Modern Eleven Plus Questions

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

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

Three girls have coloured tops and shoes.

Amy Whitehouse has black hair.

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

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

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

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

Britney has blond hair.

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

Please attach your answers – or email.

Who said the Eleven Plus examinations are getting easier?

Juggling Eleven Plus Time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Eleven Plus Departures

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Preparation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Doctor
Physiotherapist
Waiter
Driver
Taxi
Dentist
Laundry
Teacher
Mentor

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

The Great Barrier Reef
Maldives
Bahamas

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

Davos
Aspen

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

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

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

Our History

This chair has a long and distinguished history.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven PLus Holiday Work.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scotland? By the 18th at St Andrews.

Any ideas?

Eleven Plus Papers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Feeding Eleven Plus Minds

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

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

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

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

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

With plants we can fertilise by a range of methods:

Top Dressing

Feeding with diluted water based solutions

Broadcasting

Feeding through the leaf.

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Day-dreams

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

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

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

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

Day-dream

Think

Write

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

Day-dreaming

Thinking

Writing

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Aces

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

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

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

In order the value the winning cards are:

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

Straight Flush – five consecutive cards of the same suit.

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

One pair – two cards of the same value.

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

The highest cards win.

Players have to put money into a pot.

There is a banker.

Cards are dealt clockwise.

A Royal Flush is the best hand.

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Education

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

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

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

The Eleven Plus Habit

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

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

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

Examples of sound habits could cover:

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

Desirable Eleven Plus Habits:

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

Parents help build good habits by:

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

Eleven Plus Skills

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Examinations are Harmful.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Reading

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

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

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

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

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

All parents can do is keep trying.

Bexley Eleven Plus Examinations.

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

The examinations will be in September.

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

Ten Eleven Plus Steps

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time and the Eleven Plus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Attitude and Desire

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

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

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

• Interest in passing the Eleven Plus examinations.

• Willingness to work with parents, teachers and tutors.

• Persistence and pride in work.

• Attitude to school and work.

• Desire to do well academically.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pre Eleven Plus Reading.

Which came first the chicken or the egg?

Which came first reading or writing?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Robots

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A bit of Eleven Plus training.

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

Poor school.

Poor children.

Poor parents.

Poor teachers.

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

Good luck to the children and their parents.

Timing of Eleven Plus Examinations

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

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

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

`On the day’ there could be problems with:

Major physical conditions – for example illness.

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

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

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

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

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

Siblings could pick a fight.

Nerves could creep in.

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

Can the Eleven Plus actually predict success?

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

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

What do Eleven Plus Examinations test?

We have examinations for a number of reasons.

Examinations try to diagnose

Examinations are used to evaluate the curriculum

Examinations attempt to predict future success

Examinations assess attainment.

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

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

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

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

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

11+ Changes

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

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

Grammar schools for the academic

Technical – as in technical schools

Vocational and in early secondary modern schools.

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

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

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

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

Eleven PLus Maths

Collecting Like Terms

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

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

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

Simplify 7t – 3 – 3t + 9.

7t – 3 – 3t + 9 = 7t – 3t + 9 – 3

= 4t + 6

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

Eleven Plus Ability

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

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

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

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

Are two parents necessary for a child to develop successfully?

The problem of noise in modern society.

Should every school have a speed camera?

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

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

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

Misery before an Eleven Plus examination.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Goals

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Resolutions

Resolution 1

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

Resolution 2

To make no more resolutions.

Eleven Plus Dreams

Happy New Year.

I hope all your dreams come true.

Eleven Plus Reasoning

Rugby playing boys grammar schools have a very good chance of going on a rugby tour. Some of the Grammar School rugby tours go remote and far flung points of the globe while other rugby masters prefer the comfort of urban life.

I used to go to school in a small town. We had an overnight trip on a train, every other weekend, to play games – cricket, rugby and athletics. The nearest school was an overnight train trip away. The team would travel up on the Friday evening. The opposition would host us for breakfast. We played the game and caught the night train back to our home town again. If you were lucky enough to play in a number of different teams you could travel away twenty times a year.

One evening an Anopheles mosquito flew onto my skin. The mosquito drilled through my skin and started to drink my blood. The mosquito then gave me a little squirt of a parasite and this then slipped into my bloodstream. I did not know about this until the next weekend.

On complaining of feeling unwell I was rushed to hospital. The doctor looked and asked just two or three questions before making a diagnosis. `Did you travel by train last weekend? Do you have a headache and are your muscles sore?’ The train had travelled to my home town through the swamps of Mozambique. Some where along the way the little female mosquito had come on board the train – only to enjoy a tasty meal. (Well I hope the mosquito enjoyed my blood!)

There is one type of malaria that attacks the brain. (Many will argue that I lost my brain years ago.) This particular type moves so quickly that a child can be bitten and be dead by nightfall! The cells multiply quickly so each parasite can multiply itself about forty thousand times! (We know that nine to ten of us a year die from malaria in this country!)

The name `malaria’ comes from Italian for `Bad Air’ - `mal’aria’. The Romans used to believe that poor air was the cause of malaria.

So this is where parents of Eleven Plus children have a problem. Do they leave windows open while their child to studying to maintain a flow of fresh clean air and thus aid studying? Should windows be kept tightly closed so that the home relies on air conditioning and central heating?

Just as in the `old’ days you used to look under beds for monsters and dragon just before putting the lights out it may be necessary as the Eleven Plus grows nearer to look for little buzzing mosquitoes So if you hear a little buzz in the room it may not be a buzz from an electrical appliance – it could be a blood sucking parasite.

I think that it would be a perfectly normal question to put to any Eleven Plus examiner: “Are there mosquitoes in the examination room?” But please remember that if you do ask – and you are then carted off to the nearest asylum - that at the time it seemed to be a logical and serious question.

Eleven Plus Resolutions

We all know that we derive much more pleasure from giving a present to receiving one. But think of the pleasure I gained from receiving a 100w solder gun with an illumination light and some solder.

The pleasure came in reading the instructions. Now we know that mere males are not allowed to read instructions but the instructions for the Soldering Gun Kit were very helpful.

• Due to the function of the gun, the tip will become very hot. Inexpert or negligent use may cause burnt patches or scorches to working surfaces and even burns to skin.

I started wondering what kind of instruction parents needed to be given before embarking on an Eleven Plus course with a child.

Due to the function of the child, the emotions will, at times, run very hot. Inexpert or negligent use may cause friction between parents and children and even lead to tears.

• Keep the work area free of clutter, damp and inflammable materials. Never expose the soldering gun to high ambient temperatures.

Keep your child’s work area free of TV, computer games and gadgets. Never expect or even allow your child to work in clutter.

• Objects to be soldered must be clean. Items should be cleaned with steel wool, or fine abrasive paper.

Eleven Plus papers should be clean and preferably new. Pencil marks should be rubbed out with a good quality rubber. It is easier to return to a page if it is neat and clean looking.

So now that the year is nearly over why not add yet another resolution to your all ready long list of resolutions?

I will help my child to work in a clutter free area. I will allow TV and all distractions only at times that do not interfere with work. Every now and then I will surprise my child with a clean and new Eleven Plus paper. I promise to keep this resolution until after the Eleven Plus examinations.

Your Eleven Plus Buddy

A few years ago I had the privilege of being able to sail from Alicante in Spain to Las Palmas. Alicante is North of Malaga. Las Palmas is a Spanish City and is the capital city of Gran Canaria.

I joined the Lord Nelson which is specially designed tall ship. The ship takes a voyage crew of around 40 with a professional crew of about 10. Every one works on the ship – hence the name of `voyage crew’. The organisers aim to have 20 able bodied voyagers and 20 disable voyagers. Thousands of disabled and able bodied crew have sailed on the Lord Nelson.

The great thing about any voyage is that everyone is encouraged to take an active part in the sailing of the ship. The work is varied to encourage everyone to be able to do something. Able bodied crew are linked to disabled crew through a buddy system.

A buddy offers support twenty four hours a day to someone who is disabled. The help could be with dressing, shaving and eating as well as assistance with a wheel chair if necessary.

The Lord Nelson offers an experience very few of us are able to enjoy. We think of a buddy as being a friend or a casual acquaintance. There is also another form of definition of the term `buddy’ and this is where you assist some one less able or in need of help.

So as your child approaches the Eleven Plus examinations at times he or she will need you as a mum or a dad.

As the count down to the examination takes place, your child may need you at times as a buddy and a helpful friend.

Look out for www.jst.org.uk

Scene One - The Eleven Plus Play

The Characters

Dad
Mum
Child A
Estate Agent

The home is large and well furnished. The action of the play is concentrated in a short period of time, not more than an hour.

Scene 1

(Dad is talking to Mum about school. Child A is lounging on the sofa half listening to the conversation – but wishing that the adults would stop going over the same ground. The conversation is dominated by Dad.

Child A has passed an Eleven Plus test for a school some miles away. He has, however, also been entered for a different Eleven Plus test in January of 2008 for a school with in walking distance of the house.)

Dad I really think that we should take this opportunity. We put the school down first on the list and we agreed that if he won a place we would move.

Mum That is all very well. We said we would move a year ago when house prices were high. Now that house prices appear to be dropping we could move into negative equity.

Dad The trip will take seven minutes to the train station and then about twenty minutes on the train. I know that he will have to wait for twenty minutes for a bus – but there will be other boys and girls waiting for the bus. The bus then only takes ten minutes and he will not need to walk very far at the other end.

Mum Our problem is that we have not yet had a good offer for our house. If we moved now we may have to move into a very different sized house just to find a suitable house near to the school.

Dad I know that you want `A’ to take the test on January the 8th – but I just can’t see the point. He has a place at grammar. We said that we would move – so let us simply get on with it.

Mum Why not ask `A’. He is the one who will have to travel every day for over an hour.

Dad That is a good idea. What do you think `A’?

(There is silence as `A’ has fallen asleep.)

Dad Wake him up. He should have his say.

(The telephone rings off stage.)

Hello. Who is this?

Estate Agent Good news. Your offer …..

(To be continued.)

Help For Children

I hope all thought of Eleven Plus papers will leave the minds of adults and children during the unfolding events of Christmas Day. The very presence of presents, food, TV, DVDs, games, walks, laughter and talk will surely overcome the anxious hearts and feelings of mothers and fathers.

It was the tradition on my grandfather’s farm for a ceremonial trip to the fields. We would pick the mealies (corn on the cob) and return to the farm house for a large breakfast. My grandfather would then climb into his truck and disappear for a few hours. He would always return with one or two `guests’. The `guests’ would be people who were about to endure Christmas Day on their own.

One year he arrived rather late with an elderly lady who wore one of cloche hats – in purple. The hat looked lifeless and drab. The old lady did not speak to anyone but sat almost motionless on the veranda for some hours. Her hat remained firmly on her head. It transpired that she had lived on her own for many years and was not used to company.

I can not remember her name but I can recall some years later she was buried in the farm’s graveyard. My great grandparents and grandparents on my mother’s side were all buried on the side of low hill overlooking a most beautiful valley. I wonder what happed to the trees on the East side – because my grandfather always kept the East of the enclosure clear of bushes and trees so that the early morning sun would brush the graves.

So if Christmas Eve is a time for looking back it must also be a need for looking forward.

This then is an earnest plea to any parents or relations of nine, ten or eleven year old children. If you have included verbal or non verbal reasoning books and papers in the presents – please take them out of the pile. If you have bought a special mathematics book for your most loved child – please put it to one side.

I think there should be at least one day a year that put aside from the rigors of Eleven Plus preparation. If this plea does not reach the hearts of any parents then children should be made aware that there is very special number for children to ring.

Every child knows this number 0800 1111.

Pre Eleven Plus Thoughts

We have carpets in the rooms where the children have been doing their pre Christmas Eleven Plus Courses this week.

The children were working on a timed verbal reasoning exercise – and there was not a sound in the room. You could have heard a pin drop. (Except for the carpet cushioning the noise of the falling pin.)

This led me to wonder if acupuncture could help.

I have never had the privilege of having needles stuck into me by an acupuncturist. Doctors and nurses had treated me over the years – sometimes using needles – and I am grateful for their expertise.

We know that acupuncture has been around for around two thousand five hundred years. We know that acupuncture treats illnesses and a wide variety of problems by using needles.

I wonder when we are going to hear about the first ‘Eleven Plus Acupuncturist’. The adverts would appear in the paper:

• Let us use a needle to help your child become a verbal reasoning addict.

• Needle your way to success. A proven method based on 2500 years of science.

• Let us prick your child’s examination nerves away.

• Only ten lessons sitting on a bed of needles. Better Eleven Plus success. We get to the point straight away.

• We can diagnose your child’s Eleven Plus problems by sticking pins into your child.

• You can’t argue with success. Our `Acupuncture Needles’ will find the root of your child’s problems.

• No Pain. No Gain.

There will be courses for parents to attend. If both parents attend – and both succumb to the lure of stress free Eleven Plus preparation – then there will be a big reduction in the fees. Can you picture the counseling room? A series of beds laid out in groups of three for families. Dad gets the needle. Mum gets the needle. Eleven Plus candidate gets the needle.

You can see where my thoughts are taking me. At some time or another all the members of the family will `get the needle’ at some stage over the Christmas break. Children will need some reassurance that even though they are writing Eleven Plus examination they are still valued and much loved member of the family.

It is so easy to look at your child and see only their examination potential – and thereby miss all the other sterling attributes. Remember the first baby smile? Remember how your child relied on you for everything? Remember your pride when your child read to you for the first time? Remember when he or she was able to tell the time correctly?

So don’t get the needle if your child can’t achieve above 80% every single time on every single paper. Don’t get the needle if you are the recipient of the occasional rather sharp comment.

Think back over the past 2500 years of your family. Try to work out over many past generations just how many other ten year old children in your family were faced with selection examinations when they were just ten years old.

But if your child does happen to get a bit too `uppity’ then use a big, sharp and shiny pin to burst the bubble. After all …..

Eleven Plus Confidence

I had the privilege of living in Rhodesia – which became Zimbabwe. My grandfather was a farmer. He farmed cattle, tobacco, maize, fruit and wheat.

One of the men who worked for him was from a tribe who had two toes. The middle two toes were not there – and the outer two turned in.

The tribe lived beside in a large rift valley along side the Zambezi River. We grew up believing that the two toed tribe developed because of the need to climb trees very quickly in a remote valley.

One of the major problems this man had was wearing an ordinary pair of shoes. I recall sitting beside him as a child as he made himself new pairs of shoes. He used leather and parts of car tires to fashion comfortable shoes. I enjoyed his company and was delighted with a pair he made for me. I kept the home made shoes for years – but they disappeared when we came to England.

I thought about him today because the tribe developed the two toes because of in-breeding and a rogue chromosome.

I wonder if our eleven plus children will in time become affected and change because of all this exposure to similar Eleven Plus preparation?

If a great majority of children work through NFER and Bond papers – plus all the other Eleven Plus papers available through the internet - then it is likely that many of the children will have covered similar ground. Some children will have studied some subjects in greater depth – so may feel more confident in the actual examination.

I wonder just how accurate the Eleven Plus examinations are if all the examination is doing is selecting children who have been well prepared?

We know in the lessons all over the country children are following different programs of study. When the children arrive home the great network of `parent power’ kicks in. Some children are more willing to work than others. Some parents are more involved in day to day Eleven Plus work than others. So on the day of the examination the playing field is almost level. Some children will have had tutors. Other parents will proudly proclaim that their child will pass, or has passed, without doing a single paper.

But don’t you think that there is simply too much study on too few papers? Don’t you think that selection for the Eleven Plus may be flawed for some children because there is too much reliance on the same types of questions?

There is one county where children only have to study a limited number of verbal reasoning questions. What happens if you a teacher and you try to stimulate your children? Will parent power rein you in and force you to teach to the types of questions that children will meet in the examination?

We are working through one of our pre Christmas Eleven Plus courses today. Today is Day 2. The course ends tomorrow.

A girl I met for the first time on this course called me over this morning. She said: “This is such fun. I have never met questions like some of these today. I can’t wait to show my mum.”

I feel confident for her in the January Kent Eleven Plus Examinations. She will treat challenging questions with joy and enthusiasm. Well done to this girl. I don’t know if she has a tutor – but if she does well done to the tutor too. Congratulations to her school for fostering such a love of learning. Her mum and dad must be very proud parents.

Eleven Plus Rights

It was only a matter of time.

A `big’ announcement from QCA (Qualifications and Assessment Authority) who published the new GCSE criteria was:

GCSE pupils may retake examinations under reforms.

This will allow pupils to re-sit an examination if they are unhappy with their mark.

This blog has argued the case for re-sits for Eleven Plus children for some time. For some children it is grossly unfair that their future determined by the Eleven Plus examination.

One of our boys who sat an Eleven Plus examinations in October described how the boy sitting beside him threw up. Our boy described how the sick went all over his papers and he also had to be wiped down. His paper was also affected. The few minutes associated with these unfortunate events may have altered the Eleven Plus results. We also have to feel very sorry for the poor boy who was ill. Think too of the teachers having to clear up. There must have been some disruption to all concerned. I wonder if this could be a case for a re-sit for both the boys involved?

Illness in an examination is, however, an extreme case and can not be regarded as the norm. We can not change the way a whole county runs an eleven plus system just because we feel sorry for someone.

Youngsters have been re-sitting `A’ level modules for some time. If an `A’ level student is unhappy with a mark it is a simple matter to organize a re-sit. Some `A’ Level students will study for the examination without any input from outside. Others will attend classes at school, college or a tutorial establishment. Some too will attend a tutor. The student will simply do a little calculation of how much work is needed – and hey presto – a higher grade. The higher grade could mean a different university – or even a different course.

Dr Boston, The QCA’s Chief Executive said on the QCA website: (http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_15563.aspx)

"The revised GCSE qualification and subject criteria will give learners a reliably assessed, consistent and fair qualification."

So if GCSE boards can give learns a reliably assessed, consistent and fair qualification – why can’t we achieve the same for our Eleven Plus children?

The government is already starting to trial different types of SATs tests that will be offered when children are ready. I know there must be flaws in my argument but if a sixteen year old makes a number of mistakes in a public examination – then the sixteen year old will be allowed to re-sit – but an eleven year old does not have the same opportunity.

I know that the parents of the eleven year old can appeal to a Grammar School for a place – but the examination can not be re-sat.

Parents unite!

Children – surely you have rights too?

Eleven Plus - Blog number 500

This is blog Number 500. Thank you to all the readers and commentators. I have enjoyed the experience.

To celebrate we need a cool Eleven Plus question.

What do you know about the number 500?

500 ÷ 2 = 250
250 ÷ 2 = 125
125 ÷ 5 = 25
25 ÷ 5 = 5
5 ÷ 5 = 1

2 x 2 x 5 x 5 x 5 = 22 x 32

1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 125, 250, 500

The prime factors are: 2 and 5. (1 is not a prime factor because a prime factor has to have two numbers.)

If we multiply out all the factors we obtain 1.562516. This leads us to the Standard Form of numbers. The first number has a value between 1 and 10. It is either a single number – or a decimal point follows the first figure.

The number is followed by the index of numbers – in this case the index is 16.

There have been readers from all the continents. For some time an academic in a University in California was reading the blogs on a daily basis. I am not quite sure the relevance of a blog on the Eleven Plus to American contemporary education.

There have also been readers questioning my sanity. I am sure their diagnosis has been correct on more than one occasion.

A paraphrase of the comment would read:

************************************

Dear Blog Writer Number 500

I question your competence to comment on the current Eleven Plus scene.

For many of use getting our children into a grammar school is as stressful as getting married or buying a house.

If we followed your advice we would need to have a very different form of Eleven Plus. The examination would need contain elements that educated, entertained, diverted and stimulated.

As parents we do the best we can. We simply do not need any more attempts to confuse the already complicated system of selection.

Is it not time to …..

Yours sincerely

Worried Parent.

************************************

Dear Worried Parent

You are correct on all counts.

I will endeavour to make the next 500 blogs a little more ….

Yours sincerely

Blog Writer Number 500

************************************

Eleven Plus Technology

I wonder how many times a week the average Eleven Plus family use their microwave ovens? We know that microwave ovens cook with radiation rather than heat. The microwaves are high frequency electromagnetic waves that bounce off the oven wall and into the food. The waves are absorbed by the water in the food and converted into heat.

The great thing about microwaves is the speed they can cook at.

“Would you like a baked potato?”

“Yes please.”

“It will be less than ten minutes. You have enough time to start on the paper.”

The next great use of microwave technology that will occur in nearly every Eleven Plus family is Bluetooth.

We use Bluetooth to engineer a method of allowing a connection between a range of devices like our mobile phones and Sat Navs. We can even transfer information and photographs or video between laptops and cameras.

So here are all the tools for a child to have in place before starting on a piece of Eleven Plus work.

Security in the knowledge that `mother’ or `father’ will be able to produce a hot meal in around twelve minutes.

Confidence that in the knowledge that a meal can be reheated in a few minutes without becoming soggy or losing its flavour. (This is especially helpful if your Eleven Plus wonder decides to complete the paper before eating.)

Wonder in participating in an exchange of data through Bluetooth. (I wonder if we will ever take this for granted.)

So as parents you can now go out to buy last minutes Christmas presents. Your Eleven Plus child can connect up to seven devices through Bluetooth. So look for the label and buy in confidence.

Oh, and how will knowledge of microwaves help in the examinations? We know that the micro wave is on a short frequency. Hence food cooks in a uniform manner within a microwave. We know too that Bluetooth is at present a `push technology. So in a last resort in the examination room your child should be able to connect to six other candidates. The phrase `Ask a friend’ should help considerably.

Good luck to all parents at Christmas – and buy wisely.

P.S. Naturally all children attending our post Christmas Eleven Plus courses are cordially invited to bring their Wii to the course. We could have a fantastic time!

Eleven Plus Winners

We have all seen programs on television about the way lions hunt down their prey. Picture the scene – a lioness crouched down in the grass. An unwary zebra is lured towards the waiting predator. Other animals in the pride move smoothly and quietly to cut the zebra out from the rest of the herd.

The lionesses are able to set up effective ambushes. In a pride of lions it is often the lionesses that do the hunting – while the males watch from a distance. After the kill lions join the females and enjoy the feast.

In the African bush competition for food can be intense.

The thirst for education is equally intense. I can remember visiting Hope Fountain as a child – many years ago. Hope Fountain was a missionary school in Rhodesia – now called Zimbabwe. At that time more than ninety per cent of the education in Rhodesia was church controlled. Some sixteen year olds started two year teacher training courses. As `mature and trained’ eighteen year olds they were sent to rural communities to teach. Yet these young assistant teachers helped school children to become literate in two languages. Some of the teachers studied further using correspondence courses. Others went on to take degrees.

We can see the same desire to do well in many of our Eleven Plus children; we know that a really high number will go on to take degrees. We know that the children who leave grammar school will have wonderful educational opportunities all of their lives.

Many of our prospective grammar school children are prepared to work hard and do extra `Eleven Plus’ exercises.

I watched a boy today in his last lesson with us. He will be writing the Kent Eleven Plus tests in early January of 2008. He was working on area when a discussion on the properties of quadrilaterals came up. He identified a range of different quadrilaterals – including a trapezium. He studied the sketch of the shape for a few seconds and formulated an acceptable method of working out the area. He displayed high excitement and real pleasure.

He did not want to watch any one doing the work for him. He wanted to solve the problem himself. Earlier I mentioned lions sitting in the shade while watching lionesses work to capture food. He was a boy who would never sit back to watch someone else. He will be a winner. He will be able to provide. We wish him every success in the January Kent tests.

Codes Verbal Reasoning

One of the most useful aspects of the Home Information Pack (HIP) is the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The data includes:

Construction and Condition of the house on the day it was inspected (CCH).
Location (L)
Gas Electricity, Water, Drainage (GEWD)
Heating, Insulation (HI)
Contaminated land and Flooding (CF)

So you commission a person to collect for a report covering:

HIP, EPC, CCH. L, GEWD, HI, CF

This may seem a whole lot of letters but think about the Eleven Plus.

You go to school to have a chat with your child’s teacher and Head Teacher. (CTHT)

You listen to other parents in the play ground. (OPP)

You have your child assessed. (CA)

You find and engage a tutor. (FET)

You work yourself in the evenings. (WUE)

You pray for your child. (PC)

So now we have:

CTHT, OPP, CA, FET, WUE, PC

So the next time you meet a verbal reasoning question that asks you so solve a codes problem you know the solution.

Lay the top line over the bottom line.

HIP, EPC, CCH. L, GEWD, HI, CF
CTHT, OPP, CA, FET, WUE, PC

Work out the relationship of the letters. Enjoy the challenge.

Drilling Eleven Plus Problems

Every now and then on the television we see shots if squirrels working very hard to solve problems for the reward of a few nuts. Zoologists have set squirrels tasks where they have to solve up to twenty tasks in order to reach food.

Very often the tasks the squirrels have to conquer are very different:

Pulling levers
Balancing on thin wire
Work on a seesaw
Pulling nuts up on a string

It is highly entertaining for us to see these little animals solving quite complex problems.

Suppose we set our own Eleven Plus children a series of twenty tasks:

In a classroom the teacher would need to say:

“Open your books to Page 21.

Write down the date and underline it.

Look at the white board while I explain this exercise to you.”

A tutor, however, would:

Open the book to page 21 for the child

Write the date and underline the date for the pupil

Copy out an example and explain.

Parents would simply listen to their child:

Explain the need to have a drink.

Discuss the point behind having to underline headings and copy out examples.

Wish for a ready acceptance for once.

Naturally all three methods will land up with a similar result. This will give us a happy child, satisfied parents and a general feeling of good will.

But back to the squirrels - the squirrels can be drilled into learning a sequence. The squirrels have to solve problems and come up with solutions. But the squirrels do not have language. This is where our Eleven Plus children leap light years ahead. The power of speech and language enables our children to think and plan and do far more than follow a set of drilled instructions.

We have to make our teaching challenging and any lessons, however incidental, have to engage our children. Drilling children in methods of solving problems will not give them the tools to be able to be creative and think in an innovative manner in the actual examination.

The Pulse of the Eleven Plus

Dear Teacher

I would be very grateful if you would be kind enough to help me with my examination preparations.

I have only a few days left to go to my examinations which will take place in early January of 2008.

As you know I am particularly worried about reading the questions carefully.

Please help.

Your Pupil.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Dear Pupil

I am happy to have this opportunity of trying to help with your examination preparation.

You have always been a hardworking and ambitious pupil.

I think that you must place your watch down on the table in front of you. You know I have suggested that you used a watch with a very big face. Before you start on the a question look at the second hand of the watch and count off ten seconds before you start reading. This will remind you to slow down and read the question carefully. You may also remember to read the question twice!

Good luck.

Your Teacher.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Dear Teacher

Thank you for your clever suggestion. I know that Father Christmas is going to bring me a watch with a big face for Christmas. I have already asked Father Christmas for a watch with a large clear face – and a big second hand.

What worried me about counting to ten before I start on a question is that my heart starts to beat really fast.

I know that my pulse slows down as I read the question and write the answer.

Do you think that the rise and fall of my pulse rate will affect my performance on the day of the examination?

Your Pupil

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Dear Pupil

You are most observant. It is clear that you have been practising in a sensible manner. Well done.

As we have discussed previously you measure your pulse rate by placing the tips of three of your fingers onto your wrist.

You will feel your blood pulsing. On some questions your pulse rate will probably remain between 60 – 70 beats a minute. On other questions your pulse may climb to around 100.

It is normal to have fluctuations of your pulse rate.

Enjoy the examination.

Enjoy the drama of Eleven Plus day.

Thank you for coming to me for lessons.

I remain –

Your Teacher

Positive Eleven Plus Steps

When I was training to be a teacher I was fascinated by a man called Skinner. He looked at behaviour and reinforcement.

In Eleven Plus terms he would have argued that if a child answered a question correctly there should be an immediate reward. Some praise? A kind word? A pat on the back? 10p? A piece of chocolate? The nature of the positive rewards is not as important as reinforcing to the child that good behaviour or correct answers should be rewarded.

He advocated breaking everything down into small steps so as to allow for lots of positive reinforcement. If you want your child to learn something break it into small steps and be very positive.

He wanted to go from a simple step to a complex step. He wanted immediate feedback – and lots of positive reinforcement.

We have a computer system called etcACTION. etcACTION takes test results and builds lesson plans. The lessons are usually broken into five segments – so that no child spends too long on any one subject or topic. The computer endeavours to deliver a multilevel lesson.

Each piece of work should be marked immediately.

The National Curriculum is broken into ten levels with many skills within a level. We have over 1600 current skills. The books and teaching materials are all graded within a skill. The children make progress because they achieve a range of tasks within a lesson. They feel successful. We try to make this feeling of being able to cope transfer into the classroom.

To give an example of positive reinforcement we need only to look at the national Lottery. Suppose one day we selected the numbers on a lottery ticket by sticking pins into range of numbers – and the ticket won. We would be elated. It would take a very strong will on our part if we changed a successful method of selecting winning numbers to going back to using a date of birth as a random number generator.

So continue to believe in luck in the actual Eleven Plus examination.

Continue to be nice to your child.

Try to be positive.

Reward yourself on a regular basis with all the really good rewards of life.

Eleven Plus Tassels

An enduring sight is the moment when an undergraduate swings his or her tassel round the mortarboard at graduation. This is the reward of all the hard work over a number of years.

An equally seminal moment is when a golfer steps up to the tee, with shiny new clubs and bright golf shoes adorned with tassels. The newer the clubs and the longer the tassel the more likely the ball will land in the rough never to be seen again.

When we go to Morocco we sometimes see men wearing a fez – and this is often adorned by a tassel.

A tassel is an essential element of a belly dancer’s costume.

We see tassels on curtains and curtain ties.

We also see tassels on boys’ caps.

Girls some wear caps with tassels when they act as bridesmaids.

There is a wonderful website called :

www.tasstico.com

So with this wide use of tassels we need the special Eleven Plus Tassel.

The Bronze Tassel would be for children who have completed 5 full Eleven Plus papers before the examination.

The Silver Tassel would be for children who have worked through all the Bond, all the NFER, all the Athey – and the works of three other publishers.

The Gold Tassels have to go to the children who remember to say: “Thank you.”

Walking To School = Better Results

We know that a yellow bus system would help traffic congestion outside schools at the start and the end of the school day.

Using a yellow bus would save on fuel.

Climate change would also be affected.

Some children may even have to walk a little to meet the yellow bus. This would help with obesity,

We know that reducing congestion and obesity are twin targets for every right minded person.

So we need to be able to help some of our children to be able to cycle or walk to school. Walking is easier to organise than cycling. To cycle to school our children would need properly defined cycle paths or cycle lanes – and that is not always possible.

Mini exclusion zones around schools have already been suggested. This would allow children more freedom as they approach school.

Naturally a good percentage of our bright and alive Eleven Plus children would want to be involved in a scheme that encouraged healthy eating and saving the planet.

Picture the scenario. The bus pulls up outside the door. The much loved Eleven Plus child sinks onto the bus seat, hooks up the seatbelt, slips on the headphones and plugs in the video ipod. The Eleven Plus lesson of the day is downloaded. There would be an Eleven Plus teacher on the bus to help with any problems:

Lost ipod
Lost headphones
Lost the will to work
Lost the will to walk

Changing fractions to decimals
Non verbal reasoning problems

The school bus pulls up half a mile from the school. The road to school has been cleared of all traffic. The children walk to school and arrive flushed and healthy.

The children are greeted by a team of happy and involved teachers who look forward to a day of teaching without trauma and strife.

The main benefit to our Eleven Plus children would be the fifteen minutes of revision and consolidation on a variety of topics. This will provide refreshed memories, larger brains, better results, happier parents, fulfilled children and improved Eleven Plus results. What a combination! I can’t wait.

Would all these riches accrue as a result of walking to school? Fewer cars, less congestion, more buses and better examination results – it all sounds like a dream.

Motivation and the Eleven Plus

Our Eleven Plus children need to be motivated when they enter the examination rooms.

Parents have the ability to be great motivators. Every parents can play the `carrot and the stick’ game or the `good cop bad cop’ game. Parents do not need to be taught how to give with one hand and take with the other – it just comes naturally.

“If you stop hitting Father Christmas you can have the chocolate.”

“Yes we can go for a swim if you complete the reasoning paper.”

So how are you going to motivate your child on the day of the examination? You want to be cool and not smother your child. You don’t want your poor child to suffer the indignity of other children seeing you weeping inconsolably on the head teacher’s shoulder.

Winston Churchill gave great speeches during the Second World War. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” springs to mind. Football managers must also give great speeches at half time. “Right, Wanderers, we might be five down at this stage of the season but you have to fight!”

You won’t actually be sitting in the examination room with your child. You can, however, educate your child as to what is going to happen in the examination.

Explain how the nervous system will collect information from all over the body. Explain that in the examination room your child will be using all of the senses. Demonstrate how adjusting the centre of gravity will affect how comfortably your child sits on a chair. Convince your child of the necessity of sitting comfortably during the examination. The old words: “Sit up straight and keep your elbows off the table,” may be more useful than slumping all over the table.

Explain how little noises in the examination will appear to be magnified. It might sound as if a herd of elephants is stamping on a pile of newspapers while in fact the noise may only be one child who has dropped a paper onto the floor.

Talk about the necessity to taste the wood at the end of the pencil before the examination. If your child suddenly, for no apparent reason, starts chewing the end of the pencil then he or she may be exposed to a bitter and unpalatable taste. So add chewable pencils to the `List of Things to Do’.

Talk about smell. Explain how the smell of a room can vary if there are many anxious humans pumping out fear.

Finally talk about time. I have chatted during the course of lessons to some of our very able children who have already sat Eleven Plus examinations. Without exception they have talked about time. Very few talk about finishing too early. Very few say they ran out of time and did not finish the paper. All that can happen is that when the children hear those dreaded words: “Ten minutes to go!” it is likely that some children will rush their final answers.

So your final words could include: “Sit up straight, don’t fiddle, don’t eat your hair and look at your watch.” Of course you could add: “Good Luck!”

As you child turns his or her back and walks away you could whisper very quietly: “If you pass I will give you a …… “

Smoothing the Eleven Plus Journey

I used to play golf on a golf course that was made of sand.

The nine hole course was laid out between trees and rocks. There was no green grass on the fairways or the `greens’ just sand and low shrubs. The course was near a little town in Zimbabwe called Umvuma.

The tee was placed on a raked area of sand. The rake was made of slight branches tied together. Naturally the rake accompanied the golfers and their bags.

We would drive off and see the ball spinning away into the bush. There would be a puff of dust so we knew where the ball had landed. There is a peculiar rule in gold where the ball is not allowed to be touched by the player or the player’s club – without incurring a penalty. We played `local rules’ on this rather remote course and were allowed to lift the ball, clean it and replace it on a firm piece of ground.

The `green’ was an area of sand. The rocks had long been swept away. There were hoof marks from animals. I remember one green where a python had obviously slumbered just a short time before our golf balls had dropped onto the green. Like all good golf courses two holes were near a stream – but the water had long since dried up as the drought encompassed more and more of the land. We were sure that elephants had passed through the course one day – there was plenty of evidence of torn braches and piles of smelly dung.

To move the ball from where it landed on the green to the hole all golfers and their caddies used a sack. A rope was attached to two corners and the sack was pulled towards and beyond the hole. The put had to be firm as the ball was rolling over fine sand.

There was one hole that would have graced any championship course. It was a short hole of about 75 yards. The `green’, however, nestled in the middle of a ring of rocks. Some of the rocks towered thirty feet into the air. The diameter of the sandy green was no more than about eighteen feet. If a shot hit a rock it would bounce and fly in a totally uncontrolled manner. The ball could bounce out of the ring, it could bounce over and even back towards the player. When the golfer drove off he was well below the ring and could not see where his ball was going to land. We all used to cower behind the striker of the ball.

The relevance of this reminiscence is that there are times when we all wish we could draw a line in the sand.

We have a few children with us who have heard that they have not passed one of the local Eleven Plus examinations. They are now working towards the next examination which is in January.

How I wish they could just have a sack drawn over the past so that they were not saddled with the feeling of failure. The sack would have the power to smooth the path towards the next examination. The sack would erase all previous failures.

Hard Work and the Eleven Plus

We went to watch Bee Movie today.

We booked seats on the Internet. An email confirmed the booking. At the cinema I popped my card into the ATM and the tickets were dispensed. There was no one on the gate of the Multiplex. We collected popcorn and drinks through Self Service. I said `thank you’ to the attendant for taking the money. There was no one on the door of the multiplex cinema. We found our sets with speaking to any one else.

What a change from years ago. The whole set up today was designed to move people through the doors and into seats with as few people on duty as possible.

Bee Movie has a simple story line. One special bee, Barry, leaves the hive and meets a glorious girl. She is astounded to hear him talk.

Barry is horrified to see humans taking bees and honey for granted. The overwhelming message the film is that bees have to work hard to achieve the heights. If you are a bee you can take pride in a menial job. It does not matter if you do a repetitious job because you are contributing to the common good.

So this was a morning of wide contrasts. We encountered a business attempting to minimise having to employ humans. We also met a movie saying that hard work has real dignity.

So if you need to drive a message home to your Eleven Plus child, take him or her to the cinema on a wet Sunday morning. You can show your son or daughter a big business run with remarkably few people. You can make the point that it may not be enough to expect to have the job of your dreams without hard work – and that some jobs may simply disappear in the future.

Bee Movie is so powerful that you may not need to make too many points. The script will do it for you. You could just whisper on the way home: “Take pride in what you do, be adventurous and life has some unexpected twists that you can not plan for.”

How Ready is your Child to Write the 11+?

Thank goodness that the Eleven Plus is not like a game of cricket.

I have mentioned before a Mr. Green who was my teacher when I was in Year 5. He was a tall unsmiling man. We were never sure who he liked – but we all knew who he did not like.

I don’t remember any of the mathematics or history or geography he taught us – but I do remember some of the English. He liked us to learn a range of poetry and sections of plays. I am not sure if he actually liked poetry and the arts but I do know he liked his class to learn verses off by heart.

One of the shortest poems we had to learn was by the wonderful Mr Longfellow called:


The Arrow and the Song.

I shot an arrow into the air’
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of a song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found an arrow still unbroken;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

I am sure that at ten years old I did not appreciate the sentiment behind the verses. I was too preoccupied with the mechanical side of learning the words.

You see if we were not word perfect on the Friday we would sit at break the following week writing the words out again and again. I am not sure if he was trying to teach us to appreciate our heritage. I am not sure if he was trying to instil in us a love of literature. I am quite sure that Mr Green enjoyed seeing children sitting in at break time copying out verse after verse.

So when parents start off on the Eleven Plus adventure I trust they are shooting an arrow into the air – but they are not quite sure how the whole Eleven Plus `thing’ will end up. Children are learning from each other, they are learning from their teacher, their parents and sometimes even their tutor.

I watched a little seven year old today with incredible reading skills – around the eleven year old level.

The bright child sitting beside was working through an Eleven Plus paper. There was one of those Verbal Reasoning exercises that tends to rely on a strong reading vocabulary:

Underline the word which is different from the rest.

Trawler cruiser submarine battleship line cargo-boat.

The seven year listened to the ten year old reading the question aloud. He then whispered `submarine’ and continued with his mental arithmetic exercise.

The ten year old discussed the difference between a cruiser and a battleship and commented that they were war ships.

The seven year old whispered: `Under water’.

So how is the eleven plus examination going to challenge this little one when it comes to his turn to work through papers? Would it help if he was encouraged to learn poetry off by heart in the same way that the dreaded Mr Green attempted to shove `literature’ down our throats? Did Mr. Green’s lesson plan have the rider: ‘If any child does not learn the verse sit him down and make his write the verses out until he knows the words.’

If the Eleven Plus is truly going to select the very brightest – then we may need a complete re-think about the type of questions that will come up.

Any way if that seven year old could pass the verbal reasoning paper when he was just seven years old don’t you think he should be able to `bank’ this result so he has one less paper to write when he is ten years old? After all if we shoot an arrow into the air who knows where it will land?