14, 15 and 16. The main points covered include:

Do not use your wireless device when it will cause danger to electrical devices.

Avoid inflammables and explosives.

Do not use your wireless device while driving. (A bit difficult when it is attached to a lap top.)

Do not allow small children to swallow the components.

Promote recycling to protect the environment.

Eleven Plus safety instructions could include:

Remember to say please when asking for urgent help.

Do not tackle papers after `words’.

Read all instructions twice.

If the male members of the family do have to concede defeat on a question – and thereby ask, or even plea, for help - then you need to make a point of reading the instructions twice, work out how to answer the questions and then say repeatedly:

“There you are. I told you so. Read the instructions.”

“There you are. I told you so. Read the instructions.”

“There you are. I told you so. Read the instructions.”

“There you are. I told you so. Read the instructions.”

Eleven Plus Answers

Some eleven plus examination boards require a story.

If parents are asked to explain a simple punctuation rule then usually a straightforward and unembellished answer is all that is needed. Naturally a range of explanations will help to clarify the rule. All that parents will expect from that stage onwards is the hope, and expectation, that their child will remember the rule – and apply it when necessary.

Other explanations may require a broader elaboration of meaning. Suppose the eleven plus candidate is asked for a justification of the need for speed cameras. (Should speed cameras be outside all schools?) To explain this would demand a far more sophisticated answer. Parents would then need to try to relate their answer to their child’s current understanding of the rules of the road, different types of speed cameras and whether the word `outside’ means literally that or in close proximity.

I heard recently of a man with seven previous convictions for speeding – but had `gone straight’ after attending a speed awareness course. It is then up to the parent to rule on whether this is relevant to the question. It may be more desirable, however, for the child to make the decision – after having `talked it through’.

Questioning can be used to promote many different types of thinking. Indeed asking and answering question is usually regarded as a higher level cognitive skill. A question can be a quick check to make that the child is paying attention to the punctuation explanation or can be the starting point for real and sustained dialogue and discussion.

Question and Answer 1
“Have you completed your paper?”

“Yes thank you. I finished ahead of time too.”

Question and Answer 2
“Have you completed your paper?”

“Yes, thank you, but I had trouble with Number 34. That the type where FG is to RS as JK is to ….. You remember we did them together. I tried to count on in the way we said – but the answer book shows that I made a mistake. Can we go over them again, please?”

It would be wonderful if a simple question could lead to a higher level answer which displayed reasoning and evaluation. Some parents, however, may have to put up with an answer couched in more simple terms.

Question and Answer 3
“Have you completed your paper?”

“Yes. Can I have something to eat please?”

Eleven Plus and the Wear Out

A remark that sometimes made in eleven plus circles:

“This is wearing out my brain.”

For most of us the items that appear to wear out with terrifying rapidity are our tyres. Years ago motorists were told to rotate their tyres to increase wear – but today we are warned that this can be counter productive.

Discuss tyre pressures with your eleven plus child – after all `you never know . . . . . It might come up . . . . . .” Talk about keeping the tyres balanced – as this is supposed to maintain the health of the tyre. Then think of some tyre related questions.

Grand dad is still a little old fashioned. He bought a new car two years ago and it is his pride and joy. He keeps his spare tyre in his car. He did not want one of those funny little skinny tyres. He wanted the real thing – a tyre he could use if he got a puncture. (The garage had to take the thin reddish looking tyre out of the car and order a special wheel and tyre for grand dad.)

Over the last two years he has driven 10 000 miles. He rotated the tyres at intervals, so that by the end of the period each tyre had been used for the same number of miles. For how many miles was each tyre used?

Grandmother thinks that he has gone a little loose in the head – but she puts up with his idiosyncrasies. Sometimes she is not sure why. She is, however, an ex head teacher so knows a thing or two about education and the eleven plus.

“How many miles did the car travel?”

“Ten thousand. It said so.”

“How many tyres were there?”

“Five.”

“If each tyre had been used for four fifths of the journey, how many miles did each tyre travel?”

“Eight thousand miles.”

“How did you do that?”

“Easy. One fifth of ten thousand is two thousand. so four fifths is two thousand times four.”

“Why did we use four fifths?”

“There were five tyres – but there can be only four in use at one time. The other tyre is a spare so it stays in the boot.”

Of course every parent will now be on full alert. A spare tyre? Dear, oh dear! Back to the gym. Back to swimming. Sack the tutor. Engage that rather dishy personal trainer at the club. The spare tyre around your waist is one tyre that you do want to wear out.

Eleven Plus Choices

What do parents look for in an eleven plus tutor?

A bit of experience.

“No, Mrs. Borthwick, Your child is my first eleven plus pupil. I am so excited. We are going to go on a wonderful journey. This is going to be good!”

“I have been tutoring eleven plus children for eleven years. All my children have passed the eleven plus. Your son will need to work hard and keep his mouth shut. I do not like children who talk back.”

The ability to raise standards.

“We are going to do all sorts of work together,. This is going to be such fun. We will need to read some books together to develop your vocabulary.”

“We will start at the beginning and go to the end. These are the books I use. I don’t want your child to do anything else. You must do what I say or I will stop the classes.”

A cost effective solution

“Payment in advance, please. £.. an hour.”

“Payment in advance, please. £.. an hour.”

Build Confidence

“I am going to try to help you to well at school as well as in the eleven plus. Bring any problems from school to your lessons and we can work on them together. If you do any additional work at home, and have any difficulty, please let me know.”

“My goal is the eleven plus. You work through these books and papers and you should pass. Now pay attention. Do your work. Don’t expect any favours.”

Parents and children will respond to different styles of relationships between teachers, parents and pupils. Not every teacher sets out to be sweetly nice to their pupils. They have a job to do and expect respect and high standards. Other teachers may adopt a different style.

“You pays your money and you takes your choice.”

My Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, 1964, suggests the phrase comes from a quotation from Punch in 1846. The phrase, apparently, is derived from a ancient peep show rhyme. The word `peep’ may be taken from the Greek – to stare at. There is also an allusion, however, to when the word peep is used to describe hiding or skulking from creditors.

Of course we know what happened to the tailor who peeped at Lady Godiva as she rode through Coventry – yes, you are right, the tailor had his eyes dug out by the Earl.

All this to say – every now and then take a peep into the lesson – and see how happy and involved your child is. If you are not happy then you know what to do. Do it and don’t hold back.

Wasting Eleven Plus Time

Your eleven plus child has promised to forswear any use of any games console for the duration of the eleven plus. This is not a sanction that you brought about – it is simply your child responding to the market forces of the eleven plus. Pleas of: “All work and no play” fall onto deaf ears. Your child needs to mature and settle down to serious and sustained effort.

This jargoned approach to the problem of encouraging your child to work in an environment of endeavour and ennoblement requires some toys to be hidden until the examination is over. “Do we really have to throw away my Wii? We only bought it at Christmas?”

“No dear, we are `lending’ it – with the sports pack – to Auntie Harry. She wants to try to get her weight down and I know that you really want to work hard this year. You will get it back again after the examination. We are only going to discard your old games consoles.”

“Oh mother, I do know how to cope with the re-cycling element.”

“First of all we have to decide if my old consoles have reached the end of their useful life.

We also need to go to our local Recycling Centre to see their permits or licences from the Environment Agency.

We need to make sure that we are able to have proof of what happens to the consoles after their disposal.

I am sure that the batteries will be dealt with properly. We don’t want any hazardous waste.”

“Look dear. It is not worth the effort. Just keep playing your games. We won’t interfere with you. We can do your eleven plus work nearer to the examinations.”

“Oh Mum!!

Eleven Plus Questions and Answers

There must have been a number of influences working in the minds of the original pioneers of the eleven plus.

It does seem possible that the work of a man called Roberts, who in 1940 tried to find evidence of intelligence, may have contributed to the early pre eleven plus debate. He tested 3400 children of school age. He looked at the siblings of the top 4% and the dullest 4%.

He found that 63% of the siblings of the brightest were bright. 6.6% were dull.

3.7% of the siblings of the dullest were bright and 56.3% were dull.

We do not need to replicate these tests today. All we need to do is to find 3400 grandmothers.

Question: Are all your grandchildren as bright as each other?

Answer: Of course they are. Little Chloe, who is only two, is going to be the brightest of the lot.

Question: Will any of your grandchildren pass the eleven plus?

Answer: Of course. My son did, my daughter did and all their children will pass.

Question: Who is the most intelligent person in your family?

Answer: What an impertinent question. I am of course.

These question and answers will not provide a satisfactory basis for any current discussions about the eleven plus. They will show, however, that it is almost impossible to forecast that because one member of the family has won a place in a grammar school, it does not necessarily follow that all the rest will. Parents are remarkably resilient, however, and will keep trying to do their best.

(The grandmother mentioned above may possibly have been a highly respected member of the community – and a demon at bridge as well as a tough tennis opponent. You just never can tell.)

Eleven Plus Opinions

You must sometimes wonder why your eleven plus child seems to have opinions on virtually everything under the sun. I am afraid that the answer lies in history. We may need to blame Quintilian.

It was Quintilian who felt that the ideal orator was a good man skilled in speech. He thought that no other human type was conceivable. (What would he have thought of a morose teenager?)

He pointed out that man is superior to animals in virtue and speech. He broadened this to maintain that distinctive excellence needed eloquence and reason. He felt that the complete man was an orator and that a philosopher, by comparison, was essentially inferior.

He felt that instruction for children must be adapted to the age of the child. He preached that the fact that a subject can not be completely learned is no reason for not teaching it. Quintilian wanted wise teachers to recognise peculiarities of talent and make choices of subject in order to teach the more able effectively. He felt that the gifted, or those good at oratory, needed good all round development.

Today’s parents may, sometimes, be faced with an outspoken eleven plus child. If Quintilian, however, is correct then as soon as a child gets up on his or her soap box - and produces evidence of skills in oratory – we need to take notice.

Let us explore how we can apply Quintilian’s laws to our present day situation.

We need to allow eleven plus children to be able to argue and debate a point.

(We just have to make sure that they do not overwhelm us and win any major points>)

The work we give to eleven plus children must be reasonably fair and appropriate.

(Is this fair? A clock gains three seconds every three quarters of an hour. It is set right at nine thirty one day. What time will the clock show at five thirty on the next day?)

We need to be able offer hard and demanding work.

(We know that we can revise the work closer to the examination.)

We have to be able to recognise and appreciate some bizarre statements.)

(After all we were young once too.)

A good all round education must encompass more than the eleven plus.

(Oh dear. It is so easy for the eleven plus to take over the lives of full families.)

If any child does come up with a good rant – please share it with us. We promise we won’t smile but will respect the oratory with the dignity it deserves.

Eleven Plus Gifts

Selecting an eleven plus teacher is an important decision for parents. After all, their child’s future can hang in the balance.

An American called Beale, back in 1936, describe a contract teachers had to sign.

“I promise to take a vital interest; donating my time, service and money without stint for the benefit of the community. I promise to abstain from all dancing, immodest dressing and other conduct unbecoming a teacher and a lady. I promise not to fall in love, to become engaged or secretly married. I promise to sleep at least eight hours a night, to eat carefully, and to take every precaution to keep in the best of health and spirits in order that I may be better able to render efficient service to my pupils.”

If any parent can coerce their eleven plus teacher to sign this pact – please let us know!

Back in the days when the eleven plus examination was beginning to play a wider part in the lives of communities, a writer, Synnberg, in 1948, wrote about different pressures put onto teachers.

“Despite tenure, regardless of contracts, many teachers live in a state of perpetual insecurity. They are fearful of the principal, of the head of department, of examiners, of tests and their failure to reach teaching norms. Some of them are afraid of their students.”

The eleven plus tutor can sometimes be in a delicate position. Some children, however well prepared by the school and the parents, can not bring themselves to `try their best’. The child, for example, may bring up that the teacher had spoken sharply or had not explained how to do the work. A natural reaction from any parent would be to blame the teacher.

We would like think that most eleven plus teachers want to be liked and respected by their pupils. Eleven plus teachers, like all other teachers, will presumably, want to feel a sense of professional accomplishment. If we were to try to develop a contract between the eleven plus family and the eleven plus tutor we could start with a simple statement from the teacher. This could then be developed.

I would like you to like me.
If I do something that you do not like, please let me know.

I will do my best to help you.
You must do your best to help yourself.

If I do something and you do not understand, please let me know.
If you do something that I do not understand, please can we talk about it?

Some parents may also be willing to sign up to this credo. Some parents may want to add a little more:

I would prefer you to sleep eight hours a night.
You must be aware that you are a special person with special gifts – and you need to work very hard towards the examination.

Eleven Plus Ambition

Parents may need to remind themselves at times that they are working towards the eleven plus because they think that their child has talent and ability.

Most parents approaching the eleven plus experience for the first time will be enthused with good will and good intentions. Along with this dream come excitement, elation and feelings of inspiration.

If your daughter or son has talent then you want him or her to fulfil his or her potential. As parents start on the eleven plus journey they will be aware of the need to collect vast quantities of information along the way.

Of course with so many available books, papers, lessons and courses, parents may think that they are missing something. Some parents may even feel a sense of compulsion. “I must collect as many papers as possible in case we miss some vital question that is located in some obscure paper.”

All that most parents can achieve is some form of approximation of the type of work that is needed for their child. It will be impossible for most parents to cover every type of question in great detail. Their bright eleven plus child may remark calmly: “Relax mum, dad it is in the bag.”

One commodity, however, that most parents struggle to enjoy – is time. Time, in eleven plus terms, is remorseless.

Eleven Plus Consistency

Children sometimes feel put upon. An apparently bright eleven plus candidate may feel that too much is being demanded of him. A slight touch of resentment may creep into the dialogue. The dramatic eleven plus call goes out: “Why can you not be more consistent?” (Some parents may abbreviate this to: “Why can’t you be more consistent?”)

It is not hard to imagine that looking at a non verbal reasoning question can call into account nearly all the senses. The question may have a non verbal intent – but may need at least some of the senses to be alive and alert before the question is fulfilled.

Part of the reason why children can answer non verbal reasoning questions is that intrinsic perception of the shapes on the page calls for perception. The perception of brightness, colour, shape, size and number of items must all play a part. Perception in turn relies on many physiologically determined events. Fatigue, hunger, thirst, anger can all affect the senses in almost the same way that ambition and the desire to win must play a part.

We all, however, have individual differences. Furthermore on some days desire and emotions may play a large part. It must be incredibly hard to manufacture intelligence. It must be much easier if the child is guided towards desire and emotion.

It is not hard to see why desire must be near the top of any eleven plus attribute list. Having a good feeling about attempting a wide range of different eleven plus exercises must be aided by a drive towards ambition.

The total eleven plus child therefore has at least some of these attributes:

Ability and a desire to do well.

Of course parents will attempt to control the environment by being pleasant and encouraging. Parents will also try to make sure that their child is well fed and watered. Of course parents can not wish intelligence onto their child – but they can try to awaken a sense of ambition.

Clearly, however, parents can not hope to achieve consistency unless the vital ingredient of co-operation is offered by their child.

Eleven Plus Prospects

Politicians have become more accountable in recent times. We now know what they earn from their various ventures into public life. We also know what they spend their money on.

Teachers are also more accountable these days because of the introduction of school based tests. One result is that some teachers have had intolerable pressure put on them to reach certain prescribed standards. From what we read in the papers some highly gifted teachers have chosen to leave the profession. It is not only the weak teachers who have been pilloried and held up.

Back in Zimbabwe, in the early days, a child was judged to be ready to read when one of his or her front teeth had fallen out. This offered reading readiness. In parts of British West Africa, years ago, a child was thought to be ready for education when he or she could reach over their head with their right hand and touch the left shoulder.

Can you picture the scene? A white coated doctor, from a famous teaching hospital, peering into the mouths of prospective eleven plus candidates, and counting teeth: “Yes, you are ready to go to grammar; you have the required number of molars.”

Some parents would immediate react by ensuring that their children had the required number of teeth – with one spare one in case something happened. Other parents would maintain that their child should be able to pass the eleven plus without any extra care to their teeth. “Yes dear, I don’t mind if Jane’s mum makes Jane brush her teeth thirteen times a day. You only need to brush yours after meals. That is enough.”

The 11+ tests are designed to categorise children into pass or fail situations. (Some children even have to enter the `Never Never Land’ of being: “Nearly got a place. On the waiting list!” We know that Never Never land was where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys Lived. Thank goodness that J.M. Barrie wrote the book before the introduction of the eleven plus. We might have had the Fairies bringing the Lost Boys to Never Land where they had to work on verbal reasoning papers – as well as be poor lost orphans.

One very big problem with the eleven plus is that the examination is on a set day at a set time. It requires considerable effort on the part of parents to bring their child to a peak on the right day, at the right time. If a child is not doing all that well then he or she may simply be in the middle of a development stage. Think of the worry you would have to entertain if you were aware that your child was just arriving at a `learning spurt’ while the eleven plus examinations were taking place.

One of the reasons for having eleven plus tests is that the tests are supposed to be predictive in nature. A child that passes the eleven plus – and has a place in a grammar – is therefore likely to leave school with good `A’ level results.

A prediction, however, is no more than a guess. For some children the guess will be an intelligent guess – but for others the guess will need to be treated with caution.

After all, if your child is `away with the fairies’ on the day of the examination, then you may need to adopt the persona of that dreaded character in Peter Pan – the awful Captain Hook. You may need all his devious and underhand methods at your disposal as you try to prepare an appeal for your child. Can you imagine the appeal board looking at YOU and wondering if you can tap your head and rub your stomach at the same time? (All eleven plus parents know that this is the criteria for a successful appeal.)

The Eleven Plus Maze

For years psychologists have used rats and mazes to study problems. One important experiment with rats was to see if maze learning ability could be passed by heredity to successive generations of rats. The plan was that learning could be passed onto successive generations.

Sadly for eleven plus children the maze learning experiment did not work. Imagine if the wisdom, experience and ability of parents to be able to cope successfully with eleven plus papers could be passed successfully onto their children?

There were, however, other experiments with rats, adults and children. The general finding was that rats adults and children did about as well as each other in learning similar mazes.

Many of us when trying one of the famous, and not so famous, mazes will adopt a hit or miss process. Able children and adults reported visualising, planning and reasoning to find their way out.

The first was trying to verbalise the steps to leave the maze – “left one, right two, left three”.

The second was trying to build a visual picture.

The third was motor learning – rather like a hit or miss method.

Of course the most successful was the verbal method.

If you hear your child muttering under his or her breath while trying to solve a complex eleven plus problem – you know that your child is likely to be on the right lines.

If your child closes his or her eyes in the middle of an exercise he or she is either trying to visualize the problem – or is falling asleep.

If your child suddenly, and in desperation, offers up a selection of unrelated answers then you know that a hit or miss method is being used.

Suggest ever so gently to your child that to achieve eleven plus results he or she needs first of all to look ahead and plan the answer. Make the point that hit or miss methods will not always work successfully.

Tell your child that planning and reasoning is a sign of intelligence.

There is, however, a moral in this story. The next time you are driving towards an unfamiliar location and you start to feel lost you need to consult your partner in sweet and normal tones. Do not suddenly start attempting to reach your destination in a hit or miss manner. It would be far better to verbalise your thoughts.

“At the next junction I am going to turn right, and then left after missing two roads. Stop that. Do not argue. I will then turn right and my friend’s house should be on the right. If you don’t stop that you will be invited to walk the rest of the way. You must never ever call your brother a little rat.”

Eleven Plus Schedule

We used to have seven cats – all at the same time. Some were acquired, some acquired us. P.G. Woodhouse maintained: “Cats, as a class, have never completely got over the snootiness caused by the fact that in ancient Egypt they were worshipped as gods.”

When you are trying to work out your weekly work schedule with your eleven plus child you may do well to remind your child of Stephen Baker’s poem about cats.

CATS WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Monday: Sleeping and eating
Tuesday: Sleeping and eating
Wednesday: Sleeping and eating
Thursday: Sleeping and eating
Friday: Sleeping and eating
Saturday: Sleeping and eating
Sunday: Sleeping and eating

We can easily adapt this into an Eleven Plus schedule – from a reluctant child’s point of view.

ELEVEN PLUS WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Monday: Eleven Plus Work and surviving
Tuesday: Eleven Plus Work and surviving
Wednesday: Eleven Plus Work and surviving
Thursday: Eleven Plus Work and surviving
Friday: Eleven Plus Work and surviving
Saturday: Eleven Plus Work and surviving
Sunday: Eleven Plus Work and surviving

These words have a kind of melancholy ring. Charles Dickens wrote in Oliver Twist about a little boy who escaped the work house – and went on to better himself. We all hope that none of today’s eleven plus children will ever have to suffer the pain and misfortune that Oliver had to cope with.

The eleven plus is supposed to be a fabulous journey full of endeavour, excitement and a strong sense of fulfilment as the odds are beaten. We therefore need a more uplifting eleven plus hymn.

A HAPPY ELEVEN PLUS WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Monday: Stimulating Eleven Plus Work
Tuesday: Stimulating Eleven Plus Work
Wednesday: Stimulating Eleven Plus Work
Thursday: Stimulating Eleven Plus Work
Friday: Stimulating Eleven Plus Work
Saturday: Stimulating Eleven Plus Work
Sunday: Stimulating Eleven Plus Work

Why not ask your child for an apposite refrain? After all you and your children are also progeny of the Gods. Nothing half hearted please.

Eleven Plus Fears

It only happens very occasionally – but when it does occur it is a bit of a shock. Who could imagine that a bright, alert and loving eleven plus child could actually grumble, every so slightly, about doing an eleven plus exercise?

We know that the fear of the unknown can cause tension.

Back during the First World War there was a wide spread rumour that Russian soldiers, with snow on their boots, were marching through England. The story goes that even the Germans believed the tale – and altered their plans accordingly.

H.G. Wells wrote the War of the Worlds. Orson Welles broadcast a radio program based on this book in 1938 which caused widespread panic and fear. Radio listeners were terrified to hear that the Martians were coming.

There are of course other dramatic stories and events, associated with stress that have affected mankind. We know, for example, how easy it is to transfer our stress to our dogs. A dog will alter his behaviour and even break down when the stress levels climb too high.

As the dog begins to exhibit signs of stress it is evident that there will be changes in patterned behaviour. A dog, for example, may start barking a little more often than usual. It is not hard to imagine that a dog’s resistance to stress can be lowered by factors like fatigue or drugs.

To avoid stress parents and children have to temper the eleven plus experience with a little circumspect caution. Some examples:

Don’t believe everything you hear or see about the dates of the examination and the content of the papers. (The stories may have been originated by Martians.)

Don’t let your child stay up too late at night and this become over fatigued.

If you hear a story that the new style eleven plus examinations have been set by Russians – simply apply a little caution. (Even if the Russians have snow on their feet.)

If your child starts grumbling a little more often – try not to bark at your child too much – but think of ways of covering the work without stress.

It is highly responsible of parents to fear the unknowns of the eleven plus experience. It is possible much less satisfactory if those same parents are responsible for passing their fears onto their children.

Eleven Plus Words

When our eleven plus children are working through verbal reasoning exercises they keep meeting a heritage of words from our ancient past.

Find a similar word:

After a brief interval the combat was resumed.

Fight
Game
Dispute
Argument

Combat - from Middle French combattre, and from Latin - combattere
Fight – Old English - feohtan to fight
Game – Old English gamen
Dispute - from Old French desputer and from Latin disputare examine, discuss, argue
Argument - French argument and from Latin argumentum, from arguere to argue

Just a thought – to pass the eleven plus – and pass with flying colours – it seems that some knowledge of Latin, Old English and Old French is required. The word `game’ for example was also used by the Goths – and we can all remember the consequences of the Huns, the Goths and the Vandals sweeping through parts of England.

Does this mean that a child faced with similar questions over five hundred years ago could have passed his or her eleven plus? The children may have struggled a little because William Caxton, the printer, worked on the Canterbury Tales rather than `The Official Twenty One Types of Verbal Reasoning – with special sections dealing with the Official Fifteen verbal reasoning types’. The printing press had not been invented when Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales.

When the first Eleven Plus primers were written fifty years ago the internet had not yet been invented. When Tim Berners-Lee saw the opportunity for communication through the web – back in 1989 – I wonder if he thought of the use that today’s parents and children would be making of the internet.

How many of our truly bright eleven plus children would be able to find the correct answer to this question?

Find a similar word:

After a brief interval the combat was resumed.

Feohtan, gamen, disputare, arguere

Please let us know. Some children must be able to work out at least part of the answer.

Eleven Plus Multiple Choice Questions

How are you going to help your child recognise how to do multiple choice questions? The answer is you set some rules.

Read the question and try to decide if the question is identifying something you know something about. This could help.

Don’t expect an expert eleven plus examiner to give away the answer. You, and your eleven plus child, may have to work for you answer.

Look closely at the question and try to see if there is any superfluous or irrelevant detail.

Are there any negatives in the question?

Can you recognise, and find, the distracters easily?

Can you bear to reject the obvious distracters?

How your child will remember the five points to identify the five key words

Give
Superfluous
Negatives
Distracters
Reject

This then shortens down to:

G
S
N
D
R

Or

G S N D R.

Try a few challenging questions together. Apply the five point rule. See if anything helps.

Eleven Plus and Pressure

Past and present eleven plus parents know all about pressure. Some will claim that their children can take the examination in their stride - while other parents will be faced by their children feeling miserable under pressure. The great majority of children will admit to feeling worried - but will not display any external symptoms of pressure.

In a few years time our bright and and eleven plus children will be older and faced with examinations at university. The recent report on the BBC about drugs being used to help study is terrifying.

In some eleven plus areas there is immense pressure on parents and children to win a place at the local grammar school. The BBC report "Students could face Dope Tests" suggests that older students could be tested for traces of drugs.

Think of an desperate eleven plus mother. "I will just give a little Ritalin to make sure he does as well as possible. It will calm him down. I know he worries."

Eleven Plus Development

Many discussions on the effect of the eleven plus examination on children will be drawn to how ready the children are to take the examination. Years ago Piaget outlined three main stages of thought:

1. Non Operational (Birth to two years) or sensory motor stage;
2. Pre Operational (Two to seven years);
3. a. Operational (Seven to eleven years) stage of concrete operations;
b. Formal Operations (twelve years and over).

Naturally some children will be ahead and others behind.

Stage One describes children who can not answer questions because they do not understand the principles involved.

Stage Two is a transitional stage – with grouping so sometimes answers are correct and on other occasions the children will make mistakes.

Stage Three is for children who give a correct response and show by their explanations that they have a firm grasp of the concepts involved.

Piaget was not writing about the eleven plus – he was born in Switzerland back in 1896 – long before the eleven plus was a twinkle in the eye. What he did do was provide a developmental approach to education – which is very different from the way that our present eleven plus tests look at children.

We naturally presume that most, but not all, of the children sitting purposefully for the eleven plus examination will have reached National Curriculum Level 4 – and some will even cope comfortably with National Curriculum Level Five work.

The link between Piaget and the ever changing National Curriculum must be tenuous.
I wonder, however, if it is possible to presume that some eleven plus questions require children to show that they have developed to the stage that Piaget called `Formal Operations’?

Scientist is to Laboratory as Surgeon is to ……

What about?

The (filly, child, cashier) put the (money, beer, silk) in the (bucket, case, till).

My 1932 `New Standard Encyclopaedia’ describes Teaching as:

The work of teaching offers an attractive career for both men and women. The salary is reasonably good, the hours are not over long, and the holidays are longer than in most occupations.

Not all teachers will agree with these sentiments – even though they are presented as facts in the encyclopaedia. Not all parents will agree with the limits of development argued by Piaget – because, undoubtedly, any true eleven plus candidate will swoop through the stages. Not all eleven plus writers will attempt to offer questions that require explanation – so beloved by Piaget. Some eleven plus questions just require a logical and thoughtful approach.

Find a name in this set of words:

He is just in time.

Don’t you wish that sometimes that some eleven plus questions require a bit more formal thought?

Eleven Plus Verses

Many years ago you may have read this little poem to your child. You would have enjoyed the closeness and the sentiments – and no doubt revelled in the questions and comments that followed. (Why Mum, does the night have a thousand eyes?)

The Night Has a Thousand Eyes

The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun.

The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one;
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.

(Bourdillon)

Your eleven plus child’s comprehension of the passage will have altered dramatically. It is likely that he or she will now understand the concepts and the implications of the words.

Today’s eleven plus task is to add a verses this well known poem.

The Night Has a Thousand Eyes (Through the Eyes of the Eleven Plus Family.)

The test has a thousand eyes
And the result’s but one.
Yet the light of opportunity dies
When the Eleven Plus is lost and won.

This was a bit downbeat so what about a verse that is a bit more positive?

The eleven plus has a thousand eyes
And the questions are sung
Yet the dream of fortune always flies
When

I wasn’t quite sure of how to end the verse because the words: ‘When we give the examiner a .............’ keep springing to mind.

An Eleven Plus Quiz

You have just conducted a session of work on verbal reasoning with your child. There were only two answers that both of you struggled over. You managed to solve them amicably. For once you were not informed that your partner was quicker, more able, and easier to deal with. You thought – if only I can gasp this golden apple, I may, perhaps, have discovered the secret of working peacefully with my eleven plus child.

You think to yourself. I know how to capture the moment. We can devise a little, but highly personal, eleven plus quiz.

Question 1
Which parts of working together do we enjoy the most?
a) Not fighting together over how to answer questions.
b) Doing verbal reasoning – because we are both better at this than mathematics.
c) Looking, smiling and talking together.

Question 2
Which parts of the verbal reasoning exercise did we both need to help each other with?
a) The hardest questions – even though we solved them in the end.
b) Questions where one of us lost attention – and the other the will to live.
c) The organisation and planning of the verbal reasoning session.

Question 3
Which part of working together was the hardest?
a) When I got distracted
b) When my child got distracted
c) When we were both distracted

Question 4
Which part was most helpful towards your child’s progress towards the eleven plus examination?
a) Working together peacefully
b) Sharing and solving common problems
c) Learning how to do the hard questions.

Question 5
If you had to give yourself and your child a mark out of ten – how would you score?
a) Ten out of ten for working together without drawing any blood.
b) Five out of ten for avoiding confrontation
c) This precious moment was too difficult to reduce to a mere mark. You just want to live the moment for ever and ever.

Putting a score on the quiz.

Give yourself three marks for every question you answered truthfully.

Give yourself two marks for every question you had to think about.

You only earn 1 mark for each question you did not choose to answer on the grounds that anything you said or wrote could be taken down in evidence and used against you.

Eleven Plus Rules

When your child comes up towards the eleven plus examination you need to be able to feel confident. You want to be able to say to yourself: “I have done everything I can.” Naturally you will add the rider: “Within reason.”

You don’t want to burden your child with too much work. You don’t want to provide too little. You want an atmosphere of mutual respect – and don’t desire conflict and tension.

There are those words in Hamlet which almost sum up a desired relationship between parents and their eleven plus child:

And these few precepts in thy memory
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.

Try to avoid the habit of moaning or groaning at your child. Be reasonable so that a few mistakes do not initiate confrontation. Believe your playground friends – and be grateful for their diverse opinions. Try not to engage your child in continuous eleven plus arguments. Make your eleven plus rules and make your child stick to them!

The best bit is at the end:

`Give every man thy ear but few thy voice’

Your child may want you to listen to his or her feelings and opinions which means that you do not have to try to win every eleven plus argument.

Experience and experiments have shown with assessments that there are certain key points to keep in mind.

You want your child to be presented with tasks that seems to be concrete and within their experience.

You want to present eleven plus tasks and exercises clearly and logically.

You want your child to understand the importance of the eleven plus – but not feel bludgeoned by your anxiety.

But the last word must go to Shakespeare – just look back a few lines.

Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.

If your child does upset you then do not be afraid to let him or her know.

Random Eleven Plus Thoughts

We know that there are real live people who write eleven plus questions. The questions are tested on a sample of children, checked for accuracy, graded, and then dropped into a big bowl. When an authority asks for an eleven plus test, questions have to be answered.

How many questions?
How hard?
How much time?
What percentage pass do you need?

A button is pressed, rather like the National Lottery, and out come the eleven plus questions. The numbers are selected at random – but within certain parameters. Programmers have slaved for weeks, night after night, to be able to respond to variable instructions.

“Select a sample of 50 Mathematics Eleven Plus Questions, at random, from a pool of 250 questions.”

“Construct the test so that 5 difficult, but relevant, questions are selected randomly to fill the final five spots on the paper.”

“Present the other 45 questions randomly – but allow at least one or two easy questions at the beginning of the paper.”

“In the randomisation make sure that there is no bias in the questions towards boys or girls.”

The whole idea of randomisation is to try to make sure that all possible alternatives have an equal chance of being picked. The team who wrote the tests can not pick the questions by numbers because we all know that there is a certain bias towards some numbers. We see this over and over when selecting numbers for the National Lottery.

A randomisation table is used to select numbers. Ideally the table is entered at a random point – like stabbing a finger at the table while looking away. The movement on the table is then selected in a random manner – in other words – by going either up or down or left and right.

A sample block of random numbers could look rather like this:

67 19 01 72 78
03 94 37 34 14
79 56 23 54 91
87 28 57 32 77

This block would be part of a much larger table of random numbers.

All this to say is that the questions on an eleven plus paper do not arrive by chance – but they do arrive randomly.

Choosing an Eleven Plus Tutor

Suppose you are a new eleven plus parent and you want to choose between two eleven plus tutors. You will need to set yourself the hypothesis that there is no difference between the tutors. You will need to work from the premise that both tutors will do equally well with your most prized child. You have to make the right choice. (After all there are no second chances in the eleven plus examination.)

You know that the data will be contaminated by your prior knowledge of the tutors. You will have consulted other parents for their opinions on the tutors. You will also know that any advice you are offered will be coloured by the personal experiences of your advisors. You may need to go back a generation or two to find out if the tutors have a consistent track record of success with children in eleven plus examinations.

You also need to know a little bit about the method the tutors use to teach their charges. Does one tutor start on an eleven plus paper or book and work through the questions in the order presented by the paper – or does the tutor try to plot a path towards the examination by looking at strengths and weaknesses – and then devising an eleven plus course. Does the tutor use the same method of teaching regardless of the calibre of the children involved? What do you want? Do you want your child to be taught systematically from papers or do you want your child to have wider variation?

By now parents new to the eleven plus scene will be able to throw up their hands and say: “You just do the best you can with my child.”

But which tutor might your child prefer? Your much loved child may prefer one tutor over another. He or she may work much better for one tutor than another. This factor could throw out all your careful calculations. Do you then ask for two or three trial lessons with each tutor so that your child gets a full flavour of the tutor’s disposition, strengths, weaknesses and attitudes to homework. After all if your child can enjoy a full relationship with one tutor you should be able to feel more secure about his or her willingness to learn.

As a new eleven plus parent you will need to trust the tutor of your choice. After all it is your money and your child. So you start to draw up a form of summary sheet. Naturally you present the sheet in manner much beloved by eleven plus verbal reasoning papers.

There are two tutors. One drives a red car and the other a blue car. One tutor only teaches verbal reasoning. The other tutor teaches verbal reasoning and mathematics. One tutor teaches from papers and the other prefers work sheets. One tutor comes to your house and the other tutor prefers to work from home. One tutor greets your child when the two of you walk into the room. The other tutor ignores your child but does greet you. One tutor sets homework and the other does not. There are two key questions you will need to answer:

Which tutor will your child choose?

The tutor who drives a red car and does not set homework?

Which tutor will you choose?

The tutor who comes to your house and shakes hands with your child?

The whole eleven plus experience can be quite breathtakingly fraught – or you can simply go with the flow.

An Eleven Plus Oxymoron

When pre eleven plus children are very little they expect their parents to know everything. After all the staples of life include food, sleep and place to be alone – even if only for a few seconds.

Little by little children learn that their parents are not omnipotent – and there are gaps in their knowledge. Eleven plus children become very aware of the ability of their parents to solve eleven plus problems – and explain them. I did, however, once meet an eleven plus mother who informed me (rather loftily) that she did not need to be involved with the eleven plus as that is what she was paying a tutor for. At the other end of the spectrum are thousands of mothers and fathers simply doing their best to help their child, answer the questions – and then try to explain the questions.

Children, however, have an extraordinary ability to find and exploit weaknesses in their parents. A two year old learns to hurl his body full length onto the floor of a crowded store and scream mightily. All parents will react in different ways. A small percentage of parents will distance themselves as quickly as possible from the menace – while others parents will coo sweetly and bribe the little sweetie pie.

What do eleven plus parents do if their child will not accept responsibility?

This does not mean that the child is overtly disobedient. The term `a bit too laid back’ springs to mind. This is where the art of being a parent comes into play. First of all parents have to play the sympathy card.

“After all I have done for you. I bought you new shoes for school. We have all their books and you never open them. The tutor says that you do not try hard enough. I am doing my best and what do you give me? Grief. We are all trying our hardest and you just sit there and argue with me.”


The other way of dealing with the laid back child is what is called `Direct Talking’.

“Well, I say so. I feed you. I clothe you. I expect you to do the work. If you are not prepared to co-operate, then that is fine. No T.V. No late reading. No friends to your party. If I ask you to do something I expect you to do something. Now, go to your room and start work. Or else!”

There must be some reasonably sane parents who will attempt to offer a combination of approaches. Are the words `Eleven Plus’ and `sanity’ oxymorons?

Eleven Plus Humour

For some parents getting married must have been a lot less stressful than trying to guide their children through the complexities of the eleven plus.

A single and, as yet, unattached bride to be, with her eyes on the main prize of marriage, is able to plot a path towards the big day with ruthless and flinty eyed determination. The shoes have to be the right shade of pale. The groom and the best man have to be dressed to perfection. And then we need to consider the bridesmaids. The dresses and the corsages have to be correct to the millimetre. Every one, however, listens carefully as the quite shy and unassuming bride to be becomes a martinet. “It is my big day. Please just do as I say.”

The one bit of uncertainly about the whole day is the speech of the best man. The brand new wife does not need to like the best man – but she does have to listen to his speech. Will he say anything that will destroy the serenity and purpose of the day?

Sample 1
“Family and friends.
I would call you `Ladies and gentlemen’ but I happen to know better.”

Sample 2
Some men marry for love
Some men marry for companionship
James just wanted a new toaster.

Sample 3
By the way, the best time to do the washing up
is straight after she tells you to!

Jokes about the eleven plus just don’t seem to have the same provenance.

Have you heard the joke about the verbal reasoning, the non verbal reasoning and the mathematics papers?

These forlorn words also just do not seem to have an authentic ring.

“Knock, knock.”

“Who is there?”

“Verbal.”

“Verbal who?”

“Verbal Reasoning!”

Any ideas please?

Eleven Plus Technicalities

The role of the interview plays an important part in many types of selection. Our Attorney General interviewed a new house keeper – but failed to take a photocopy of the details. The wolves have howled for blood. She has, so far, been able to keep her attackers at bay by stating that she admitted her misdemeanour – but should not lose her job because of a `technicality’.

I hope no eleven plus child is ever rejected by an eleven plus appeal board on a `technicality’!

Part of the interview process (apart from the paper work) must be the interviewer – and the interviewed – weighing up each other’s appearance.

The Ancient Greeks tried to classify physical appearance which would correspond to different types of personality. Aristotle wrote a treatise on physiognomy where he tried to predict personality patterns from facial appearance.

When an eleven plus child presents a `long face’ then parents will know that there is something untoward.

A smiling eleven plus face suggests a happy and confident eleven plus child.

When parents cast a swift glance at the face of their eleven children they must be able to determine volatile mood swings and attitudes.

Equally an eleven plus child needs only to look briefly at the faces of his or her parents – to know how to react. Is mum smiling? Has dad frowned?

It is easy to surmise that a child acquires beliefs, attitudes, habits and self image from parents. The eleven plus `self image’ must come from how parents react to their children. The relationship between a parent and a child must develop over the eleven plus year. We hope that bit by bit parents will gain in confidence. This could lead to their children feeling less pressured – and more confident.

Towards the end of the eleven plus year parents need to make sure they have completed all the paper work correctly. First of all parents to apply to the correct authority. Parents also need to make sure that they list the schools of their choice in the right order. After all the eleven plus paper work has to be correct otherwise their child may lose a coveted grammar school place on a `technicality’.

Eleven Plus Discussions

You are standing in the playground waiting for your much loved child. The discussion moves towards the eleven plus. Pretty soon the group of you display widely differing views.

“I would never force my child to do any papers. If she is good enough she will pass. If not then she goes to our local school. I do not believe in coaching children. It is so artificial.”

“Well we started two years ago. We looked at some of the questions in the 9 – 10 papers and did a few each week. Nothing serious – we were just getting used to the different types of questions. We now have a tutor and our son loves the weekly lessons. We want him to go to grammar school and want him to have the best possible chance.”

The traditional way of solving a playground argument is for all the parties to arrange a night out at the local curry house. The complimentary bottles of wine will enhance the discussion – and the tasty food will relax the inhibitions. Decision can be made. Opinions can be listened to – and then is no real reason for a purposeful agreement.

No doubt you will be lucky to find one of the mothers who is working on her Open University `Management in Education’ degree. This will help to draw up the battle lines. As the wine goes down – literally and figuratively – a work sheet will be developed on the back of napkin. The children in the newly designated eleven plus experiment will need to be properly screen at all times.

You will need a little pilot project with one or two children from each side of the divide. Of course you will also need an external moderator. Who better than the lecturer in charge of the Open University studies?

It will also be very important to take lots of care of the children on the experiment. The children will need to be told in great detail about the reason for the experiment – what will be expected of them and how long the experiment will run for. You may also need to reassure some children that whatever the outcome of the experiment their parents will not be isolated or ostracised. (Losing mothers will not have backs turned on them in the playground.)

Title
An investigation into whether children should be prepared for the eleven plus.

Introduction
Some children will respond to eleven plus preparation. Other children will not need any extra work. (It is possible now to see how the original discussion has become distorted.)

Method
Some children (subjects) are offered extra help. Others do not.)

Design
The variables will need to be stated. How many children. How much tuition.

Procedure
This will be a detailed log of all the events involving all the children.

Results
Oh dear! This will be down to individual interpretation. It was fun while it lasted!

Eleven Plus Gloom

Children are usually very trusting about their teachers, their parents and the content of examinations. After all why would the eleven plus examiners want to set questions that might trick children?

For example, we can meet eleven plus questions that belong to the family of patterns:

Every garden must have:
A: flowers
B: grass
C: trees
D: vegetables

It would be possible to have different set of questions relating to gardens:

Every garden must:
A: be at the rear of the house
B: enjoy partly paved areas
C: have a driveway for the garage
D: steps leading to the rockery

The first set of questions is about the vegetation in a garden. The second is to do with paths and access.

It would lead to a truly confusing set of multiple choice questions if the examiner mixed the two sets of questions:

Every garden must
A: have plants
B: have growing things
C: have a driveway
D: have a path

A question of this type would be testing two different areas of knowledge and understanding. Parents of eleven plus children would be right to feel every aggrieved if their children were exposed to questions where the answer was ambiguous. Was the examiner looking at vegetation or access? Finding the correct answer could be even more frustrating if the question was changed to: `Give one item must every garden have?’ Your poor child would rightly descend in a state of unbalanced gloom.

Prolonged Eleven Plus Examinations

There was a vogue at one time, and it may exist today in certain quarters, to offer candidates prepared questions. One of the premises of the prepared questions was to try to reduce stress and attempt to take away as much tension as possible on the day of the examination.

The same questions would be given as in the final examination – but the candidates could be offered two or three days to go over the questions ahead of the examination. In some cases candidates could even be offered the questions a few weeks before the actual examination.

If this form of examination was offered to our eleven plus children they then would be able to prepare in any way they wanted. Some parents would, possibly, maintain that the examination was being conducted in an unfair manner and would therefore not allow their children to see the questions before the examination. “We just want to see just how good he or she is.”

Others questions would go the other way. We could envisage a scenario where a limited number of poor children were drilled unmercifully. “No dear, we know that it is eleven o’clock but you still have three types of question to go.”

If there were a limited number of eleven plus questions then the children would be able to study the topics in great depth. If there was a multitude of topics then the eleven plus child would almost certainly have a much wider knowledge of eleven plus topics – but, possibly, with less understanding.

For a number of children the greatest drawback of the prepared question would be that the examination was stretched over a longer period of time.

Eleven Plus Advice

There will be strong temptation to keep offering advice to your pre examination candidate.

Perhaps you could be minded to remember Eric Parrott’s advice:

Advice to a Young Lady on the Subject of Alcohol.

Beware the man who keeps you late
When Mum says be in by ate,
And shun the chap who, at the Palais,
Invites you to inspect his chalais.

Behave, then, as you really ought,
Refuse that second glass of pought,
Supping unaccustomed liquor
Will only make you fall the quicor;

Drinking brandies at `The Mitre’
Is sure to go and make you titre;
And oh! That headache in the dawn
Will make you wish you’d not been bawn.

Remember then, a maiden oughter
Shun all drink, and stick to woughter.


You could for example start:

Beware the question that keeps you long
….

Eleven Plus Guessing

Some of our children have yet another eleven plus test to do early next week. In one lesson we discussed, once again, the efficacy of guessing. We put forward the following case:

If there are fifty items in the test, with only a right or wrong answer, then it is reasonably simple to work out the odds.

Range of Marks – Probability

0-50 1 in 1
25 – 50 1 in every 2
30 – 50 1 in every 10
35 – 50 1 in every 300
40 – 50 1 in every 84 000
45 – 50 1 in every 500 million.

In the present eleven plus examination children will be expecting to choose between four answers. You will have reminded them to eliminate the two answers that can not be correct. This leaves them with just two answers to choose from. If your child manages to eliminate correctly the two misleading answers – leaving a simply choice between two answers – then you and your child can work out the odds.

To guess correctly one answer there is a reasonable chance that the correct answer will be chosen. If your child has to guess all fifty answers correctly – then there is a very strong probability that some answers will be guessed incorrectly.

Of course if there is one more option – in other words four answers to choose from – then the odds for one answer out of the fifty questions is still 1 chance in 1. The odds of being able to guess the right answer correctly, however, lots of times, climbs sharply.

Try to make your child to feel that it is good to guess when necessary. The last thing you want is to do is to push your child into a corner. Perhaps the words `make an inspired guess’ should be heralded triumphantly by all sets of parents. The words `lucky’ and `inspired’ also have a certain ring.

Mothers and the Eleven Plus

Some children must regard writing the eleven plus examination as a rite of passage. Phase One would be `Before the Eleven Plus’ and Phase Two `After the Eleven Plus’. This transition from childhood into adolescence is naturally not restricted to small pockets of England. In Papua New Guinea the course of instruction for boys takes place in men’s house.

The old men, who live in the long house, teach a complicated system of taboo.

There are certain seasons when fish can be caught and eaten.

Certain foods are restricted to key feasts.

Tribal enemies are enemies of every single person.

A wife must be a mother of healthy children.

Marrying a cousin is not allowed.

Stealing is forbidden.

If a man asks for food or water – then give.

If you have a little – give a little.

If you have a lot give half.

Don’t speak bad words to mother.

Our children approach the eleven plus ready to adopt many of these precepts – but have the additional burden of a few more.

Don’t feel, or fall, ill on the day of the eleven plus.

Try to organise your time in order to finish the paper – if possible.

Try not to leave any questions out.

Listen to instructions.

Do not write on the paper – it has to be used again next year.

Do not eat sweets in the examination. This action might put other children off.

Don’t speak bad words to mother.

Different civilizations. Different customs. Different aims. Same common thought: “Don’t speak bad words to mother.”

Eleven Plus English

A large number of children, down our way, wrote an English essay as part of the eleven plus experience. To many children this must have been a great relief – because the other examination was mathematics. The children were offered a number of topics – and there must have been something for every one.

If any child experienced any difficulty then it is likely that a covering note will have been attached to the script. In the event of the written exercise being used as part of the appeal then parents will be shown their child’s work.

We know that the children will have been told to read the paper and the questions carefully. We know too that the children will have been told, before they started, to choose topics that they know something about.

Perhaps all eleven plus parents, who are the start of their eleven plus journey, could consider writing one of the following essays.

You could set your self a time limit.

You need to complete the written exercise in a specified time.

(After all, if you write a good essay you can potentially earn many extra thousands of pounds. Grammar school children are supposed to earn more.)

Here are three to subjects to choose from:

Are there any school rules you would invent, change of take out?

My Great Idea.

The Big Balloon.

Before you start writing try to make certain that you will have as few interruptions as possible. If the sun is in your eyes – then get up and do something about it. If your writing table or desk has a wobble use the time honoured method of a roll of paper under a leg. If there are distracting noises then raise you hand and complain. (Be assured that I will be listening.)

As soon as you have planned your answer, and you do need to write a plan, look carefully at your writing. Is it neat and well rounded? Have you written in black ink? (You know that black ink is easier to read.)

Have you thought about employing a wide vocabulary? After all you will earn higher marks for well written exercise with a few spelling mistakes.

Half way through the written exercise – have you looked back at your plan to see that you are following the plan?

Have you remembered paragraphs?

Just before you stop writing – read the question just once more and made sure that your ending is to do with the question.

Place your answer in a folder. Invite a few friends around for a meal. Let the food and wine flow. Then stand before your fireplace and read your story aloud. Listen to your friends. They will not hold back!

The Missing Five Eleven Plus Questions

It is mathematics and English for a large number of children tomorrow. We wish them well.

Today was verbal and non verbal reasoning. We hope it went well.

Outside of the world of the eleven plus examination we are all caught up with judging and commenting on verbal skills. Children need verbal skills to be able to express thoughts and ideas in words. Children need sound verbal skills while they are engaged in essential reading exercises. We also need words to cope with much of our daily life. Imagine a world where sport commentators were speechless. Think of parliament where the speaker could not say `Order! Order!’

When children are working towards the eleven plus they use a range of verbal reasoning skills that are not restricted to: `Find the odd one out’. Children at school, and at home, have to talk, discuss reason and argue. They watch T.V., read books and many delight in computer games.

Eleven plus children also have to develop non verbal skills that are not tested by pen and pencil tests. The manner in which a child deports himself and the gestures a girl uses to explain a tricky point are all part of the make up of a child.

All this to say is that good scores on verbal and non verbal reasoning tests may help some children win places in grammar schools. Many other children, however, will survive happily in life with very different verbal and non verbal reasoning skills.

I heard today of one of our very bright girls who was reduced to tears after leaving today’s non verbal reasoning test because she had been forced to leave out five questions. She has worked very hard towards these tests. Her parents have given her every opportunity. We hope those missing five answers do not preclude her from enjoying the academic environment she fully deserves.

Eleven Plus Practice

We were taught, when we were very young, that there was often a difference between a `c’ and an `s’. The A.B.C. of English Usage, my edition is the 1936 one by Treble and Wallins, tells us that `c’ is the sign of the noun and `s’ the verb. The same rule applies to words like advice and advise as well as device and devise.

Our concern is with the spelling of the words: `practice’ and `practise’.

The trusty Collins paperback dictionary (1995 Edition) tells us that practice is a noun and is something that is done regularly. It is the repetition of an activity in order to gain a skill.

The word practise is a verb and is something that is done repeatedly in order to gain a skill. It is also to take part in or follow – as in a religion. It could be to do with a profession or something that is done repeatedly.

http://www.tda.gov.uk/skillstestsonline/literacy/practisetest1standardtime/launch.html

Note the spelling of the word practice within this link. Did the author mean that the test is something that can be done regularly? Did he or she mean that by repeating the test one could obtain professional status? After all, teachers have to pass the test en route to becoming professionally qualified.

All of us must be wishing the children who are writing their eleven plus examinations the best of luck. We hope they have all had plenty of practice. We hope they all remember all that they have been told.

We hope the invigilators have also had practice in administering the tests – so that all goes as smoothly as possible in the examination halls.
At one time or another most mothers and fathers will have uttered the words:

“You have to practise your eleven plus papers.”

Of course if you are an American reader you won’t care less how the word is spelt because practice and practise are just the same.

All we can hope is that the eleven plus examiners give our children as fair a chance as possible and not try to trick them with unnecessarily complicated questions.

Passing the Eleven Plus

I wonder just how easy it would be to add a little creativity to the Eleven Plus curriculum. Parts of the eleven plus, like insisting on just a few different types of verbal reasoning question, must appear to be a remarkably narrow examination.

Even though creativity is not tested, our eleven plus children must already be creative in their own ways – but not necessarily in the same areas. Some will be good at dance and others at design. Some may be able to write a new song while others may be able to make something out of nothing. A local academy, for example, asks children to bring something they have designed and created when the children come to an interview at the prospective school.

Of course interviewing each prospective eleven plus child would be vastly expensive and time consuming. What happens, however, if the present eleven plus system misses a really good candidate just because he or she worked slowly through a section of a verbal reasoning paper?

Creative exercises could offer eleven plus children the opportunity to learn to find new solutions to problems. Surely that is a valuable eleven plus skill? Solutions to problems do not always come after prolonged study. Sometimes a child may solve a problem when engaged in a different activity. We will all experienced pleasure when a solution to a problem suddenly comes clear while we are working on a different topic.

A ten year old boy who is remarkably good at surfing in the sea may be potentially an excellent grammar school candidate. He may, however, may miss a place in his local grammar school because he misses a few questions on paper when he runs out of time.

An eleven plus girl, on Grade 6 on piano and flute, may remember all her passages faultlessly – but forget how to do an algebra question. It is obviously fair that girls who pass a strict examination should be rewarded. A girl, however, with exceptional talent in other areas, should also have an opportunity to have access to a successful grammar school career.

Creative attributes will emerge at the appeal stage – if a child does fail. Here the talented piano player will then need to complete for a prized place alongside a girl who missed an examination though a passing, and temporary, illness.

Perhaps there could be room for eleven plus children to fill in a form that could submitted before the examination:

Outline your accomplishments


Describe your interests


How can we solve problems of waste?

A passing eleven plus score could then take a little more into account than a pass mark on a couple of examination papers.

Do we need the Eleven Plus?

This is an interesting post.

It is good to read the opinions of others.

I really enjoy the comments follow a provocative article or speech. We are all entitled to a view.

10 Eleven Plus Tips

I was asked today for some ideas to suggest to a bright eleven plus child who is writing in the next few days:

1. Take your time on questions. Do not try to rush. Adopt a measured approach.
2. As soon as the examination starts try to stay calm. You want to complete the paper – but do not want to finish twenty minutes early.
3. Read the questions as many times as you need to understand them.
4. Follow the instructions in the questions. If you see the word NOT then re-read the question carefully.
5. You do not have to answer the questions in order. If you get struck on a section leave the difficult question – try the others then come back if you have time.
6. Don’t get too bogged down on a question.
7. Check your answer by doing the question again – if you have time.
8. In multiple choice questions eliminate answers that simply can not be correct.
9. Make sure that you are writing a sensible answer.
10. If a question is about units of measurement – make sure you think carefully about your answer.

Eleven Plus Key Thoughts

With only a few days to go to the examination in some areas parents will want to impart last minute advice with adding stress and confusion.

Take fresh piece of paper and write down your thoughts before bring them up with your child. This could help some parents to avoid the dreaded ramble.

Try not to write down – or detail - too many thoughts at this stage. Keep yourself, and your child, as focused as possible.

When you do come to offer your words of wisdom then allow your child to read what you have written. You can then leave your collected thoughts with your child.

Ask your child to add, in writing, a few comments to any or all of your key thoughts.

Try to avoid dripping the key points every day. “Oh Mum. Give me a chance. We have done that already."

Eleven Plus Multiple Choice

In some ways it is very sad that so many eleven plus examinations require multiple choice answers.

Think of the fun and games that could accrue if eleven plus children were encouraged to think and create.

A man bet his neighbour £200.00 that his horse could jump higher than his house.

The neighbour obviously took the bet - but lost.

Why?


______________________________________

_______________________________________

Answer: A house can't jump!

Think of a happy and jokey eleven plus child laughing and smiling during the examination!

Imagine the pleasure the markers would have as they read the children's responses.

Unfamiliar Eleven Plus Exercises

As children approache the eleven plus parents will trying to reinforce familiar concepts as well as attempting to continue to build confidence. Very few parents will be trying to add new topics in the last few days before the examination. The key word, no doubt, will be `consolidation'.

What happens if your child does meet something unfamiliar in the examination? Suppose he or she was faced with a question like this:

ARTAPPELSOP

Metode
1 koppie gesnyde artapples
4 koopies warn melk
2 eetlepels botter
1 teelepel sout
1 eatleepel meel
`n paar stukkies uie
peper en sout
Kook alles saam.

This is about:

a. Football rules and regulations
b. Making jewelery
c. cooking potato soup
d. instruction on building a rocket

The format is familiar. Children will know what to do. Most will not have a clue on how to answer the question.

Explain, once again, the need to eliminate answers which can not be correct. There is no mention of a ball so Football rules can be eliminated. Gold and silver are not there - so jewelery must go. That leaves cooking and build a rocket. The look of the passage is like a recipe - so the answer must be cooking.

You may care then to add elimination to the last minute instructions.

Eleven Plus Performance Evaluation

Perhaps grammar schools could also consider some form of performance evaluation as well as test results.

Evaluation Report
Date: 8th September 2009
Name: Jane Wilson
Quality of Eleven Plus Preparation: Excellent
Interest Shown in Work: Very involved and motivated
Attitude towards Parents: Co-operative and relaxed
Ability to follow instructions: Quick to grasp detail
Alertness: Promising - many favourable examples can be supplied
Punctuality: Always prepared to start work on time
Personal Appearance: Neat at all times
Strong Points: Does very well on papers – loves the challenge of hard questions
Improvement Shown: Marks on papers have improved from around 80 to over 95.

If this is a typical eleven plus candidate then this could be a useful tool for the admissions team at a grammar school. Perhaps an evaluation could be done by parents, the school and the child. Combining these results, and linking them to scores on actual eleven plus tests, could offer some children an alternative path into grammar school.

Eleven Plus Rejection

This article is worth reading. Not every one will subscribe to all the views expressed.

This article was my first view of the Comprehensive Future organisation.

Eleven Plus Mutiple Choice Questions

Many children will be writing their eleven plus examinations in the near future. Children will be sitting with their parents – and grandparents – discussing examination papers and how to cope with multiple choice questions. Sometimes the children will be offered sage advice. On other occasions the discussion could cover more frivolous ground.

Surely every family will know of stories about how examiners construct multiple choice tests. These stories are part of the lore of examinations. One story may capture the imagination of many eleven plus children. Generations of examination candidates believe that sometimes examiners use the same letter for the correct answer several times.

Question 8. C
Question 9. C
Question 10. C
Question 11. C

We would all find this a little unsettling and start worrying that our answers are wrong.

Warn your child against changing the answers even if there do seem to be a run of similar correct answers. Reassure your child that at the worst it could be two in a row and it is highly unlikely that there would be a run of four or five.

Eleven Plus Regulations

Please do not tell this story to your eleven plus child. Who knows what he or she will think and do on the day of the examination?

You will recall the story of the Oxford undergraduate. We are not sure if he has an ex eleven plus child – but we like to think so. The story describes how the student discovered an ancient regulation that allowed a gentleman to send the invigilator to purchase beer during the examination.

“The ale is only for refreshment, my man.”

“Where is the evidence?” asked the invigilator.

“Here, Sir.” The student duly produced the evidence.

“I will bring your beer.”

Naturally there was another examination on the following day. Before the student could say anything the invigilator carried in a hat, gown and sword.

“Ancient regulations require candidates to wear a hat, gown and sword at all times.”

Fair is fair.

The student had to sit through the examination wearing the full outfit.

Please make sure that the only regulations your child has to observe on the day will include reading questions twice, doing their best and enjoying good luck!

The Eleven Plus and the Number Five!

Tables are a conundrum for some eleven plus children. Should they spend the time learning their tables or should they continue to plough though endless question after question? I worked with an eleven plus child earlier this week who will score almost full marks on the verbal reasoning test but will struggle with the mathematics paper. The ten year old child reached a certain stage on a question where the number thirty seven had to be divided by five.

Quite sensibly she started counting her five times table. She became stuck when she was trying to take the thirty five away from the thirty seven.

Because she is very bright she started trying to work the question out on her fingers. We all know that we have five fingers on one hand. Her problem lay in trying to gain a mental picture of the thirty seven and the thirty five. She tried to take the seven from the five by counting off with her fingers.

There is a rather remote tribe in South America who use a counting system based entirely on the number 5.

Closer to home the Romans used 5 as `V’ and then offered us VI for six and VII for seven and so on. The Romans had their number five and then added 1, 2, 3 or 4 – become needing to think about a `0’.

Perhaps our eleven plus candidate has a true feeling for the number five. She may recall the story of the rabbits. Leonardo of Pisa gave our ancestors this puzzle:

A certain man puts a pair of rabbits in a place surrounded on all sides by a wall.

How many pairs of rabbits can be produced from that pair in a year if every month each pair produces a new pair, which, from the second month, become productive?

Now that would be a fine eleven plus question … Not so?

Eleven Plus Comments

This is an interesting take:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/01/grammar-school-phase-out-tories

Eleven Plus Poetry

When I was at school in Year 5 we had a most unlovable teacher - by the name of Mr. Green. He was disliked by the children in his class - and by his fellow teachers. I can still remember his aggression and ill temper. He did, however, make us learn poetry for homework.

He would pick on children at random, so he said, to complete the poem in turn - line by line. One poem was Cargoes by Masefield.

Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.

Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus,
Dipping through the Tropics by the palm-green shores,
With a cargo of diamonds,
Emeralds, amythysts,
Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores.

Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack,
Butting through the Channel in the mad March days,
With a cargo of Tyne coal,
Road-rails, pig-lead,
Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays.
I can still recall much of this poem today - many years on. Surely exercises on poetry of this significance would be of more use in the long run than some of the esoteric and unlovely eleven plus verbal reasoning exercises?

Think about very bright ten year old children weaving answers and conjuring images when looking at the lines like:

Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus ...

or

Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack ...

Surely the English department of a grammar school would prefer to receive children who could enjoy poetry than children who could work out how to analyse a codes question?

Eleven Plus Testing

As the eleven plus examinations grow closer some parents – and their children - must start wondering just why we should have testing. After all – is it likely that there could be a different method of selecting children for grammar schools.

Traditionally testing is done for a number of reasons. There have been attacks on testing because it is felt, by some, that test results are used for political reasons. It is very useful for a political party to be able to prove, through statistics, that progress is being made.

Testing is also very useful for organisational reasons. For many years transfer to secondary school has been a targeted area. The eleven plus examination, because there are so few grammar schools left, can only play a small part in the debate about the role of testing in primary schools.

A third reason for testing is often offered on professional grounds. It is important to recognise and have information about children at both ends of the educational spectrum. In other words children with special needs. Your very bright eleven plus candidate may enjoy the challenge of the eleven plus and may want for a little bit extra from school.

What we do believe is that children who attend grammar schools tend to do better in GCSE and `A’ level examinations than children in other forms of schooling.