An Eleven Plus Explosion

The twenty first century is witnessing an explosion of scientific and technical knowledge – much of it underpinned by the advances in information technology. Children working towards the eleven plus are able to harness some of the advances through on line tests and lessons. Parents can benefit from the ability to communicate and learn about the eleven plus through various social media forms – such as forums, Twitter, Face book and text messages. Underpinning all this activity is the strength of the playground gossip. There can be no better form of communication that a group of parents discussing a topic in those few vital minutes before and after school starts.

Whatever people learn and feel about the eleven plus it is possible that the surface has only been scratched when it come to understanding the complexity of the human brain. When we look at some of the questions that children are faced with it seems possible that some of the authors are still astonishingly ignorant of what actually constitutes ability. We talk about eleven plus ability in verbal reasoning. Is it honestly reduced to the ability to be able to follow a set of instructions? What about the children who grow frustrated by the drill of answering mundane questions? Surely some children should be offered the licence of being able to indulge in flights of fancy? This is not an argument of a posse of eleven plus day dreamers – this is plea on behalf of the gifted and talented children who want and need to be inspired and creative.

Eleven plus children need to approach the examination with a degree of humility. They need to make steady progress and absorb key facts and sequences of operations. Eleven plus children need to reason and to think. Is all of reasoning reduced to: if GREAT MEANS XLYPZ what does LZPY mean?

The final eleven plus result can be affected by emotion, anxiety and even, sometimes, panic. Eleven plus children will respond in many different ways to the pressure of the tests.

If we go back to our school days some of our class mates who were always top of the class may not necessarily have been the adults who were eventually the most successful in later life. They may have been able to please the teacher and pass examinations but may not have been happy in their later life.

“She did her best in the eleven plus and is still happy but driven,”

The Eleven Plus and The Educated Child

Aristotle was wise and venerable man He lived long ago – long before the eleven plus was a twinkle in the eye of the educators of England. He cautioned us in his first book, Nichomachean Ethics that the mark of an educated man was that in every subject he looked for as much precision as its nature permitted.

It may be apposite to feel that some parts of the eleven plus syllabus are not designed to ensure our bright and able eleven plus children enter the grammar school educated and willing to learn. Some areas of verbal and non verbal reasoning can be taught by rote and learnt by rote. They can also be executed by rote in the actual examination.

In our lessons we sometimes work from book and papers from the major and well established publishers. The child looks at a new topic with amazement and confusion. An explanation is offered. There are smiles all around. The job is done. The topic has been mastered. Life goes on. There is no room for subjectivity, analysis and real deep contemplative thought. All that has happened is that the child has added another eleven plus notch.

The eleven plus, in its present form, does not seem to be designed to guide children into making assumptions and building theoretical constructs. The examination seems to force children into absorbing a multitude of hard facts. “This is how you do percentages. This is how you do analogies.”

The papers from the major publishers somehow seem to expect children to be able to answer question after question in set times. There is no room for contemplating evidence. The child is judged by being able to answer a set number of questions in a set time.

It can be argued that the role of the eleven plus is not to educate children but to find children who can cope with a grammar school education.

Surely the role of the eleven plus should be to try to find educated children who would benefit from a grammar school education?

Aristotle also said:

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

The Logic of the Eleven Plus

The Eleven Plus seems to exist in some form of physical environment whose laws we all need to respect. We can not make up our own laws or even change the way the eleven plus operates. There is a kind of logic about the preparation for the examination the actual examination and the eventual aftermath.

The logic we are looking at is the type of logic where; “you can not get two pints into a one pint pot”.

This leaves us with the rather simplistic logic of the eleven plus. Perhaps a further example is needed. For generations men and women chess grandmasters have demonstrated the ability to play a hundred games of chess simultaneously.

Logic 1
“You can’t work on a hundred eleven plus papers simultaneously. (Even though you may wish that your child could have this very special ability.)

Logic 2
“You can’t take two hours over the examination where only one is allowed.”

Logic 3
“You can’t expect a place in a grammar school unless your child passes all the relevant criteria.”

There are very complex interactions within the time zone of the eleven plus. Children have to be ready and willing to work. Parents need to plan and work sympathetically with their child and the examination providers have to set fair and `wholesome’ examinations. Underlying all of these emotions and pressures is the stress of the examination to parents and to children.

Is there any logic in the fact that the eleven plus, by nature, engenders stress in families? The eleven plus is a unique event in the lives of families. Unique events can allow stress to blossom – but they can also defy logic. Every parent would like their child to pass and therefore challenge the laws of logic and earn a rightful place in a grammar school.

Zen and the Eleven Plus

If your child ever wonders about the eleven plus and why there is such a strong need to study and work hard you may care to look at the relationship of a Zen master to his acolytes.

A Zen monk was once enjoying his contemplation, and yet was concerned about his progress. He wanted further instruction and approached his Master.

“Would you kindly give me some instruction?”

To which the Master replied: “Have you eaten your breakfast?”

“I have,” replied the monk.

“All right, then go and clean your bowl.”

The secrets and mysteries of the eleven plus should become easier once your child has explained to you the significance of the exchange.

During the eleven plus it is essential to blend reflection and activity. Your child should understand!

Eleven Plus Habits

When your child is tackling an eleven plus question you may feel, sometimes, that the he or she is going round and round in circles. Of course it may not be your child that appears to be fixated on a certain mode of answering – it could even be others members of the family. In one sense we want a true eleven plus child to feel so well prepared that the finding the correct answer is almost a habit – but we don’t want the habit to be so ingrained that answering certain types of questions is only done in a certain way. (This is almost the same as: “But my teacher says we do it this way. I can’t do it your way.)

William James, a philosopher (1842 – 1910) stated that `habit is the flywheel of society’. Did he mean, in eleven plus terms, that a habitual approach to a problem makes it harder to break the habit and come up with a fresh approach?

Children on our eleven plus courses are often presented with questions designed to make them `think out of the box’. They are asked to measure a certain quantity of water.

A Chinese rice farmer wants to water a section of his field. He has three containers, three litres, twenty one litres and one hundred litres. The stream that runs through his paddy field provides unlimited water. How does he measure one hundred litres?

The solution, as all eleven plus mathematicians will immediately solve, is to:

Fill the 127 litre container.
From this fill the 21 litre container
Then fill the 3 litre container twice.

This leaves the desired 100 litres in the biggest container.

This provides us with a happy farmer, a well watered rice field and a neat solution.

Some members of your family will offer the solution in a flash. Others will need to read and re-read the question hoping for a solution. Some may actually understand the question while others will simply guess and then argue that their answer is correct.

If one of you recorded all the different attempts on the water question you may come up with a picture of how you, your spouse, your eleven plus child and any possible siblings approach the problem. You will naturally hope that your eleven plus child finds the neatest, the quickest and the most accurate solution.

Eleven Plus Parents

`Parentage is a very important profession; but no test of fitness for it is ever imposed in the interest of the children.” George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950).

What would Mr. Shaw think of today’s eleven plus?

`Parentage of an eleven plus child in a very important profession, but no test of fitness for it is ever imposed in the interest of the children.’

Simply adding the words `eleven plus child’ gives rise to a whole slew of options.

Parents have to strike a delicate balance between helping their child towards the examination and trying to make their child into someone different.

The eleven plus adventure should be enjoyable.

Praise, encouragement and approval will probably be more important than any censure.

The needs of parents may not be the same as those of their children.

Setting goals may help – but the goals need to be realistic.

Parents need to recognise that they have to lift the pressure off - if their child is becoming unhappy and is not enjoying the experience.

There is no test of fitness to be an eleven plus parent. The interests of the child are, however, paramount.

What Price the Eleven Plus?

Many years ago the Germans, the French the English and most of the rest of the world were at war. The war was won – the French went their way and the English theirs. Robert W. Service published his book of poems about the First World War in 1916 called `The Rhymes of a Red Cross Man.’ He dedicated the book to his brother Lieutenant Albert Service who was killed in action in France in August of 1916. I am remarkably lucky to have a very early edition of this book. One poem stands out in my memory:

The Little Piou-Piou

Oh, some of us lolled in the chateau,
And some of us slinked in the slum;
But now we are here with a song and a cheer
To serve at the sign of the drum.
They put us in trousers of scarlet,
In big sloppy ulsters of blue;
In boots that are flat, a box of a hat,
And they call us the little piou-piou.
Piou-piou.
The laughing and quaffing piou-piou,
The swinging and singing piou-piou;
And so with a rattle we march to the battle,
The weary but cheery piou-piou.

He was writing about the French Tommy who was also hurled into battle.

In the end France was liberated at great cost. The French went their way with their own style of education and the English went theirs. France has adopted a form of education where children are expected to strive and work hard. The English, in some areas, have the Eleven Plus which seeks to find children who want to get into a grammar school.

What would the men and women who died in such dreadful circumstance have thought about education today? Was it worth the sacrifice?

I worked with a remarkably bright little girl today. She treated the team of teachers and teacher assistants around her with a clear glaze and a confident smile. I like to think that those warriors from the past would have been delighted to have met her.

Eleven Plus Guarantee

Back in the Middle Ages Latin still had great prestige in international learning. Newton, for example, wrote about theory of gravity in Latin. When the apple fell on his head he may not have said:

“Oh dear!” but may have offered a Neuter Noun:

Caput a head
Capitis of a head
Capiti to or for a head
Capite by, with or from a head

At the time of the Reformation controversialists wanted to reach as many people as possible – and so English was used to try to reach the masses.

But later on national feelings gave rise to the need for English to be written for the English, French for the French and Italian for the Italians. The English speaking public `borrowed’ many words from Latin:

Client
Conviction
Recipe
Dissolve
Comet

There were also many abstract words like:

Adoption
Conflict
Imaginary

Other words an eleven plus child may encounter include:

Area
Radius

Any or all of the above words may have appeared at one time on an another on an eleven plus paper or specimen paper.

Many parents will remember from school phrases like:

Felix est rex quem omnes cives laudant.

Fortunate is the king whom all citizens raise.

It would be fantastic if we could write:

“My child passed the eleven plus.” Many of us would relearn Latin if we could guarantee a statement of this nature!

The Impact of the Eleven Plus

Would visits to museums be more interesting that working through eleven plus papers? Some eleven plus students may groan at the idea of a visit with the family to a museum. The same child would naturally cheer at the idea of a museum visit with the class. Some children would look at a visit to a museum as being akin to having yet more education stuffed into their minds. Others, however, may continue to relish the opportunity for stimulation and brushes with the past.

Museum Visit Rule One

On the way out do not linger by yet one more exhibit – say you are leaving. Find the museum shop. Spend money and leave.

Museum Visit Rule Two

Do not suggest that your child should only purchase educational artefacts – allow freedom of choice. Remember your shopping taste, and that of your child, may not be the same. Simply acknowledge the perspicacity of your child, pay the bill and move on.

There are many hundreds of museums. I can remember a fascinating visit to the Museum of Costume in the Assembly Rooms in Bath. The range of changing fashions was absorbing. Some children may be interested in the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh with its collection of toys, games and costumes. The British Museum in London has the Egyptian mummy room. This room alone should quieten a rebellious ten year old. There are many wonderful museums in London with the Science Museum a family favourite along with the Horniman and the National Army Museum. The list goes on.

Museum Visit Rule Three

Go with a strict budget. Museum shops are designed to stimulate and extend the mind. They are also set out in a way where money simply has to be spent. Education is not cheap. Before walking into the museum agree on a budget.


Museum Visit Rule Four

Add the transport, the food and drink and all the incidental but necessary purchases and balance this against a free down load of an eleven plus paper and the prospect of thirty minutes of uninterrupted peace. Which activity will be likely to have the greatest impact on your candidate? Should your child be a little more cultured and involved with the past or just an eleven plus question cruncher?

I remember Graham Hill, the famous English racing driver, who won the world championship, talking about being a racing driver:

“It is like balancing an egg on a spoon while shooting the rapids.”

Being the parents of an eleven plus candidate may sometimes evoke similar emotions.

Why Pass the Eleven Plus?

“If you pass the eleven plus you will be able to go to grammar school.”

“But mum, I am not sure if I really want to do all the work.”

“At a grammar school you will get better GCSE and A Level results. You may even have a chance to do the International Baccalaureate – and that should guarantee you a place in university.”

“But you went to university and you said that you did not get a good job straight away.”

“Well grandmother always says that Uncle Arthur was a later starter – and he did not go to grammar or university – but he is a Member of Parliament.”

“Well, Uncle Arthur is here now – let us ask him.”

“Hello everyone. Good to see all of you. Still doing that eleven plus stuff I see.”

“Please tell mum what you told me about the members of parliament.

“You know that is quite interesting. Many years ago there was a study by Hudson on the class of degrees of Cabinet Ministers. During the years the eleven plus was being established and developed (1945 – 1959) only thirty three percent of the Cabinet Ministers had first class degrees. At the same time only thirteen percent of the back benchers had first class degrees. I used that statistic in my maiden speech in parliament – when I argued that more money should be available for poor children.”

“Uncle Arthur you always lecture us. Why did grandmother call you a late developer?”

“The leaders of the country are supposed to be the brightest brains. They are supposed to be the most intelligent and have the greatest political acumen. Yet the country is often led by men and women who are not the cleverest.”

“We think that mum is the cleverest in our family.”

“Why do you say that?”

“She had us, of course!”

Eleven Plus Pocket Money

Money makes a difference for employees. As adults we can look at money for what it can buy – but also what it may seem to show about ourselves. We are told, for example, that if city bankers lost their bonuses they would all leave the city to work in more lucrative environments. If we were City Bankers, waiting for the bonus cheque, we possibly may have a different perspective on money to the rest of the world. For most of us the peripheral rewards of the prospect of a new luxury car have been crunched away in the present financial crisis. Greater brains than mine, however, have noted that pay is probably the single most important motivator used in today’s society.

We are often told, however, that wages and salaries are not always essential to job satisfaction. If, however, wages are held to be inadequate then money becomes of vital importance.

At what stage does working for money become important? At ten years old?

A percentage of eleven plus children are offered pocket money. It is not hard to surmise that some children may be offered additional money in return for working hard and doing well in the eleven plus. We talk about a banker’s bonus in terms of millions of pounds. Offering a child a hundred pounds to pass the eleven plus may seem to be wildly extravagant and totally unnecessary – but if it helps to do its job should it be considered?

A survey of eleven plus children – and the state of their pocket money – may give interesting information about how mercenary, or otherwise, eleven plus children are. Image a situation where eleven plus children could come together and discuss `The Eleven Plus and Collective Bargaining.’.

The children would be able to compare what is happening in the different eleven plus areas. The `Eleven Plus Compare’ web site could collect important information. Natural leaders would emerge – developing into the `Eleven Plus Trade Association’. Children would be able to press for periodic wage surveys. Children could unite in saying that an Eleven Plus made up of mathematics and verbal reasoning was worth more than an eleven plus with only verbal reasoning being tested.

Some fortunate children may also be able to state their views on the managerial efficiency of their parents. Is the pocket money paid by bank transfer into the `Eleven Plus Bank Account’? Do some children still need to remind their parents for their pocket money? Are some children still paid in cash – in a brown envelope? Do some parents think that an Eleven Plus bonus should be taxed?

Should children work towards the eleven plus for the satisfaction of striving towards an idealistic goal – or can and should some parents be a little more materialistic?

Eleven Plus Incentives

The spectre of the eleven plus examination may sometimes, but only sometimes, be used as an incentive to study. The incentive, however, does not lie in the actual eleven plus examination – but in the perceived prospect of actually writing and passing the eleven plus.

Sadly for some children, and of course their parents, the eleven plus can be taken only once. A child can attempt a range of different eleven plus examinations – but the eleven plus is an examination written for a specific purpose. If parents try to use the eleven plus as an incentive – and the child passes - then the child’s attitude to future examinations may be affected. If the child, however, does not pass then the child may be, at times, motivated to want to give up and take life more easily.

If the eleven plus was designed to become an incentive to study –it would not be an examination of ability and reasoning powers.

Happily, however, for most of us involved in the examination we can work off much more attainable goals.

“Let us finish the last two questions and we can all enjoy an ice cream.” This is, quite rightly, more of an enticement than an incentive. Most of us would rather be enticed than incentivised.

Seeing the Eleven Plus Light

The words: “Suddenly he saw the light” can be applied to a wide range of eleven plus adventures. Was there a sudden breakthrough in mathematics? Easy, she saw the light. Did he understand the verbal reasoning question? Naturally, he saw the light.

Sherif, in 1935, did some experiments with the phenomenon of `autokinetic movement’.

He put his subjects into a room where they were deprived of the normal frame points of reference – it was so dark that it was impossible to see the walls and the ceiling. A little tiny dot of light was presented.

It was so dark that it appeared that the light started to move. If a person was placed in the same position on several occasions then it was obvious that the person started to anticipate the movement of the light – even though the light was not moving. The person saw the light moving about the same distance every time. In other words a frame of reference had been established.

It would be amazingly easy to help your child with eleven plus work if all you had to do was place your child in a darkened room. You would then need to shine a little light onto a fixed spot. Your child may then see the light without all the bother of eleven plus tutors, books, on line tests, on line lessons and practice papers. This could change your life! You may need a few AA batteries – but think of the angst that would be saved!

Eleven Plus Non Verbal Reasoning Cubes

Some eleven plus children are able to make their own decisions comfortably and positively. Other children seem to prefer some form of committee meeting.

There are committee meetings that are essentially formal in nature. The members of the committee raise issues, speak for and against proposals – but usually have to work within formal rules of engagement. There is often a chairman and a secretary. Their role is to try to help to direct the flow of the meeting. Sometimes there will be committee members who appear to have axes to grind. Some will be ready to jump on any infringement of the rules and regulations, of course it is the chairman’s role to manipulate the proceedings to prevent decisions that are not in `the common interest’ of the chairman!

Show me any mother in the land who has not managed a family meeting. Some will see an eleven plus mother as a prime mover in harmonising proceedings.

When the eleven plus discussion moves to one’s home then it sometimes becomes the role of the hostess to gently become the informal chair person. The other eleven plus mothers may often sit in the same seats – and refer to the same topics. After all many of us are creatures of habit. Bit by bit each of the mothers will work hard to become members of the `inner group’. Too much dissention and the miscreant will not be invited again! Like their children they will need to take it in turns.

There is one emotion that does have the ability to bring a group of mothers together. The same emotion could be present in a family meeting convened to solve an eleven plus problem. The common topic uniting groups of mothers and whole families is one that could be foreign to some unfortunates. The emotion is called `empathy’. Empathy can unite families and less informal groups. There is a topic in non verbal reasoning called cubes. The cubes have to rotate and spin to allow identification of a hitherto hidden side. Rotating and translating a cube is not a skill most of us have to use on a daily basis. When cubes questions have to be solved then family and friends have to unite. We need to feel sorry for those who can not see the solution. We need to be aware of a common urgency.

The cubes chair person will emerge. (Sometimes this could be the person who owns the answer book!)

The cubes secretary will take his or her natural place.

The recipient of the cubes largess will no doubt say: “Thanks, mum, can I have a pan cake now?”

On some occasions it may not be prudent to record the mother’s response!

Eleven Plus Attutudes

We should want eleven plus children to hold the right attitude towards the eleven plus. We hope that a bright and active eleven plus child with want to argue and discuss – and we certainly do not want a passive participant. We want the eleven plus child to be able to analyse questions and debate points. The last thing a parent would want is a `foggy’ eleven plus child. Equally few parents would possibly not want a `stroppy’ eleven plus child.

To pass the eleven plus a child needs attitudes, skills and knowledge.

“I can and want to pass the eleven plus.”

“I have the necessary skills to pass.”

“My knowledge is such that I think I can solve most eleven plus problems. (To use a different terminology - `Bring it on!’)

To achieve all this some parents may have to be able to accept some form of challenge to their authority.

Children are exposed every day of their lives to the explosion of knowledge. We see, for example, children accepting and revelling in the technology and the intimacy of our live on line lessons. There are nine and ten year old children can communicate effectively in a digital world. Our role in this new world is not stuffing the children full of facts and generalisations. We want the on line children to continue to have a positive attitude to learning and to develop a battery of investigative and inquiry skills.

Our eleven plus question of the day:

Do we want a `foggy’, `stroppy’ and `challenging’ child or a `positive’, `investigative’ and `inquiring’ child?

The Eleven Plus and Little Annie

Do you remember the story of Little Angie?

Little Angie was walking with her mother down the high street. They passed a phone shop and Little Angie asked her mum for a new phone. Her mum asked her why she wanted a new phone and Little Angie explained that she wanted a pink phone.

A little later they passed a mature and comprehensive digital shop. Little Angie asked for a new ipod. “But mum my ipod is old now. The new one is much better.” The pair walked on.

Then Little Angie saw a new dress in a shop window. She had to have it. Nothing would deter her from nagging her mother into buying the latest outfit.

Laden with parcels the pair passed a jeweller’s shop. There was a delightful vase in the window. Little Angie actually burst into tears when her mother said no. To avoid an escalating scene Little Annie had her beautiful orange jar.

Little Annie then told her mother that she needed new eleven plus papers because she had completed the ones she already had. Her poor mother had to say no. Enough was enough. The family purse was bare.

The family arrived home. Little Annie ran outside and turned the vase upside down. All the orange liquid ran out. Little Annie cried and cried – and wanted the vase restored to its original colour. Sobbing disconsolately she went to her desk and saw that the only eleven plus papers were scuffed and written on. The howls grew louder.

“I will never pass my eleven plus if I don’t have the right materials. You blame me for not working but I do my best. I need new papers and you said no.”

Was the mother to mention the phone, the ipod, the vase, the dress and the papers? Was it mum’s fault or was it the fault of Little Angie? Should a third party have stepped in? Will Little Angie ever learn to look beyond the here and now?

(In the next instalment we will learn how Little Angie coped in the actual eleven plus examinations.)

Eleven Plus Mothers

Thank you very much to Calum.

Some years ago Calum gave me a book called: Kidstuff by Rogers. (ISBN 0900727780).

He continued a wonderful tradition by writing a message:

To: Mr Drury

ThaNk you for
teaching me
love
Calum.

There is one little saying in the book which may well appeal to all mothers – but perhaps especially to eleven plus mothers (or the mothers of eleven plus children).

Mummy said that
sometimes she
wishes her name
was anything
but mummy.

Eleven Plus Ideas and Incentives

Should eleven plus children be offered incentives or should bright academic children study for the simple sake of working towards a competitive examination?

“But Mum, I work hard at school, I do my homework. Holidays are holidays. I am a child. I should rest. I do not want to work over Easter holidays. I am going to my grandmother to rest – I do not want to work!”

A hospital in Norwich once ran a traditional staff suggestion scheme without much success. Someone thought of a novel idea – they used IVAN IDEA – with gifts and rewards.

The scheme produced 2500 ideas – and one idea that emerged from the scheme was to use blue paper towels instead of white ones. This saved the hospital thousands of pounds a year as blue paper can be made from waste paper.

If we asked our present eleven plus children it is likely that we could come up with thousands of ideas on how to make life in the eleven plus lane easier.

Some will have experienced the bus lane on the M4. Someone then had an idea to take the bus lane away. As a person who has travelled occasionally on the M4 during morning rush hour, I applaud the decision to scrap the lane.

Why not offer your child an incentive to see if he or she can come up with a good idea to make the perpetual scramble for the eleven plus easier. The results could be graded – some may be useful.

The same question could be asked without the offering of an incentive.

Most parents would have a pretty strong idea of the effectiveness of an `Eleven Plus Incentive Scheme’ or “IVAN IDEA 11+”.

The Eleven Plus and the China Syndrome

It would be interesting to understand how some eleven plus parents view their children. The China Syndrome gives an opinion on some parents and their relationships with their children.

The Eleven Plus and the Class Teacher

When parents want to help their children towards 11+ it is essential that they work together with the school’s teachers. Try not to counter anything, in front of your child, that you will hear from the teacher in case you confuse your child. You might even land up with your child feeling an element of divided loyalties.

We know that most children working towards the eleven plus need guidance and encouragement. When you say: “You have done really well today, I'm very pleased with you,” you are setting your child up towards feeling positive about the examination.

We all respond better to the carrot and stick.

Read carefully any literature that you can find about the 11+. Remember, however, that the opinions expressed are often those of individuals and are not necessarily appropriate for your particular geographical area or the actual 11+ examination that your child is about to take. Even the opinion of experts can be misleading for your individual needs - or even worse - subject to misinterpretation.

Attending a parents’ evening at school can be an invaluable way of gaining information. This is not the moment that you want to argue a point with the class teacher but it is a time to listen to what the teacher says. The teacher may be very busy on a parents’ evening but you can take the opportunity to make an appointment.
If you do have a problem with your child's teacher then try to tackle it directly with the teacher. Naturally it is most important that you gain as many ideas and viewpoints from your family and friends, but the teacher in the classroom is in a position of responsibility and should be offered the respect that the position demands.

The content of an 11+ syllabus is very hard to pin down and if you find it difficult to establish exactly what is involved then you are probably not alone. The 11+ authorities are under no obligation to give you information about the content of the examination. Naturally, however, there will be some information in the various documents that the authorities see fit to publish. Forums are often an invaluable source of additional information.

Passing the Eleven Plus

Children with educational problems are faced with mountains to climb as soon as a start is made on formal eleven plus work. Some of these children may have arrived at school prepared for prescribed learning – but unready to cope with some of the developmental demands. Before a child, for example, is able to recite the alphabet many different educational blocks have to be in place.

We presume that eleven plus children are intellectually ready to cope with the demands of the eleven plus – but what about what else has happened in their lives? Have they come from a very big class, does the school believe in the eleven plus or is everything all right at home?

Of course parents hope and pray for an early diagnosis of any educational problems. They then hope that the school has the necessary resources to be able to offer their child the help that is needed.

It is unfortunate for many children with problems that the eleven plus is still regarded as an examination that needs to be passed. There can be very few extenuating circumstances if a child has not reached the required levels.

It could be fairer to a small group of children if they could be thought of as special cases – needing nurturing and consideration. There must be some children who should not have to hear the dreaded words:

“I am sorry but our school is full. We have enough children who have passed the examination to fill our classes. We simply do not have a place for you. We are sure you will be happy in another school”

Eleven Plus Friends

For some children the eleven plus journey is held quietly in the secrecy of the home. Some parents, we understand, prefer not to talk about the eleven plus to other member of the public. Other parents appear to choose to communicate in all manner of different ways about the progress their child is making towards the eleven plus. Forums, blogs, twitter, dinner parties, playground chats, meetings with teachers and formal discussions will all have played a part in the desire to listen, learn and communicate.

Some children will meet up with other eleven plus candidates in lessons, courses, and even classes at school. Naturally there must be some discussion on the eleven plus. The attitude of parents to the examination may come up in discussions. Some parents may love to be a fly on the wall –while others will be eager not to know.

What can parents say to their children about communicating with other children about the eleven plus?

Listen to what you hear. You may learn something.

Show an interest in what the others are studying – this may help you solve some of your problems.

Have a laugh together about your parents – this is not being disloyal to the family – it is to do with building bonds with your fellow candidates.

Keep in touch with your eleven plus friends about what is happening as the eleven plus grows closer.

Explain that sometimes other children may have different points of view about the eleven plus – and that you should not make fun of them.

2012 and The Eleven Plus

The Olympics are growing ever closer. There are four jumping events – two horizontal and two vertical.

Olympic Long Jump Final Stages
Each competitor is allowed three jumps and the best of the three counts.

Olympic Triple Jump Final Stages
The longest jump of the three by each competitor is the winner.

Olympic High Jump Final Stages
Each competitor is allowed three attempts at the height. If he or she fails three times the competition is over.

Olympic Pole Vault Final Stages
Three failures at any height means that the competitor has to drop out.

Eleven Plus Mathematics
Your child is allowed one attempt at a paper. Too many mistakes and the hope of a grammar school place is withdrawn.

Eleven Plus Verbal Reasoning
Just one chance - too many wrong answers and the Standardised Score will not be reached. There will be no Eleven Plus Pass.

Eleven Plus Non Verbal Reasoning
Stuck for time? Grammar school is no longer an option.

The Eleven Plus is not a sport – but it is a competition. In the finals of the Olympics competitors are given more than one chance. In the final of the Eleven Plus there is only one chance.

Olympic athletes train for years, in some countries public bodies help to pay the fees and training costs. Eleven Plus parents have to pay the lot. There is no universal or standardised system of supporting parents. (Some parents may argue that it is all a bit hit and miss.)

Olympic athletes do the hard work for glory and money. Eleven Plus children do the work for the chance of a place in a chosen grammar school.

The Eleven Plus and A.D. 826

We can go back to the Seventh Century to find schools established by the Church as Grammar Schools. Some of the schools were established only for the children of the laity. Other higher schools were also for the clergy – but there were lessons that were of interest to those who were not going to enter holy orders. The General Council in 826, for example, wanted schools that also taught grammar and the liberal arts.

The major cathedrals had `song schools’ and a grammar school for the education of the professional classes. Lessons took pace on astronomy and ecclesiastical arithmetic. Children were also taught rhetoric, singing, about animals and birds as well as different kinds of numbers and geometrical figures. In some schools law was considered to be an important subject. Back in those day educators were looking ahead!

There have been many reports over the years about the value and the nature of education. There have also been many different attempts to modernise schools and prepare children for leaving school. As universities have become more expensive the pressure on apprenticeships seems to be growing. Our brighter school children are being advised to avoid soft `A’ level subjects if they want to gain admission to a `good’ university. One of our assistants is taking the Internal Baccalaureate with a view to going to university. She wants to follow a degree focusing on Public Sector Management. The day of the gifted amateur being able to run big businesses and take responsibility for the public sector seems to be over. The continual cry is for qualifications and experience.

I suspect, without any hard evidence, that many parents, quite rightly, simply want a grammar school place for their child. I bet, however, that there were many parents back in 826 who also simply wanted a place for their children in a grammar school.

Eleven Plus Anxiety

There is a difference between `Eleven Plus Fears’ and `Eleven Plus Anxiety’.

Fears are a state of apprehension which focus on isolated and recognisable danger.

Anxiety is to do with different states of tension – which can magnify and appear to cause the illusion of danger.

In today’s world a banker may fear that he will lose his bonus. The idea of having to live on a salary may, however, cause considerable anxiety.

Franklin D. Roosevelt made a simple but magical statement: “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance”.

He was not talking about the fear of danger – but about the anxiety that was besetting the United States back in the 1920s with the source of money drying up and job losses. History does tend to appear to repeat itself!

In very young children, however, fear and anxiety may seem to be almost indistinguishable. By the time the child reaches the Eleven Plus stage, however, it is hoped that we can call some of the apparent fears under a different name – `Eleven Plus Anxiety’. An eleven plus child may then fear that there will be questions that can not be answered – but will be anxious about the outcome of the examination.

A parent’s role is then to try to remove as much fear as possible – and also to try to reduce as much anxiety as possible.

Carrots, Sticks and the Eleven Plus

Many eleven plus children are prepared with a teacher on a one to one basis. Many other children are taught by their parents. Some children prepare all by themselves. Other children are taught in small group situations. Sometimes small group teaching is administered on an individualised basis while others are taught as a group.

A number of parents will try to influence the development of their child’s eleven plus progress through incentives, interest and goal orientation exercises.

Step One
Build your child’s self esteem.

Step Two
Consider the social dynamics of any or all of the teaching environments mentioned above and decide on what is best for your child.

Step Three
Think about the relationship of the chosen eleven plus teacher, if you have one, to your child.

Consider your relationship with your child – and how that will change and grow over the months.

The question of your child’s self esteem is an important but subtle factor in the build up to the examination. Your child wants to feel that he or she can cope with eleven plus work as well as other eleven plus children. You hope that your child feels, at times, that he or she may be better than most of the competition. Approval by others is probably vital to most eleven plus children. I have even heard of eleven plus teachers developing a `star’ system to try to keep rewarding their children. It is likely too that some parents are rightly proud of their own form of a star system. The goal would probably be, in most cases, to try to keep motivating and involving their child in the eleven plus process.

For some parents a carrot works better than a stick.

Other parents will rely on sticks rather than carrots.

Some will use a combination of carrots and sticks.

The carrot versus stick scenario will not even enter the mind of some parents.

There can not be a right way or a wrong way – just what ever works!

Pigs, Horses and the Eleven Plus

Some children appear to be able to sail through an examination and `take it in their stride’. Other children seem to fear an examination. Is eleven plus fear to do with what will actually happen in the examination – or the consequences of failure? Could it be a combination?

Fear is as old as humans have been on this earth. There can not be a culture or a creed where fear does not play a part. We can think of babies fearful of loud noises. Fear of the unknown must play a part through the lives of most of us. Some very fortunate people are able to block fear. Others seem to thrive on fear and go on to achieve great things.

In some ways we are fortunate man does not needs to rely on fear as much as animals and birds appear to. Yet as adults we sometimes use fear to try to mould and direct children. I once heard parents telling their child that if he did not pass the eleven plus he would be sent back to the `home’ country to live and work in a boarding school. I know of a different family that actually did that!

Fear has many manifestations. The story goes that there was once a group of wise men and women at a state dinner who argued about the number of teeth in a horse’s mouth. The topic came up because the dinner included a pig’s head on a plate. The teeth, in this case, were there to see. None of the guests were prepared, at that moment, to find a horse and count the teeth. Some of the guests may have been prepared to put their hand into a horse’s mouth to count the teeth – others may have been a little more fearful. The mouths of how many horses needed to be counted?

All this to say that no matter how carefully some parents try to convince their children to banish fear in the eleven plus – the fear may continue. Eleven plus fear may diminish in time through doing papers and exercises but for some children the fear of the act of writing the examination may continue before during and after!

Some parents may care to ask their child about eleven plus fear. Is it easier to open a horse’s mouth, press the tongue to one side, and count the teeth or struggle with a few eleven plus questions? Ask your child how many mouths would have to be opened before deciding that the teeth counting results were fair? Ask too about how much age had to be taken into account. Does a foal have the same number of teeth as a mature horse? Will an eleven plus paper dribble all over you? Can an eleven plus paper bite? Ask your child if he or she would rather count teeth in a stuffed pig’s head on the dinner table or in an open field with a semi wild horse? Ask then if an eleven plus paper under examination conditions may not be an easier exercise.

Eleven Plus Probability

One wonderful aspect of the eleven plus is the ability of the examination to generate debate. We are bombarded with opinions, ideas, rumours, facts, fiction and truth. The influence of social media sites are growing in importance. Some topics seem to bubble away under the surface only to emerge by being triggered off by a remark or a statement. Some elements of the ongoing eleven plus debate appear to be annuls and others perennials.

There seems to be endless discussion as to what sort of parents want their children to do well in eleven plus examinations. (Is she really a pushy mum?)

Will too much or too little pressure leave permanent effects on a child’s personality and development?

Should there be far more notice of the feeling and emotions of eleven plus parents?

What changes in advice have been offered to eleven plus parents over the past fifty years?

Is there one best way for a parent to adopt in trying to help their child prepare for the examination?

Do some eleven plus parents feel neglected and out on a limb?

We were doing probability today – and tried to use the example of a weather forecast.

This morning there is a chance of light rain. The rain will die away in the afternoon leaving a sunny and clear evening.

Probability is used to try to predict what is likely to happen. The probability scale runs from `0’ to `1’.

0 - Unlikely
Half - even chance
1 – Certain.

It is certain that there will be some pushy eleven plus parents.

There may be an even chance that some children will be affected by pressure from their parents.

It is unlikely that the examination will ever take into account the feelings and emotions of parents.

The outcome of the examination should influenced by the toss of a coin! (Use Twitter, Facebook and Blogger to discuss)

Eleven Plus Debate

One way parents can unite to ask for an investigation into the fairness and the efficacy of the eleven plus is to develop into some form of a coalition. We have, at the moment for example, a coalition of some considerable stature engaged in running the country. The success or failure of this form of this coalition will be determined, in time, by the ballot box. An eleven plus parent coalition could also, in theory, represent a form of democratic view.

There used to be a much wider range of grammar schools – but some of these schools changed the way they were governed to become comprehensives. Today there may be a number of grammar schools who could even be contemplating developing into Academies.

If parents wanted more grammar schools they would need to be granted a significant stake. An effective `uprising’ of parents would need strong incentives for participation. There seems to be, at present, little stomach by the various political parties to engage in vigorous and meaningful debate. It may be unhelpful, at the moment, to engage in a debate where there is no clear end point.

Who then can promote and develop a campaign to ask for an investigation into the present eleven plus? We know from history that there will always be leaders.

We probably all remember the story of Jason and the Argonauts. He had to plough a field and then sow the teeth of a dragon. The teeth grew into warriors. Someone threw a rock into the warriors who began fighting with each other. The warriors went on to defeat each other.

Would an eleven plus coalition grow into an eleven plus army? Would the ensuing coalition become so divisive so as to start destroying any goodness that may ensue? We may need to find a hero and a right hand person. Remember Horatio trying to defend the bridge? Three men stood on a narrow bridge to fight against a thousand.

In yon strait path, a thousand may well be stopped by three:
Now, who will stand on either hand and keep the bridge with me?'

Perhaps one day an Eleven Plus Horatio will emerge. What we are not sure of, until we hear the debate, if there is any point at all in looking into the present eleven plus system. There may be nothing wrong at all.

Eleven Plus Harmony

We are now deep into half term. It may be as well to remember the technique of non interference that was practiced by David Wills in his experiments. A camp was established by the `Society of Friends’ for unruly adolescents. Two principles governed the enterprise:

Do not force your discipline onto any miscreants.

Being free and having to discipline oneself can be a burden.

The technique was employed to try to promote less hostile and more co-operative attitudes.

This needed courage on the part of the organisers.

If any eleven plus parents have any similar experiences they may care to share with us - we would love to hear.

Eleven Plus Half Term Rules

No child will be forced to do an eleven plus paper.

No adult will engage in any form of argument with their eleven plus child.

Will these two points make for a more harmonious holiday setting?

An Eleven Plus Campaign

We were taught in history that Napoleon Bonaparte was an unfortunate man who caused much grief and upset across Europe. His ambition was to conquer the world. The aspiration was arguably correct – it just his methods were hopelessly cruel and thoughtless.

He loved playing with toy soldiers as a boy and had a wide collection of tin soldiers. He organised fights against other groups of boys. When he went to a Paris Military school he spent his free hours studying military history and planning battles.

His mother sent him off to a girls’ school, at one stage, to try to calm him down.

He did not like spelling and his handwriting was incredibly untidy. A professor once described his ability with languages as `granite heated by a volcano.’.

His family did not see him as a genius but looked at his misshapen head and decided that he would have an insignificant future. Little did they know!

Where then is the connection between Napoleon and the eleven plus? It is more of a cautionary tale than an uplifting and inspiring story.

If your child suddenly takes an interest in reading too many military book – then a tiny little warning flag may need to be raised.

Spelling and handwriting problems? Your child may be a doctor not a war lord!

Language ability? I enjoyed the phrase `granite heated by a volcano’. This does tell a story!

A misshapen head? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The ability to plan and co-ordinate a series of extraordinary military campaign show many of the skills that seem to be inherent in the present eleven plus. As parents, however, you want an eleven plus genius not a military genius!

The Isolation of the Eleven Plus

The eleven plus is a strange examination in today’s world of enlightened education. The `Eleven Plus Authorities’ see their main role as organising an examination that uses tried and tested assessment techniques. The eleven plus examination is not designed to cater for the needs of the underprivileged or the special needs of the less able. The eleven plus is unashamedly an examination where the first few past the post win.

It would be unwise to link all the teachers and tutors concerned with the eleven plus as a single homogeneous body. But the very nature of the examination must hinder any new developments in terms of the need for new and fresh approaches to ability. Why should anyone at all want to promote a fresh approach to the publication and dissemination of new eleven plus materials before there is a substantial shift of opinion as to what constitutes ability?

For those actively engaged in teaching eleven plus children it can be an exciting and eventful journey. It is wonderful to see how bright and able children meet the challenge of the wide range of eleven plus material that is available. We are sometimes blessed by a child or children who bring in materials that have been downloaded from the internet. An example of this is sometimes found in analogy questions. An analogy is an analogy – but some publishers and authors seem to try to make questions not only demanding but wildly obscure.

It is possible to meet analogies, for example, in both verbal and non verbal reasoning exercises. An eleven plus analogy looks at a set of words (verbal reasoning) or symbols (non verbal reasoning) and encourages the child to try to apply this relationship to other words or symbols.

The questions that are set in the actual examination are tried and tested. The children are not faced with a pile of esoteric questions because each question has earlier been used with a group of children of a comparable age and level. The examination is fair and carefully controlled. An open licence is, however, offered to anyone - through guise of the internet – to allow anyone to set themselves up as purveyors of `invaluable, essential and carefully controlled’ practice questions.

Is the eleven plus a sacred cow? Is it carefully protected and carefully managed? In the minds of some, however, there must be a slightly uneasy feeling about an examination that is undertaken in isolation from what is happening in a number of schools.

The Quicksand of the Eleven Plus

We were doing compound words today and a rapid fire discussion came up with a wide range of suggestions. A word that was mooted, rejected and accepted was `quicksand’. An explanation was offered and considered. Quicksand quickly became a primary topic.

The general consensus was that quicksand should be avoided because it could be fatal. What could be done if one did land up in quicksand?

Step 1
Don’t panic too much. Lie back in the mud with your arms outstretched. This could help to distribute the weight.

Step 2
Keep your haversack on as this could help with buoyancy.

Step 3
Try, very slowly, to pull your feet out of the mire. Don’t make any fast movements at all.

Step 4
Use your arms and legs as paddles and move slowly.

Some of the children understood the moral of the discussion very quickly. Your son or daughter may understand the need to move slowly in parts of the examination – and to think before any uncalled for movement of the pencil on paper.

The word `quicksand’ may remind your son or daughter to try to keep his or her head above water – and not to panic – unless it is absolutely necessary.

In the country side quicksand can be recognised by back stretches of ground with little vegetation.

In an eleven plus examination quicksand can be recognised by losing concentration and not reading the questions carefully and thinking clearly.

In the country side quicksand is found, sometimes, under green expanses covered by moss.

It is very difficult for a child to carry a stick into an eleven plus examination – but if he or she did then the physical passage of the stick into the examination may be mired in the quicksand of disbelief.

“Why are you carrying that stick into the examination?”

“My Dad said so.”

“Why did your Dad tell you to bring a stick into the examination?”

“In case I got stuck in potential quicksand areas. The stick is to remind me to move slowly and carefully and to read questions carefully.”

“Oh well, I suppose it can’t harm. Come on then, but be very careful.”

Common sense will, in the end, prevail.

The Temperature of the Eleven Plus

We were working on graphs yesterday – and one graph came up converting Celsius to Fahrenheit and back again. Our rather eccentric science teacher at school used to get quite emotional about an apparent misuse of terms. He used to refer to Celsius as Centigrade. We will all be able to remember from school that Centigrade was devised to divide the temperature between freezing and boiling points of water into one hundred equal parts. As a science teacher he liked the exactness and the formality of the experiment. He just did not like the new name `Celsius’.

We were also regaled with stories about Galileo who noticed that when alcohol was heated in a narrow glass tube it expanded and rose in proportion to the increase in temperature. As school children we were upset that we could `play’ with boiling water but were not allowed to use alcohol in experiments. Life can be very unfair when you are at school in a science lesson.

Fahrenheit was a physicist who developed the temperature scale for a mercury thermometer. He was going to fix the blood temperature of a healthy man at 12 – but needed a more accurate scale. Water froze at thirty two degrees and blood at ninety six. Later on `normal’ blood temperature was refined at 98.6 degrees.

It was only in 1948 that Centigrade was renamed Celsius after a Swede Anders Celsius. The books we used at school were old. Our science teacher was old. The act of conversion lives on today.

Your eleven plus child may need to know that to draw and interpret a conversion graph you need two values. It is unlikely that an eleven plus child will be expected to remember that 0 degrees Celsius = 32 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 degrees Celsius = 212 degrees Fahrenheit. What then could be a possible question interpreting a conversion graph?

Degrees Celsius – from 0 to 100 - would be on the `x’ axis.

Degrees Fahrenheit – from 0 to 220 – would be on the `y’.

A straight line graph could be plotted.

The eleven plus question could be:

Change 60 degrees Fahrenheit to Celsius.

A boy we are working with is aiming at a top eleven plus pass. He joined us with mathematics at Level 5B – so it was evident that his mathematics was strong enough to pass the eleven plus with very little intervention. He does, however, enjoy the challenge of demanding and interesting questions.

We just hope that when he reaches the grammar school he is actually allowed to heat and experiment with alcohol. The fact that we were denied this opportunity has rankled till today.

The Eleven Plus and the Magpie

The birds have been enjoying our garden as winter slips into spring. There is a wonderful bird food product which the birds enjoy – and the seeds do not leave any unwelcome growth. If only life was really that simple.

At one stage, just as the eggs were boiling for breakfast this morning, there were twenty three birds actually on the ground. There must have been far more in the garden as the trees around were alive with movement and sound. We then saw, for the first time ever in our garden, a magpie.

It was only when I looked the bird up in The New Birdwatcher’s Pocket Guide to the Britain and Europe (ISBN 978-0-7537-1454-6) that I saw that I should have noticed the tail. The plumage, however, was decidedly black and white.

We all have views on the Magpie – they are well known as scavengers and predators. Considerable folk lore has built up about the birds. There are many variations on the rhyme – but this old Scottish rhyme does paint a scary picture:

“One’s sorrow, two’s mirth,
Three’s a wedding, four’s a birth,
Five’s a christening, six a death,
Seven’s heaven and eight is hell,
And nine’s the devil his ane sel.”

The actual name Magpie may have developed from a contraction of maggot-pie or magata-pie. I am not sure what the reference to maggot-pie refers to. Is the bird alive or is it to do with the bird eating carrion?

I did Macbeth at school – and words still ring in the mind. We were made to learn great chunks of the story by heart both at primary school in Year 6 and when the English examinations came later on.

Act III Scene vi.
It will have blood, they say: blood will have blood.
Stones have been known to move and trees to speak;
Augurs and understood relations have
By maggot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth
The secret'st man of blood. What is the night?

There are some eleven plus children who would revel in the thought of all that blood dripping steadily – but maggots in pies? That would be going a bit too far for most of us.

We are remarkably fortunate that we work with some extraordinarily bright nine, ten and eleven year old children. It would be fascinating to hear some of them give opinions as to why one magpie could summon sorrow to the watcher. It would also be interesting to introduce the story behind Macbeth’s preoccupation with blood – then ask for an analysis of the few lines from Act 111 mentioned above. For some very bright children a discussion of this nature may be far more invigorating than finding seventy percent of sixty. (And seventy percent of thirty, and seventy percent of fifty, and seventy percent of eighty and seventy percent of more and more.)

The Eleven Plus and elessons

Today’s Year 5 elesson lasts for 40 minutes and has three elements.

elearning lessons should start on time because there are usually a number of parents and children involved. Some parents stay with their child throughout the duration of the lessons. Others are confident to leave their children and walk away.

The elessons are aimed at allowing children use their computers to full effect. The lessons do not, at the moment, embrace games technology, as feed back from parents has indicated that they would prefer their child to simply get on with a lesson – and leave the games for a different occasion.

Some lessons revolve around one topic – especially when something new or demanding is introduced. Other lessons, like todays, cover more than one topic. There is, however, one common element – the lesson has to be fast moving. To day we are looking at:

Nouns
Tally Charts
Area and Perimeter

The children will be able to write on the screen, chat to the teacher, draw pictures and make observations. This is classroom teaching with a little bit extra – the introduction of demanding and challenging technology.

We are using Microsoft Live Meeting as the vehicle. We looked at seventeen different packages and applications before coming back to live meeting. Some parents are very familiar with Live Meeting – as they use this at work. We wanted a universally accepted package. We have been able to integrate Live Meeting into our self built learning platform – to make the booking of the lessons and the delivery of the lesson as seamless as possible. We know of one remarkably able nine year old girl who manages the booking of the lesson and logging on to participate in the meeting with remarkably little input from her parents.

So far so good!

The Eleven Plus Factory

Would a largely informal teaching session with an eleven plus child develop a child who is able to think divergently? Would it be also likely that a formal lesson, from a formidable eleven plus teacher, helps a child think in a convergent manner in the examination?

It is possible that any results of a major investigation into the effectiveness of eleven plus teaching would be largely inconclusive. Having said that there must be a reason why some eleven plus children do very well under one form of teaching.

In recent years the traditional picture of an eleven plus teacher arriving on a bicycle to teach a lesson - with a basket of books on the front handlebar – may have been superseded by an image of a savvy child surrounded by eleven plus videos, on line tests, computers, ipads and the like. Does the teacher with a basket get better results than a teacher who arrives with a wireless enabled laptop?

Once parents have made their choice about the combination they are going to use when preparing for the eleven they are not so concerned about good teachers versus bad teachers. After all their eleven plus child at times may need a firm hand – and other times the freedom to think, plan and scheme. Some parents may prefer a deep rooted formality in the lessons – others will hope for a freewheeling informal approach.

There must, however, be a striking difference between a child who is a receptive but passive learner when compared with a child who is prepared to `self initiate’ the learning process.

We can look back on our own educational experiences – and some of us may feel that a formal approach to eleven plus teaching is rather like the classrooms of yester year. A divergent approach to some eleven plus questions may prove wildly successful because the child feels that he or she can be adventurous and inspired. The `Eleven Plus Factory’ is then not turning out page and question turners – but lively and engaged children.

I have just downloaded this book onto my Kindle, having read this synopsis. It does seem a wonderful story. (Paste the ISBN into Amazon)

Sadness of Lemon Cake
Aimee Bender 9780099538271
£11.99 55% P
________________________________________
The US bestseller comes to the UK - the unforgettable story of a girl whose magical gift becomes a devastating curse. On the eve of her ninth birthday, Rose Edelstein bites into her mother's homemade cake and to her horror discovers that she can taste her mother's emotions in the slice. Suddenly food becomes perilous - anything can be revealed. But as she grows up, Rose realises there are secrets that even her tastebuds can't discern. Profound and funny, wise and sad, this is a luminous tale about the heartbreak of loving those you know too much about. It confirms Aimee Bender's place as a writer whose dazzling prose illuminates the strangeness of everyday life.

What would happen to your management of your emotions if you understood that your eleven plus child could understand everything that you really meant? What would it be like if your child could comprehend the inner significance of your feelings?

You would not be able to say to yourself, even in jest, “Is this really my child?”

You would not be able to even think – much less show any frustration with your child – other wise you may give him or her the dreaded `eleven plus complex’.

You may, at times, need to slow down your ability to multi task. You can not think of the food shopping for tomorrow, the answer to Paper 3 Question 39, how you will be able to arrange the transport to a party on Saturday as there will only be one car and how on earth you got involved in this eleven plus lark. The wholesome food your child is nibbling on may become emotionally alive.

We just need to read the last line of this review: “a writer whose dazzling prose illuminates the strangeness of everyday life”.

These eleven plus musing may seem fanciful – but fact is sometimes stranger than fiction. If your eleven plus child reacts to your emotions in any way what so ever please let the rest of the world know. You may be onto something really good.

You could be the one who is supremely happy with your child.

You and your child may love the challenge of the papers.

You may really enjoy life at the moment. Success is achievable.

The eleven plus may prove to be the start of something rather wonderful for you.

Enjoy, and keep smiling, and, once again, please let all of us know your feelings.

Getting On with the Eleven Plus

Our family Doctor, many years ago, used to say to each of the members of the family: “What makes you think there is some thing wrong with you?”

This approach was used through malaria, dysentery and a broken leg to name but a few putative aliments and disorders..

Dr. Ritchen had strong views that man would, in time, heal themselves. Our family stayed with the good doctor for years and years.

Education recognises a branch called `Psychosomatic Development’. This covers, very broadly, the development of a child from birth to maturity. It attempts to indicate how a child progresses and matures as the body, language and the mind grows.

Parents of eleven plus children, hoping for examination success will also be aware of tremendous changes in their child during the eleven plus year. There is, however, room for just one more spoke to be examined in messy detail.

Side One

“What makes you think that you do not have to do any eleven plus work today?”

“What makes you think that you only need to spend ten minutes on eleven plus work today?”

“What makes you think that you need help with every question? Why can you read the questions carefully?”

“What makes you think that helping you is more important that putting the dinner on the table for the whole family?”

Side Two

“What makes you think that I actually want to do the eleven plus examination?”

“What makes you think that I can actually do these questions?”

“What makes you think that I want to go to that school?”

“What makes you think that I care?”

In any good relationship there is often the third element. We have learnt from psychosomatic medicine the value of positive thinking and mind over matter. An ideal situation could be a child thinking positively about the eleven plus. A further twist could be the child ignoring a need to take a break, collect a drink, check on the hamster and engage in a `mini eleven plus merits discussion’ to want to simply settle down to complete the task in hand and `get on with it’.

Eleven Plus Attitudes

There is one kind of test that can be used to monitor the opinions of eleven plus children and that is the verbal stimulus test. For a test of this kind there is no need to arrive at the right answer – as only the attitude to the topic needs to be discussed.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson enjoy a family of two children. They live in a cul-de-sac with open fields beyond. Their children are used to playing with their friends in the fields and within a small nearby copse. Three of the families in the cul-de-sac are involved with the eleven plus. Parents are split on the degree and amount of work that is needed to be done before the eleven plus.

Should the families work together?

a) Engage a tutor to meet the children on a regular basis
b) Share eleven plus papers and exercises
c) Create opportunities for the parents to meet on a regular basis.
d) Share transport and drive the children to a common venue for eleven plus tuition.

Should the families discuss the eleven plus?

a) Ignore the eleven plus and only chat about other common interests
b) Refuse to acknowledge that one of the three children is clearly destined for grammar school.
c) Seek to find their own tutors
d) Decide on a `do it yourself eleven plus’.

The questions are necessarily open ended – and are certainly not intended to be turned into a verbal comprehension exercise. The children can also be asked their opinions.

Should you work with your friends towards the eleven plus?

a) Should you work on your own or will the other children put you off?
b) Should you share papers?
c) Do you think that children should do extra work for the eleven plus?
d) How important is the eleven plus if you pass and they go to a different school?

Nursery Schools and the Eleven Plus

The 1926 Hadlow Report on the Education of the Adolescent was concerned with the urgent need to make better provision for the education of boys and girls after the age of eleven. A school leaving age of fifteen was recommended. The Spens Report of 1938, which looked at Technical Education and Grammar Schools, suggested a school leaving age of 16.

The Next Step was the 1927 Report trying to raise awareness of the needs of the pre school child. In those days there appeared to be little willingness to feel that the needs of children under the age of five were important.

The Next Step felt that the educational system should look beyond the physical welfare of children. It must be recalled that some areas in England were, in the late 1920s, veritable slums. There were many people, with a social conscience, who felt that the price of civilisation must encompass the education and development of young children.

To achieve changes in the nursery school The Next Step wanted the Education Act of 1921 amended to make it compulsorily for Local Authorities to provide nursery schools. It was also mooted that nursery schools should be removed from the category of special school. A further big change was suggested in that nursery schools must provide some form of outside play areas. Teacher had to be trained and medical inspections carried out.

Naturally there was a cost to the provision of nursery education, Cost has always been a large priority in education. Today there is talk of Free Schools and cut backs to the Building Schools for Education program. The cost of a nursery school for forty five children was: Land £1000, buildings £5500 and furniture £300.

The average cost of school day was 3d per head. Parents were expected to pay 2d towards the cost.

A good number of parents are prepared today to pay for the education of their children towards the eleven plus. The cost of tutors, books and assessments is not cheap. It would also be very interesting today to find out how many children contemplating the eleven plus who did not attend a well regulated and properly constituted nursery school.

Eleven Plus Plan

“Have I left it too late?”

“Oh dear, I’m afraid that I have left it too late.”

These could be the reflective thoughts of some parents as they contemplate the eleven plus and its impact on their child. Parents do like to worry. We all envy the children who pass the eleven plus without opening a paper. We feel respect for the parents who are able to maintain that if their child has the ability to pass then he or she should go to grammar school – but if success is fickle and the examination is a disaster, then `it was meant to be’.

For many parents the fabrication of a successful eleven plus candidate begins as soon as possible. For some children, however, the eleven plus journey is a long and tedious process – interspersed with glimpses of elysian joy. (Oh, well done dear, off you go now.) Other children seem to sail through the whole process unhampered by doubt. Parents can only work with the material they have – their much loved child.

The eleven plus examination encompasses a broad band of ability. There are the high flyers and at the other end of the scale the children who have to work hard to get there. Some parents need to throw all their resources into trying to fabricate a structure that will support and lift their child.

There is no doubt that many children achieve a certain status during the build up to the eleven plus. Some will be cosseted and shielded. Apart from the very fortunate `exceedingly bright children’, very few will be left to work on their own.

Parents, in many different ways, are continually trying to asses the potential of their children. Few parents will be able to maintain a blind and unwavering faith in their child’s ability to pass the examination. Some parents will want to maintain a steady pressure while others will be content to develop and adapt to their child’s sensibilities.

Many parents would love to be able to show an inscrutable face to the world.

“It is not too late. I have done the best I can. If my child passes then grammar school is an option. If my child does not pass then we will make another plan.”

Eleven Plus Analysis

There is a select group of people who needed to be revered and held with considerable esteem. These are the architects of the `eighty twenty’ rule. There is not an eleven plus mother in the land who does not subscribe to the rule. The proportions may change but the end result is the same.

The 80-20 rule is simple. Twenty percent of the time is spent on analysis and eighty percent in implementation. What the rule does not recognise is that after implementation considerable resources within the family have to be allocated to maintenance and further development. As any mother dealing with the eleven plus will know – much time also needs to be spent determining whether the original analysis was incomplete or even possibly faulty.

The little explanation may help. It is Sunday evening. The family are relaxed and replete from a pleasurable day where togetherness was the keystone of all activities. There have been no arguments, upset discussions or even one little mini tantrum. This draws a picture of a complete family. A fundamental decision is, however, about to be made. The implications are far reaching.

“We are here this evening to talk about the eleven plus.”

“Listen to your mother. This is important.”

“We are going to discuss the eleven plus. Your school marks are good, the grammar school is close by, your father and I would like you to go to grammar, and your teacher at school has indicated that you have a reasonable chance.”

“I am so pleased. My friends all want to go to grammar. What can I do to help?”

“The eleven plus is a complex affair. We need to break it down into component parts. We need to look at all the parts and then reconstitute them into an effective eleven plus plan.”

“You know children with your mother master minding the project she will be approaching the eleven plus as an art not a science. We have never done this before and will probably make some mistakes along the way. All we can do is the best we can. Your mother has never let us down so far.” (Here Dad pauses as he remembers the second bottle of white wine that was enjoyed in the Maldives.)

“The first thing we have to do is to gather information. Then we need to allocate jobs and responsibilities. We will need to pull together as a family.”

“Look Mum, of course I will do my best. I know I have to change. I will only play on my XBox three times a week. I will read improving books every day. I will stop arguing until after the examination. I promise to keep my bedroom tidy. Mother and father – I pledge that I will watch less T.V. and not hit my brother as often.”

“Thank you for your offer. You don’t need to make all those changes. Remember your grandmother? She used to say. `Moderation. Moderation in everything.’ We will all try to follow the eighty twenty rule. We will try to analyse all potential problems and then we will only implement changes after reflection and full discussion. This is a new era for all of us. As a family we can and must pull together.”

“Can I go now?”

“Can I go now?”

“Can I go now?”

Mother is left sitting at the table – happy but anxious. How will she keep her little brood on track? Will it all work out? What lies ahead?

“Can I go now?”

Eleven Plus Reading

Some parents will spend critical periods in their lives encouraging their children to read.

An old English phrase has become refined to: “You can lead a horse to water but you can not make him drink.”

A more modern Eleven Plus phrase is: “You can give your child a book but you can not make him read.”

Parents will use every form of warning, enticement and sheer forcefulness to promote reading. An argument that children can put up is that sometimes it takes a long time to read a book. Parents could present their children with a little eleven plus problem.

Eleven Plus Exercise One
How long does it take an adult to read a book?

Slow Reader
Reading at 150 words a minute means that it could take a week to read three quarters of a book, a month to read three books, a year to read thirty six books and ten years to read three hundred and sixty books.

Good Reader
Reading now at 350 words a minute suggests that one and three quarter books could be read in a week, seven and a half in a month, ninety in a year and nine hundred in ten years. (The eleven plus is over well before the ten year limit is reached.)

The mathematics presupposes that an adult has enough time in the day to be able to read for at least an hour a day, six days a week.

The other variable to take into account is the length of the book. Some adult books will average around seventy thousand words. Some books will be considerably shorter – and others much longer.

Eleven Plus Exercise Two
How long does it take a child to read a book?

First of all finding an hour a day, six days a week would be rather demanding for an eleven plus child. It does, however, make for an interesting debating point.

The other immense variable is the length of a book aimed at ten to thirteen year olds. It is possible that an average of seventy thousand words may be too many words. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, aimed at nine to twelve year olds, however, has around a quarter of a million words! This would upset any average!

Reading on a Kindle may affect reading speed – as it is possible to manipulate the size of words and the orientation of the screen. By now the variables have grown out of control.

“Dear, please try to read the books you were given for Christmas. It is now the middle of February and you have only read ……. “

Eleven Plus Papers

A group of mothers from one class at school were discussing the eleven plus. Some maintained that one type of paper was more valuable for eleven plus preparation than others. The mothers decided to go out for dinner and settle the discussion through good food, superb wine and animated chat. The hot topic of the eleven plus remained the glue that held the evening together.

One of the mothers was a born organiser. She pulled out her ipad and asked the mothers for eleven plus scores on two different but popular papers. Each mother was able to respond immediately – after all eleven plus scores are imbedded into every waking thought – transcending even the need to provide the next meal on the table.

Score A 43 59 76 28 53 55 81 49 38 47
Score B 67 82 75 48 91 63 67 51 44 54

The mothers discussed the scores and tried to draw conclusions. Just as it all became a little heated the daughter of one of the mothers arrived to take her mum home. She listened for a moment and then remarked quietly. “We can sort this out statistically.”

(One proud mum nearly turned a somersault.)

The girl suggested:

Draw a scatter graph to illustrate the data. Wine was forgotten for a moment as all the heads came together.

Calculate the value of the product moment correlation between Scores A and Scores B.

The girl, by now in her stride, asked the assembled mothers if they would be kind enough to comment on how they would expect the scatter diagram to change if all the children were given the same help and assistance.

The mothers all agreed that there was a positive correlation between the scores. They felt too that the evening had been a success and they wanted to repeat it next month. Two mothers promised to look out their A Level Statistics notes from years ago – and come armed to the next meeting.

The mother of the girl was so proud of her daughter that she had to be helped down the stairs. (Was this aided by the amount of the wine and her deep satisfaction with her daughter?)

The wine waiter, who was a mathematics graduate from Cambridge, asked the girl out for a date. (Only to discuss ` product moment correlation’ – not for any other ulterior motives.)

The sanctity of the eleven plus was preserved for another week.

Eleven Plus Progress

A few words from Lord Alfred Tennyson can be used as a rallying cry from all involved in the eleven plus.

Not in vain the distance beacons. Forward, forward let us range,
Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change.

Teachers want to be able to say: “Your child has made progress.”

Parents want to hear: “My child has made progress.”

Children want to hear: “You have made progress.”

The Ofstead report demands that progress is made within a child’s school.

School reports, from unhappy teachers, can no longer say: “Albert is working to the best of his non existent ability.”

Even Macbeth whined: “Bring me no more reports; let them fly all: Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane I cannot taint with fear.”

Progress in eleven plus terms can be relative. A child could have been getting 45 out of 80 on a test – and moves up to 48 on the next test. This could mean three lucky guesses – or that a skill has now been mastered.

Eleven plus progress can be a child working at Level 4C at school in mathematics and moving up to 5A. This could be fantastic teaching at school – or it could be down to the intervention of eleven plus teaching. Perhaps the progress could have taken place because of hard work by everyone concerned at school and at home.

Tennyson, the parents of the unknown schoolmaster and Shakespeare have very little in common with the eleven plus – other than a respect for change and an unwillingness to hear an untimely report.

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say nothing at all.”

Eleven Plus Pressure

How well will your eleven plus child do under pressure? By the time their child is around ten years old parents will have been offered many opportunities of being able to make judgements about their capabilities of their children.

Some eleven plus children will naturally emerge as leaders.

They may try to take an ascendant role in their relations with their school mates, friends and parents.

They will often try to be persuasive and promote their viewpoints assiduously.

Other children may often look to them for leadership, help and advice.

Some eleven children who emerge as leaders will be naturally ebullient and expressive.

These ten year old leaders will often be self reliant and able to think for them selves.

Other children may wish to display far more conforming behaviour.

These may be children who wish to conform – and do not wish to stand out from the crowd,

Some of these rather more conforming children may find it difficult to make decisions without vacillation and delay.

Questions you could ask your eleven plus child?

When you are working on eleven plus papers, do you prefer to work on your own?

Do you think that you display signs of being a little bit of a show off?

Do you usually follow the eleven plus instructions that you are offered or do you prefer to `do your own thing’?

Do you spend much time worrying about other people’s opinion?

Do you wish you were not doing the eleven plus?

In a discussion of this nature there can not be any right and wrong. Quite rightly most eleven plus children will fall somewhere between these two poles. At some time there will need to be total conformity. At other times parents may wish for a bit more dynamism and leadership.

Eleven Plus Thoughts

We have this impression of California as being the home of the sun and the surf. We are fed pictures of sun kissed orange groves and beautiful people. We know too that in recent years California has built a huge budget deficit. Terman, and his Stanford Associates, were in California when they published their Volume 1 of the Genetic Studies of Genius in 1925. It is hoped that the early protagonists of the eleven plus were aware of this research. In fact elements of the thinking behind the studies of genius may have influenced the early stages of the development of the content of the present eleven plus examination.

Terman looked at 1500 California children with I.Q.s of 140 and over. He looked at:

Racial origins
Sex ratio
Anthropometric measurements
Health
School progress
Specialised abilities
Intellectual, social and play interests
Personality
Character traits

These findings formed the core of scientific knowledge about intellectually gifted children.

In our little world of the eleven plus we work with around six hundred children a year in lessons and on courses. Naturally we see children who are aiming at full marks on the various eleven plus tests. Would anyone find it interesting if a comparative study was done on very bright children? The results of the best and the brightest of 2011 could be compared with the best and the brightest of 1925.

If some `sleeper’ questions were mixed in we could find out just what our very bright eleven plus candidates think about the present form of the eleven plus. The phrase `out of the mouth of babes’ may be highly relevant.

Eleven Plus Reasoning

Some time ago we bought the Penguin Collection of Sherlock Holmes. This is a series of eight books that bring together the novels and short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I started looking through them to try to find where Sherlock Holmes uttered those famous words: “Elementary my dear Watson!”

The great detective used the words, to Watson’s utter frustration, when he was demonstrating reasoning to solve a perplexing case.

He drew logical conclusions from certain premises – and these are known as `deductions’.

He made brilliant generalisations on the basis of specific details – and these are called `inductions’.

Children working towards the eleven plus will sometimes make deductions and at other times inductions. Sometimes parents may find it difficult to see which route their child is following.

In the analysis of an answer a parent with a supremely tuned logical mind may prefer to answer some types of questions by following careful and predictable steps. Their eleven plus child, however, may prefer to read the question remarkably quickly and throw out an inspired induction.

Take the hoary old question.

Three policemen, two on foot and one with a motorbike, picked up three robbers. The policemen feared that the robbers would flee as soon as they (the policemen) were outnumbered.

The motor bike would only carry two.

The policemen could not be put into a position where they were outnumbered.

In what order should the robbers be transported?

Traditionally the answer is that the two robbers ride off to the police station – then one robber rides back. This won’t always work – as the robbers may take off at high speed.

One kind of brain will continue to try to analyse the question – even though it is simple nonsense. A different kind of brain would suggest the policemen call immediately for backup. At this stage, however, it is difficult to work out which conclusion was reached by deduction and which by induction. Please help!

Eleven Plus Rewards

How do parents reward themselves when their children do well on an eleven plus exercise?

First of all they have to tell someone. The `someone’ can range from a loving grand parent to a fierce playground rival.

Secondly they have to reward the child. The `reward’ can range from a quiet `well done’ to the promise of trip to Disneyland Paris.

Thirdly parents have to reward themselves. The reward can range from a satisfied smile to the anticipation of a serious food reward.

Out of all the options the food reward may sometimes seem the best option. I can recall a banana soufflé being presented with due pomp on some extra special occasions. Banana leaves are sometimes hard to come by in some of the major supermarkets – but you can but ask. (For the un-initiated the banana leaf acts as a platter – not a loin cloth.)

Slice six bananas and boil with half a cup of water, juice of one lemon and two liqueur glasses of Van Der Hum. Allow to boil until the fruit is mushy and the liquid reduced. Rub through a sieve and sweeten to taste. Add two yolks and heat mixture over steam to prevent curdling.

Line a buttered pie dish with slices of pie cake – slightly moistened with Van Der Hum. Arrange the banana mixture on top and cover with another layer of cake and some chopped walnuts.

Beat up whites with five tablespoons of sugar, pile on top of the walnuts and bake in a moderate oven for around thirty minutes. Allow to cool and the garnish with cream and cherries.

The distribution of the rewards is easy. Your eleven plus child earns one slice for providing the excuse. Your much loved partner is offered one slice for just being with you.

Grand parents can share a slice – for their unstinting love and support.

You started with half a cake, cut it in half and then in half again. You `gave away’ three slices. What percentage do you get? Is the overall angle of your share obtuse or reflex?

Of course there will be some who do not agree that their child should be offered alcohol of any kind. The reward, however, is for you. Just eat your child’s share. You really are worth it!

(Advanced eleven plus parents will be able to work out the percentage increase that will accrue to you if your child is forced to maintain sobriety and wholesomeness.)

Grammar and the Eleven Plus

There must have been many influences on the men and women who formulated the early ideas of the eleven plus. The idea of catering for bright and deserving children was not new after the Second World War – but it was a time of change and evolution.

At that time a lot of time and effort was being put into the teaching of grammar. There was little evidence then that primary school children would profit from an early introduction to terms such as noun, verb and `phrases in apposition’.

Macaulay wrote about the `Difficulty of Grammar’ in the British Journal of Education Psychology XVII back in 1947; He reviewed the grammar syllabus for Scottish school. At seven and a half children started on a grammar syllabus which involved a period of around thirty minutes a day. He tested a number of groups of children after five years of grammar on the recognition of:

Nouns
Verbs
Pronouns
Adverbs
Adjectives.

No group reached fifty percent on the test!

Children did even worse on:

Adjectives
Adverbs

There is no place for grammar in today’s eleven plus but rote learning without full comprehension must still play a part in some eleven plus exercises.

I have a 1992 book on Reasoning Ability (ISBN 0340487836) and it has this gem:

In a certain code the word GET is written as COL and the word HOLD is written as APIN. Write the code word for THE.

It is difficult to know if learning, by rote, how to cope with a question of this nature will leave a lasting impression on any one!