Eleven Plus Problems

One of the problems of the eleven plus is that the examination makes an assumption that all children are in the same state on the day of the examination.

Just think - what must run through your child's mind when you say: "Well dear, today you are going to take your eleven plus."

Some adults become almost hysterical at the idea of being tested in one way or another. How is it possible that we expect all the eleven plus children to enter the examination room and then behave in a similar manner?

It does seem that what is being tested, in the some children, is the amount and the extent of eleven plus preparation. You want to give your child a menu of lots of papers and tests, the best possible tuition and then expect the your child to walk into the examination and perform to the best of his or her ability.

All parents can do is the best they can. It is, however, a sobering thought.

Eleven Plus Programs

Set 4
An Introduction to Eleven Plus Programs

Page 1

Are 492 and 0.29 both written in the decimal system?

Answer A: Both 492 and 0.29 are part of the decimal system - Page 4

Answer B: Only 0.29 is writ en in the decimal system - Page 8

Page 4

You are correct both 492 and 0.29 are part of the decimal system.

The decimal system uses a base of 10.

If you have heard of a different number system go to Page 12

If there is no other system go to Page 2

Learning like this may appeal to some children. They would enjoy the journey - and like the feeling that they are in charge of their own destiny.

Why should children pass the Eleven Plus?

Apart from saving the fees at a top class independent school, why would parents want their children to pass the eleven plus?

It has been estimated that:

A primary school education increases a man’s productivity by 50%.

Secondary school education by 110%

University education by 315%.

Parents will want to try to explain these thought to their children by a variety of practical methods. There must be flaws in the following arguments.

Method One. Use a big juicy apple.
Take an apple as the whole. Cut it into three parts – representing the 300%. Take one section so we are now down to one third – or around the 100% mark. Cut this last third in half and we are down to 50%. Dog the pip out and this is where education starts to count.

Method Two. Empty the piggy bank.
Count 315 pennies into one pile.
Count 110 into another pile.
Count 50 into another pile.
Place one small penny all by itself.

Use the evidence to try to drive home the need to keep working and trying hard.

Eleven Plus Mathematics Books

We are often asked about mathematics books parents can use with their children. The problem with papers is that they set questions – but do not always help the children with setting out of examples and the steps leading up to the correct answer.

The Edexel Foundation GCSE Mathematics book, Heinemann, ISBN 978-0-435534-08-0 provides part of the solution. The sections on algebra look particularly clearly laid out.

A bright eleven plus child man enjoy the two sample GCSE Foundation papers. As eleven plus children approach their examination they could be surprised to see just how well they can do on a GCSE Foundation paper.

Eleven Plus Communication

Teachers at school, parents in their social settings and eleven plus tutors all play a part in helping the eleven plus child towards the examination. Some children will readily work at home through papers - other children may need a little more help.

The intricacies of the eleven plus examination emerge slowly. Parents can not hope to master the content of the examination without learning about the examination, themselves and their children.

There is a wealth of information around about the types of questions that will be asked and how the questions will be presented in the examination. The teacher at school, however, can not be wholly responsible for the performance of a child in an external examination. After all there are many factors beyond the control of the school. Parents can only do the best they can in helping their child prepare. The children themselves will, most often, simply do their best.

One important element is communication. Parents can not expect a teacher at school to be able to answer a direct question: "Will he pass?" There are too many variables.

Parents will have knowledge of what their child can and can not do. Parents can simply hope that their child does as well as possible in the examination.

The tutor (if there is one) adds breadth and depth to the program.

The candidate, we hope, will appreciate the urgency of the endeavor and will work accordingly.

Your eleven plus child will benefit from understanding where each of the parties come from. This is part of eleven plus communication.

Eleven Plus Reading Errors

If your child happens to misread a question it could be more than carelessness. Ask your child to read the question aloud. Record any mistakes:

Omissions
Substitutions
Additions
Refusals
Repetitions
Reversals
Gross mispronunciations.

Add to the equation a lack of understanding of the word - as well as poor comprehension of the question.

You will need to keep everything in perspective. It can be argued that errors in reading can be ignored provided your child grasps the meaning of what is being read.

National Grammar School Association

The National Grammar School Association web site gives information about grammar schools in an authoritarian and in formed manner.

The site is full of research and information and is well worth a read.

We all want children to do well in eleven plus examinations in order that the children have the best possible education and opportunities.

One side of a case for the Eleven Plus.

Is there still a strong case for grammar schools?



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1201768/Labour-accused-breaking-promise-45-lessons-set-ability.html


Once again the comments on the report are illuminating.

Eleven Plus Holiday Reading

The school holidays are here. Your eleven plus child can not spend the whole time doing papers. There is, perhaps, a little time to do some reading. What could or should be read?

An eleven plus child is naturally reading independently. This has probably meant that for some time you, as parents, have had little to do with the selection of books and reading materials.

You may, however, decide that your child needs to read books that will be of value. This is where you feel that you have the competence to be able to present your child with material that enrich and expand the eleven plus vocabulary. This is where a trip to the library could help. “I have a bright ten year old child; please suggest some books around the thirteen year old level.”

If you, and your informed sources, get it wrong all you will have achieved is frustrating your child. This is where you will be informed, in no uncertain terms, that the book is boring and that it fails to hold attention. (Or words to that effect.)

You may also overcompensate by choosing a book that is too easy or too hard.

Teachers call the process of arriving at the right level of book as an `Informal Reading Inventory.’ Of course some parents will need to present the book on bended knee and offer a credible bribe to read the book. Other parents will be able to leave the book lying around rather casually in the hope that their potentially avaricious reader will fall on the book and attempt to devour it in a sitting. Most children will enjoy a holiday reading path some where between these extremes.

Many book shops tend to group books in bands of readability. Internet searches can also offer fruitful rewards.

And now for the parents' `Informal Reading Inventory’.

“Did you enjoy that book?”

“Would you like to read another book like this one?”

“Were some of the words a bit too hard?”

“Would I enjoy reading it?”

“Should we suggest this book to any one else?”

A Challenge to the Present Eleven Plus

There seems to be very little that is being written about the Eleven Plus by the authors of eleven plus materials, or tutors or the parents that can be subject to `astringent intellectual scrutiny’.

Publishers do not appear to be calling for eleven plus change.

Eleven plus tutors do not seem to demand change.

The authors of the actual eleven plus tests do not seem to be searching for change.

There have, however, been extraordinary changes in the world over the past fifty years. Why has no new form of examination emerged to challenge existing procedures?

Suppose there was a `Royal Commission’ or a white paper that examined two elements of the present eleven plus.

The first must be to establish exactly what the aims of the eleven plus are – and what kind of curriculum is needed.

The second part of the eleven plus discussion must cover the procedures of learning and teaching that are appropriate.

Sadly it is only the parents who have found themselves in an `appeal situation’ that are offered the opportunity of being able to argue a case for `astringent intellectual scrutiny’. Why can't other parents be offered part of a platform of eleven plus change?

Eleven Plus Blues

Some teachers find the occasional parents rather intimidating when they are questioned about their work. The teachers, or tutors, of eleven plus children may, at times, also feel under pressure. Teachers are simply ordinary people – but they are also expected to effect change in a child in extraordinary and super human ways.

Teachers can become stressed, just like other members of the general public, through tension, frustration, anxiety, anger and depression. It is possible, for example, that some teachers may be affected by the current downturn in economy. We remember the words of Harry Truman who said:

“It is a recession when your neighbour loses his job: it’s a depression when you lose yours.”

Teachers must be affected by the demands made on them by parents. The eleven plus teacher can not easily change the circumstances at home. It would be possible, for example, for a teacher to suggest that the T.V. is turned off while the eleven plus child is working through a paper. The teacher can not, however, take over the remote control.

Stress in Eleven Plus teachers can come from a variety of sources. A primary cause must be the attitude of their pupils towards work. A child who does not want to work becomes a challenge to the teacher. The teacher is being paid by the parent to do a job. Naturally the teacher will want to do the best possible job in the time allowed.

Sometimes the sheer enormity of the task can cause stress. A pleasant and hard working child may simply be working a little too slowly. No teacher would want to try to change a worthy child – but the date of the eleven plus examination is fixed. Time is remorseless.

Sometimes eleven plus teachers must feel that they are simply swimming against the tide. Their pupil takes on yet another activity. “Give me a busy man and we will get the job done,” may be true in some circumstances – but a child needs time to reflect and rest. Parents need to make sure that their child does have time to rest and reflect. It is not, however, a teacher’s role to appear to criticise a parent.

A teacher, however, has many rewards that can help to `blow away the blues’. A child learns her tables – yet again. This time it works. More confidence with tables leads to an understanding of lowest terms in fractions. This in turn helps with percentages. There can be few jobs that offer that satisfaction.

Freud and the Eleven Plus

Freud made us aware of the need to understand the human mind. He stressed the difference between conscious and unconscious thought.

He postulated ideas that long ago that led to a feeling that psycho analysis would help to engender free and natural development through the prevention of repression. Of course his ideas led to many half baked theories about the need for `free discipline'. The real benefit of his work was a deeper understanding of the causes of delinquency in childhood - and an understanding of some of the ways in which such causes can be avoided. Freud also made us aware of how different approaches could contribute to methods of handing problem children.

In eleven plus terms Freud would have pointed out that a child learns best when the child's energies and drives are properly engaged.

There is an old saying in education: "There are no such things as problem children, only problem parents."

In Freudian terms a child identifies with his or her parents - and with his or her teachers. For some children it is all too much to have a parent who is also a teacher. This leads to the emotional peaks and troughs of the relationship between the child and his or her parents.

Putting Fun Into The Eleven Plus

Parents will want to try to help their children feel happy about working towards the Eleven Plus.

Parents will want an atmosphere of co-operation and consent. Most parents will want any arguments nipped in the bud because of the fast moving nature of life. Most parents will remember `King' as there is probably no other game that so encapsulates a sense of fairness.

King is a ball game in which one person has a ball and throws it at one of the other players. There is no retaliation. Anyone who is hit by the ball joins the thrower in trying to hit the rest of the players.

The rules are simple.

You can not run with the ball.
You can pass the ball.
You can punch the ball away with your fist.
The game ends when all the players have been hit.

The start of the game is simple. The players stand around in a circle with their legs apart. The is thrown into the ring and when it passes through the legs of one of the players then that person become the `King'. As soon as the ball passes through the legs everyone runs - except for the `King' who has to catch the ball.

Parents with children who complain about the eleven plus may consider playing this game with their children. The adults will find plenty of opportunities to bring fairness into the conversation. After all the whole game breaks down if one person does not follow the rules. Point out to your child that the whole eleven plus project can be compromised if the basic rules of co-operation and endeveour are not followed.

If you can achieve this state of mind then you too will be King (or Queen - if you wish.)

Eleven Plus Advice

The idea of good `bug' is a broken down exterior but a `hot' set up. This picture was shot at Bug Jam 2009.

I bought my first VW when I was training to be a teacher. The first car had been a Wolsey bought by selling my racing bicycle - it was big and heavy on everything. There was no power steering in those days. The second car was a Ford Popular - because of a broken leg. It was much lighter to drive. The third car was a 58 VW. It was dark blue with bucket seats.

A feature of this car was the petrol tank. There was a little switch situated just behind the gear level that held the key to the reserve petrol tank. As a student I needed that switch over and over again.

In those day I used to play the double bass at parties and dances. A double bass fits neatly into a VW bug - but does not leave much room for passengers. Passengers were essential as they had money.

As parents give their child advice about what to do after leaving school they will probably warn them that it of little having a car as because of the cost of insurance and petrol. Parents will probably also point out that hiring the vehicle for profit will probably nullify the insurance. Some parents too will want their child to buy a car that is safe and reliable - and big enough to take a `big' musical instrument.


Posted on Sunday - as there was no link to the internet in the middle of a field at Bug Jam 2009 at Santa Pod.)

Eleven Plus Opitimism (Friday)

It is likely that almost every set of parents will approach the eleven plus in a highly individual manner. Parents will rely on different books, exercises, tutors and advice. Their children mainly just accept what is offered.. Of course the children may argue about the amount of work that has to be done. The children’s defences must surely collapse when they are offered those heart felt words: “We are only doing this because it is for your own good.”

We are at Bug Jam 2009 today. The are VWs from all over Britain and Europe. It is obvious that certain activities bring people together with common interests. The VW enthusiasts adorn their vehicles with paint jobs and extras. Naturally a split screen pre `58 is highly desirable.



Some of the camper vans seem to have had their rust painted on in an effort to add authenticity and glamour. This is a bit like a parent engaging a number of different eleven plus tutors to `ensure’ that their children pass the eleven plus.



It has rained nearly all day so that there has been no drag racing because the organisers won’t allow anyone near the track if it is wet. There is an old and oft used phrase: “Tomorrow will be better.”

This is a great phrase to reflect on when dealing with the eleven plus. Parents have to be optimistic. They have to be confident. Their children have to believe in their parents – and children have to believe in their parents.



(Posted on Sunday as the mobile card to link the lap top to the internet did not work in the middle of a field.)

The Magic of the Eleven Plus

Today we are going to embrace the Eleven Plus Spell. This is a useful spell for any mother or father on the eleven plus road with just a few precious days to go. As a parent you should be able ease yourself into the eleven plus mood.

This is where it gets a bit hazy – which could possibly be dangerous for any one tempted into the world of magic. You have to decide if the eleven plus spell is for you or if it is for your child.

The Eleven Plus Spell for your child:

I wish my child can pass the eleven plus.
I wish my child will pass the eleven plus.
I wish my child has passed the eleven plus.

(Remember for a spell to come true you have to say it three times.)

The Eleven Plus Spell for Parents

Collect five pebbles and put them in a ring on the steps leading out of the house.

Place a candle inside the ring. (Ignore the ignorant neighbours at this stage.)

Lift a cup into the air and say:

“As the most auspicious day approaches I call upon the elements to bring fame and fortune to my child.”

If you are honoured with a clap of thunder you know that global warming is on the way. If the thunder is accompanied by lightening you know it will rain.

When your child asks you what you are doing simply smile mysteriously and say: “You are too young to know. I will tell you after the eleven plus.” (By then you will know if your spell actually worked.)

The Eleven Plus Ombudsman

Primitive societies, without a written language, have limited fields of awareness about their past. History tends to become distorted – and drifts between myth and real history. It is felt that a story can hold its own for about twelve generation before significant change are made.

I have just looked at Stephen Fry’s Twitter. As of this moment there are 3402 updates with 54 877 following and 655 666 followers. It would have taken a medicine man many many years to build up such a large group of adherents.

Mr Fry must now feel that his twittering is a habit that he has to feed – when ever he is in the mood. There is however a difference between pure memory and habit memory. Pure memory would be Mr Fry remembering incidents and facts that actually happened. Habit memory is a little more complex. Habit memory takes into account memories of the past – including traditions, information gleaned from school, the neighbourhood and society in general. So some of Stephen Fry’s twitters could help us to develop our thoughts and ideas. His last twitter included the words: “God bless Bill Gates. (I never thought I’d say that.)”

These words open up feelings about Microsoft, Bill Gates, philanthropy and spending money. Mr Fry gives us the ability to reflect as well as look to the future.

It is possible that twittering could possibly be a modern manifestation of the development of language – all encapsulated is a restricted number of characters. Twittering naturally can involve the past, the present and the future. Twittering, however, is a written language so there is a digital record. There is no need to twitters to be passed down through twelve generations.

If we look back to the past some societies used drums to communicate brief – but sometimes powerful messages. Just like twittering – it must have been possible to interpret the drum beats in different ways.

One problem with the present eleven plus is that there is now so much information available through the internet, books, papers, teachers and other parents that it must be difficult to work out what is myth and what is reality. If Stephen Fry twits something it must be right – otherwise any one of his thousands of followers would be able to put him right.

Who can put the worried parent right? We are long past the sound of jungle drums. We can not believe everything on the internet. There must be trusted books and publishers. Certain playground gossip must be correct - at times. Perhaps we do need an official eleven plus twitterer. So here we are with the first clarion call for the: “Eleven Plus Twitter Ombudsman.” Any takers?

Eleven Plus Technique

A well known, and much discussed, eleven plus concern is that of guessing multiple choice answers. What happens if your child does not guess the right answers – but another child does guess a few correctly and then goes on to win a place in grammar school?

Of course guessing can take place in any examination. A bright and able child should be able to construct a sensible and thoughtful answer even if he or she does not know much about the subject. A number of parents will be able to look back on their school days and remember an examination that they passed more by luck than hard work.

Parents will, however, have to deal with the problem of what to do about guessing in the actual eleven plus examination.

Suppose the eleven plus examiners could tell the children that a missed question would result in a mark being taken off the total.

“Now listen carefully, dear, if you miss a question you will loose a mark.”

“But that is not fair. I may not finish the paper and so I would loose marks.”

But what would happen if every time a mistake was made on an eleven plus paper – and a mark was deducted?

“Dear, in the verbal reasoning examination you will need to be very careful. If you make a mistake you will loose a mark.”

“That is even worse. I don’t want to do the eleven plus. I will be frightened about making a mistake – or leaving a question out. I’ve said before – it is not fair!”

“Yes, it would be much easier if you knew all the answers. You may, however, have to work even harder. Even so we don’t really know what will be in the examination.”

Suggest to your child that a look could be made at the odds available when guessing:

Two options – one right and one wrong. The odds are fifty fifty.

Three options – one right and two wrong. The odds have changed and increased.

Four options – one right and three wrong.

Five options – one right and four wrong.

If the examiner constructs the answers so that there is only one plausible answer the chances of making the correct answer are increased. Examiners seem to prefer having four options – but then they can really have only one other plausible answer.

Think how difficult it would be for your child if there was one correct answer and five wrong answers. If the examiner then added the complication of three plausible answers then any advice that you offered to your child would have to be quite impossibly complicated.

With a four option question, favoured by the eleven plus examiners if there was only one question the odds of obtaining full marks is one in four. With two questions the odds of full marks are one in sixteen. With three questions the odds are one in sixty four. With seven questions the odds climb to one in sixteen thousand three hundred and eighty four. If your child does answer all seven questions correctly – the odds are that he or she actually does know something about the answer.

In some eleven plus areas, in some examinations, children have to answer eighty eleven plus questions in fifty minutes – so the chance of scoring full marks decreases markedly.

All this to say – if there are four options - encourage your child to work out the answer. Then remind your child to reject the two implausible answers and simply check between the remaining two plausible answers. This is called examination technique.

Eleven Plus Development

Mental Development is supposed to grow rapidly during early childhood and the intermediate years and gradually tape off in late adolescence. There is a graph which suggests that one half of child's mental status is achieved by the age of three and at ten years old and by around ten years old about eighty percent of mental capacity will have been reached. Every parent must be reassured to know that the terminal point for advances in mental development occurs at around twenty one.

Another figure that is quoted quite often is that there is only about 0.6 correlation between mental ability and test scores. This means that there are many factors other than mental ability that enter into school success.

Factors like teaching methods, exposure to the the correct eleven plus syllabus, the child's interests along with social, physical and emotional security must all play their part.

A child who does very well on verbal reasoning questions but who is not motivated to do well at school may not do as well in the eleven plus examination as a child who is focused on winning a place at grammar school.

It would be very interesting to read about research into verbal and non verbal reasoning test results at the age of eight - and future success in `A' level results.

Great decisions are made about children aged ten years old - that could affect their future education. Surely the results of the eleven plus - in some cases - must be treated with great caution. There must be a case to argue that it is likely that there could be fluctuations in test scores. Thus a child who is denied a place in grammar school because he or she is one or two marks off the pass rate may have a case that their appeal needs to treated sympathetically.

Faster Connection

We are about to install the new BT Business Broadband.

The potential speed on our line is 4.5 mbps - according to www.bt.com/broadband/speedtest.

How fair is the Eleven Plus?

In English elementary schools the principle of an annual examination conducted by an impartial outside examiner, in the person of an inspector, prevailed from 1862 for about thirty five years. The examination was individual in key subjects – and by class or group in other subjects. The amount of Government subsidy was determined by the results of the examination. This was the plan called `payment by results’.

In those days there was little connection between examination and payment. This was in effect the idea of an external examination – that it selected children who would do well in secondary and elective schools. There was, as there is now in the eleven plus, a clear distinction between educational and competitive examinations.

Competitive examinations like the eleven plus are not meant to be educational. They are meant to select children for entry to grammar school. In some schools the influence of the eleven plus begins in reception.

The eleven plus is designed to be fair for children who are in the top twenty five percent. Some questions, therefore, may be unfair for children who are not of above average ability. The problem with the present eleven plus, however, is that forces within the school – and outside of school – can affect the results of children. In other words an able child attending a good school dedicated to helping children to do as well as possible academically, along with involved parents and the possibility of a good tutor may have a better chance than a child who is not give similar help and support.

There will always be stories of able children who do not pass an eleven plus examination. Back at H.Q. we often talk about an outstanding girl who failed one eleven plus examination but passed a second with extraordinary results. She did not want to attend, under any circumstances, a mixed eleven plus school which was near to the home – but wanted an all girls school.

Hard Eleven Plus Problems

One of the classical grand systems in psychology is called the `Gestalt Theory’. A strong element of this system is that the brain gathers information and then assembles it in a form that can be used.

Some kinds of traditional eleven plus training books seem to take the view that there are a number of key types of question that will occur in the eleven plus examination. The presentation of the eleven plus exercises is therefore often in a logical order – and many eleven plus books seem to follow a remarkably similar order.

The supposition is that if your child learns, and practises, a number of key eleven plus types then your child will be able to apply this practice in the actual examination. Parents work on the premise that if their child goes over the different types of question again and again then bit by bit their child will gain examination ready confidence.

The Gestalt theory (as seen in eleven plus eyes) seems to lean towards the idea that the brain is able to vacuum up a whole collection of seemingly random types of eleven plus question and then classify and organise the information into usable chunks. Then when your child is solving a problem the brain tries to assemble variables and then deal with them in a structured and organised manner.

Nevertheless your child will not be able to dig into a paint pot of colours and ideas and solve a hard eleven plus problem unless he or she has been exposed to some sort of system. Parents can make an important and lasting contribution to their child’s eleven plus education if they occasionally expose their children to difficult and intriguing problems.

Eleven Plus Boys and Girls

How does one account for differences between boys and girls as they study for their eleven plus?

A dated and sometimes unfamiliar stereotype of males seems to hover around men being more interested in adventure, physical activity, mechanics, science and business. Women, according to past observations, were more interested in domestic, artistic and humanitarian activities. Males were supposed to be more aggressive, rough and fearless. Females were more timid, sympathetic and emotionally expressive.

All these statements are not as true today. Just watch a determined and able eleven plus female candidate tearing through an eleven plus practice paper. The words: “No prisoners” spring to mind. She can be determined, focused and dedicated. She will be dismissive of the speed of calculation of an ordinary human. She will relish problem solving and will have her eyes set on winning a place in grammar school.

Words like `timid' and `emotionally expressive' will not enter her thoughts and vocabulary.

This week I have worked with an eight year old (She is nearly nine).

I hope she leads our country one day.

Eleven Plus and Time

It is not hard to feel privileged when working with eleven plus children – because they are bright and alive. The repartee and speed of response is sometimes breathtaking. Some of them, however, do seem to have a problem with time. We all know about absent minded professors, or egg heads, and time – and but wonder if the ability to maintain a careful watch on time is a cross some seriously bright children have to bear.

Timing is not a problem on easy, medium or hard questions. The problem comes when a really difficult question emerges. That is when the adrenalin kicks in – the eleven plus child in on this earth to solve this problem.

Having a watch helps. Ask your children where the word watch comes from. You will be reminded that five hundred years ago watch keepers used to walk through the streets at night. They carried clocks and called out the time every hour. After a while the clocks were made smaller and smaller and were called `watches’ after the men who carried them.

Some of the early watches looked like eggs – and were a similar size and shape. Bit by bit the watches became more reliable and kept better time. Today we even have watches that are updated by radio signal.

Watches can vary very much in size and cost. Your eleven plus child needs a watch with a large face. It is important that your eleven plus child needs to understand how to use a watch to time work.

You could spend a profitable afternoon going for a walk, whilst calling out the time every quarter. This could build an awareness of time passing – and the need to maintain close contact.

The Cat's Whiskers and the Eleven Plus

There will be some among us who still remember how to improve the reception on a crystal set. Every enthusiast probably had a set way of dealing with the problems – but there must have been some common elements.

The cat’s whisker may have moved – so try a new point.

The tuning dial may have moved.

The aerial may be fouling something.

The earth may not be secured properly.

Try a new crystal.

If there are no sounds examine all the connections carefully.

Check that no foreign matter has lodged under the terminals.

Make sure that the ear phones are working correctly.


By now you will have built up a picture of a cat’s whisker. You know that you will receive sounds. You know that you may have a little more trouble with obtaining good reception using the cat’s whisker – than you would using the radio on your mobile phone.

Your child will probably follow a similar set of thoughts as he or she struggles with a question. If years ago you knew that you have an unreliable aerial then you would immediately look to moving or replacing it. In just the same way when you encourage your child to think about multiple choice questions you will to follow a set of rules:

Read the question.

Re-read the question.

Look at the multiple choice answers and immediately eliminate the answers which are patently absurd.

It is possible that your list of do and don’t must fall over far more than one page. With a crystal set – suddenly there was the most exquisite noise and you thought to yourself: “I did that”


When you say to your child, in a happy and pleased manner: “You really are the cat’s whiskers!” you know that you are really thinking that your child has tuned in and is actually listening to you.

Steps to Eleven Plus Glory

You may think sometimes that your child is approaching the eleven plus syllabus almost as if he or she is learning by grazing. A little knowledge is nibbled here and a little understanding there. This system of learning may seem to be unorganised and lacking in any direction – but it may suit a particular stage of learning.

Some parents will argue a convincing case for structure. Indeed a number of eleven plus teachers may feel constrained to follow a highly systematic order.

What ever the `system’ that is used the overall aims must be remarkably similar.

Step 1
Try to encourage your child to become an independent learner. Some children find this hard – they are so used to being told what to do by all concerned at school and at home.

Step 2
You may need to explain the relevance of what is being learnt. This could be very difficult on some types of verbal reasoning question – but less so for mathematics topics like ratio or proportion.

Step 3
You may need to try to help your child to use time effectively. Some parents will need to organise their child’s time. I met a family this weekend who wanted to start eleven plus work at the beginning of the new school year – when their son entered Year 5. On two nights a week he had two activities after school. On the other three days he only had one activity – and only one on a Saturday. When would he have time to read? When could he spend time on a paper? When as his time to reflect? Could he ever have time to day dream?

Step 4
Parents will, at times, need to `get involved’ and struggle with finding answers to questions. I met some parents over the weekend where both parents went through an eleven plus paper the night before their child worked through the paper. The parents went to these lengths because of the nature of their child. This degree of involvement will not suit all families – but may be useful on occasions.

16 Years after the Eleven Plus

"Hello Shaun, do you remember me?"

"Good afternoon, I do recognise your face. How are you?"

"You don't remember my name do you?"

"No, I am sorry."

"Well my son did the Eleven Plus with you sixteen years ago. His name is Daniel. He went to university and became a Civil Engineer. He is working in America now."

"That is wonderful. Please send him my best wishes.

Eleven Plus Changes

What would happen if the the authors of the `Real Eleven Plus' were prepared to ask opinions about the composition and the nature of the tests? There can have been only minute changes to the examination over the past fifty years - and a lot has happened in this time. Wars have come and gone. Education Secretaries have come and gone. Some types of Eleven Plus are still there.

1. Introduce critical thinking tests - as some universities are trialling.

2. Extend other tests - such as projective tests to help in the process of measuring ability.

3. Have each and every child rated by a group of adults and professionals.

4. Measure his or her preference for stressful situations.

5. Spend even more time taking more children though reasoning tests to make it fairer for all.

6. Offer a standard learning task to see how much is learnt and retained.

Of course some will welcome change. Other will argue against change for change's sake. Some will say: "If it ain't broke don't try to fix it. All we can hope is that one day the silent majority will have a voice that can ask for an investigation into thr Eleven Plus examinations

When to do Eleven Plus Papers

Parents are sometimes able to argue with some conviction that there is a strong case to leave eleven plus revision to simply working through a few papers just before the examination. “We only did a two or three papers, untimed of course, and my daughter passed with flying colours.”

These parents have strong evidence, of course, to back up their claims that go back over many years.

Case 1: Salamanders
Salamanders reared with little opportunity to swim freely learnt to swim remarkably quickly when they are offered the opportunity.

Case 2: Chicks
Chicks reared in darkness fir a few days actually learnt to peck accurately with a far faster rate of improvement than did chicks that were give every opportunity in learning to peck.

Case 3: Children
Children who were given special practice in stair climbing and tower building showed improvement – but children who were not given such special practice learnt the same skills but took much less time.

Case 4: Hopi Indians
Hopi Indian children who were reared on cradle boards, so they could not use their legs, learnt to walk at much the same time as other Hopi Indian children.

Parents of Eleven Plus children will no doubt rejoice in the results of this research. They will be able to justify in their own minds that there is little need to purchase piles of eleven plus papers. The parents will be able to say that there is little need for tutors and eleven plus courses. Playground gossip will agree that their no real need for their school to be blamed for not doing any extra eleven plus work.

There will naturally be some unconvinced parents who will maintain that: “It is better to be safe than sorry.”

Eleven Plus Parents

Research carried out some fifty years ago suggested that intelligence does not decline or decrease after the age of thirty.

Naturally this information will be of vital importance to parents of eleven plus children. If you can not do some strange eleven plus question it does not mean that all your brains are shrinking, it could be simply a poorly conceived eleven plus question.

Fair Eleven Plus Examinations

There are a few lines from a lyric at the beginning of "My Fair Lady" which seems to sum up the parts of te current state of the eleven plus.



Arabians learn Arabian with the speed of summer lightning.
And Hebrews learn it backwards,
which is absolutely frightening.
But use proper English you're regarded as a freak.
Why can't the English,
Why can't the English learn to speak?

We are taking booking for courses all over the country. Every county wants its own take on the examination. Individual schools want to show how individual they are by designing their own eleven plus examinations.

Why can`t the eleven plus authorities agree on a common examination?

Desirable Eleven Plus Characteristics

Gone are the days when a parent can say to a child: “If you don’t work hard towards your eleven plus you will become a shop assistant.”

In the first place a person who decides to make a career in a shop has to have certain attributes which are hard to install – namely the ability to withstand the continual wear and tear that comes through contact with customers. A shop assistant who can deal with an aggrieved and angry customer has personal qualities which some eleven plus children may need. After all a child working towards the eleven plus has to feel special – and be cosseted at time by all concerned. (“The eleven plus is such a worry.”) Equally the eleven plus child is only one member of a family so that there can be no banging of doors (Literally as we as figuratively.)

Shop assistants have to be enthusiastic and cheerful – otherwise they will drive their customers away. Eleven plus children also have to be enthusiastic and cheerful otherwise they will drive their parents away. After the link between mother the earth mother and mother the eleven plus teacher can be tenuous.

Finally a little sincerity has to creep into the equation. Parents can be driven to say – with considerable conviction - “As I said before, if you don’t work hard towards your eleven plus you will have to become a shop assistant, but take heed if you do then you must be not only the best possible but the most sincere shop assistant.”

Do we remember a shop assistant who has been courteous and tactful? Very likely on major purchases. It is also likely that we keep well away from the angry and disillusioned. Every time your eleven plus child is friendly and hardworking say a little prayer. After all children under some degree of pressure must need to re charge their batteries – so long as it is not at your expense.

There is not an eleven plus parent in the land who will not display characteristics of patience, perseverance, adaptability, sincerity, courtesy, tactfulness and resistance to pressure at one time or another. They can only hope that their eleven plus children do the same - at one time or another.

Eleven Plus Payment by Results

The whole idea of the National Curriculum was that children between the ages of 5 and 16 should follow a centrally directed curriculum consisting of core and foundation subjects.

The second premise was that children should be tested at ages seven, eleven, fourteen and sixteen. The rationale for the change was that some state schools did not offer a curriculum that was appropriate to their needs and those of society. Nation wide testing was advocated because standards seemed to be slipping when compared with children in other countries.

Of course there was no room for eleven plus testing in the great scheme of things.

In essence, however, the national curriculum in the `new’ form of core foundation subjects went back to the Education Act of 1902 when the then Conservative Government abolished 2568 school boards.

Testing at 14 has already been abolished. SATs at eleven has been attacked on many fronts.

But back in 1862 there was a system of payment to schools based on a limited range of subjects – the 3 Rs. (Reading, writing and Arithmetic.)

Suppose that some future government introduced a different system of payment by results based on mathematics along with verbal and non verbal reasoning.

This would introduce considerable controversy into the present fraught education system!

Think of a scenario where teachers at school were actively trying to help bright children to tackle demanding mathematics problems and cope with having to learn to reason and think!

It does not bear thinking. All over the country worried parents would not only have to worry about the pressure they were putting on their children – but parents would have to worry about the pressure the teachers at school were putting on their children!

Eleven Plus Mini Tests

In 1991 we started on developing a computer program that used the strengths of the National Curriculum to try to help children to learn in a measured and organised manner. We used standardised tests to diagnose strengths and weaknesses –and our test results were trusted by parents, children and professionals. The great majority of the tests were administered and interpreted by serving teachers – which gave dignity, authority and strength to any diagnosis.

Our program ACTION served us well – prescribing over two and half individualised lessons for children. A few years ago we started on eACTION – that allowed us to use the developing power of the internet to deliver lessons. Back in 1998 some children attending Etc were taught through the internet – but the download speeds were too slow. We used a Macromedia product called Authorware to carry the lessons.

Today eACTION allows us to test and diagnose through a battery of internet ready tests – and deliver lessons to any where in the world. Some children still do pen and paper standardised tests when deemed necessary.

Continuous assessment has always been achieved and carried out through each child’s ACTION plan. We have just added the concept of on line mini tests which allow us to offer partial assessments in the child’s own home.

Children attending our Eleven Plus courses over the coming holidays can be tested to see just how secure their examination readiness is. As the children work through pen and paper eleven plus exercises on the courses their results are entered onto eACTION. Parents and the eleven plus candidates log on to revise and consolidate the work they did in their lessons.

Predicting Eleven Pus Success

One reason for asking children to compete for grammar school places is an attempt to use the results to predict future academic success. In other words a child who does well in the eleven plus, and then has the benefit of a grammar school education, should do well at GCSE, A level and I.B. examinations.

There must have been many comparisons of test results over the years. Are Verbal Reasoning tests better at predicting than Non Verbal Reasoning tests? What part does mathematics play in being a useful predictive tool?

Are there any tests which predict success in particular A level subjects? If so, how good is there predictive power? It would also be very helpful to us to know just how valid the eleven plus test results are.

We know that grammar school rely on the validity of the eleven plus test. We know too that verbal reasoning plays an important part in most eleven plus examinations. Verbal reasoning is a common element in many different eleven plus tests so grammar schools must rely on good verbal reasoning results.

The preparation for verbal reasoning tests must take many different paths. Good reading skills, and a strong usable vocabulary, must help. Good results on verbal reasoning tests must also be affected by the influence of the school, the home and the neighbourhood. A good tutor along with involved parents may sometimes also play a significant part in helping some children to do well on a verbal reasoning test.

Eleven Plus Aptitude

The word intelligence is sometimes used instead of aptitude. The work aptitude is sometimes called reasoning. It is easier to say that a child has not passed the eleven plus because of a lack of aptitude or poor reasoning skills than it is to say that a child lacks intelligence.

Intelligence tests usually contain questions on vocabulary, analogies, similarities, opposites, arithmetic and general information.

Father is to son as bull is to (ewe, cow, colt, calf and mare)

Sometimes an intelligence test can look at short term memory – for example recalling a series of numbers. Quite often codes are used – and here the code can be used as often as is needed. Questions are sometimes designed to take into account the ability to learn and apply the code.

These types of questions were prevalent in intelligence tests sixty years ago. Surely eleven plus questions could have moved on?

Earlier this week I worked with a boy who obviously had high non verbal and spatial abilities. He found some types of verbal reasoning difficult. If his eleven plus examination had been made up of non verbal reasoning, spatial abilities and mathematics reasoning questions he would find a place in any grammar school.

It was likely, however, that his verbal reasoning scores would struggle to rise over 115. He would do very well in mathematics and computing grammar school – but not one that specialised in languages. In time he should go on to enjoy a degree in engineering – but would struggle at university doing Ancient Greek.

He may or may not gain entry to the local grammar school but he will certainly lead an academic life away from certain types of books and words. His intelligence is obvious – scores over 135 in non verbal reasoning and mathematics point to this. He may lack certain verbal reasoning skills in spite of every effort on the part of his parents and the school. He deserves a place in a grammar school.

Developing Ability at the Eleven Plus Stage

The notion that intelligence is fixed goes back to the days of Charles Darwin. His theory of evolution, and the intense controversy that surrounded it, helped to form the thought intelligence was fixed for life. His younger cousin, Sir Francis Galton, reasoned that intelligence could not be developed but what was needed was the selection of superior beings who would then survive and reproduce.

Galton built some tests which he offered to college students. In time psychologists began to test the theories of fixed intelligence and came up with a measure of ability called the `Developmental Quotient’. For many years it was felt that whatever test was used the child’s ability would stay around the same level.

What would Darwin and Galton have thought about coaching for the eleven plus? We are currently working with a boy who came to us in Year 4 – with around average results. In his recent tests at school his mathematics and reasoning results (verbal and non verbal) were all above 128. His environment had helped – having parents who could afford to pay for coaching, his school had helped by providing an encouraging environment – and the boy had helped himself.

The boy in question has surely demonstrated that there is much more to testing ability at the eleven plus stage than expecting a child to `deliver the goods’ on a day at a certain time.

What we do know about this boy that he has developed to such an extent that his measured intelligence has grown over time. He now has a chance of passing the eleven plus – whereas if there had been little intervention it is possible that he may have continued to display the characteristics if an `around average’ pupil. Around average pupils can not find their way into grammar schools. A different style of management at school, along with an inspired and able class teacher, and of course the boy could have reached a level where entry to grammar school was likely.

Eleven Plus Debate

The debate on “Grammar Schools are Best” was an inaugural event by the Spectator.

The surroundings were superb – built in times when austerity and credit crunch were not dynamic foreboding words. We gathered, before the debate started, for `drinks on the terrace’. It was so civilised. I kept wondering how many of the past geographers had been grammar school boys and girls. One teacher arrived with around eight girls in tow. She peered at the queue waiting for drinks and said, “You are on your own. Do not stray!”

Around two hundred and forty of us must have attended the debate. As we walked in there was a poll - `For or Against’. Mr Neil, the Chairman, announced that 173 had voted for the motion, a few against and about 50 `Don’t Knows’. A secret ballot was taken at the end of the proceedings where some of the `Don’t knows’ had become `Against’.

Those debating for the motion relied heavily on the how grammars schools had opened up opportunities for children with poor prospects of any real social mobility. Those `Against’ pointed out that grammar schools were still the preserve of the middle class.

The audience were given ample opportunity to make a variety of points. Most of the speeches were short and to the point. One teacher, however, went on and on and had to be restrained.

There were some witty extemporised remarks. Some people do think on their feet. A statistic had just been quoted, by a main speaker, about the increased number of comprehensive children passing their GCSE examinations. When the speaker drew the point out that strong leadership and gifted teaching in the comprehensives had led to a rise in GCSE grades, when compared with those of forty years ago, some wag in the audience raised his voice to yell; “The GCSE examinations are easier today than they were forty years ago.”


The motion was carried. I felt privileged to be there.

I am looking forward to attending the debate tonight, promoted by the Spectator, at the Royal Geographical Society between 6.45 and 8.30.

"Grammar Schools are the best."

Speakers for the motion include: R. Hon David Davis MP, Stephen Pollard, Gragam Brady MP.

Speakers against the motion: Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP, Simon Jenkins, Polly Toynbee.

The event is chaired by Andrew Neil.

Every parents wants to feel that they have some choice in teh schools that their children will attend. The ability to earn a place in a Grammar School is not right - but a priviledge which a child earns by being bright and hard working.

Eleven Plus Nagging

Parents, teachers and eleven plus children all chat at some time of another about the cycle of feelings. The terms people use may be different but the cycle is sustainable. Very simply:

How I think and feel about myself.

How others behave towards me.

How I behave towards others.


How I think and feel about myself:

The Teacher – I am confident that I know what I am teaching, I have some knowledge of my eleven plus pupils and I am able to work with the parents of my eleven plus children.

The Parents – I know what I want. Quite simply I want to give my child the best possible chance of passing the eleven plus. I know my child’s strengths and weaknesses and expect the teacher to bring out the best in my child.

The Child – I like work that is interesting – and I do well at work that I like. I want a teacher that is fair and makes the lesson interesting.

How others behave towards me:

The Teacher – I am a professional, I will earn respect with every pupil. I will listen to the concerns of parents.

The Parent – I am our child’s mother (father). I would like our teacher to understand and respond to my concerns. My child must understand and act on my concerns.

The Child – Just don’t lecture me.

How I behave to others:

The Teacher – I will respect the needs and concerns of all concerned. I will, however, defend my position if I come under fire.

The Parents – I will do my best to be realistic about my child’s ability and will therefore try to understand what the professions are saying.

The Child – I will work hard, be polite, say thank you, always start my eleven plus work without being nagged and tidy up my work after I have finished.

Eleven Plus Tests

The eleven plus examinations are designed to select children for entry to grammar schools. The remit of the examination does not need to include differentiating scores between children in the lower twenty five percent – but does need to be reasonably accurate with establishing the ability of children in upper twenty five percent.

Verbal reasoning tests in their present eleven plus form rely heavily of good reading skills. These could include the ability to read and recognise a word, good comprehension skills and a sound reading vocabulary. Children entering the eleven plus links with a can’t read and won’t read mentality are disadvantaged.

We have, on occasion, met children working towards the eleven plus examination with gross discrepancies in reading ages in the order of a year and a half. There could be many factors in mitigation – but essentially a child preparing for the eleven plus need to be able to read well.

To find test items that can select the top children in a competitive selection test the constructors of the test first of all have to try out a number of items with various groups of children.

The eleven plus test has to take into consideration the popularity of items with children, fatigue, practicability and ease of administration. After all if the items in the test cause stress or concern in children it is evident that they should not be included.

Once the items, the length and durability of the test have been established it is then checked against other tests of ability. The reliability of the test also has to be checked. As well as parental concerns the grammar schools also need to know that they are being offered children who have tested effectively and efficiently.

Eleven Plus Check Test

The Eleven Plus examinations are but a few weeks away. Most parents, by now, will be resigned to the gods of fate. A little test of fortitude and spirit could help.

Which of the following does your child really need?

A. A full set of current Eleven Plus selection papers.
B. The ability to prepare and deliver a reviving cup of tea.
C. Warmth and loving understanding of the stresses of taking the eleven plus.


Where should your child do the eleven plus preparation?

A. At school because the school always has good results.
B. With Mrs J. Kelly who helped all five of her children pass.
C. In the attic with access to good on line tests.

What is the fundamental rule of the eleven plus?

A. Listen carefully to your parents.
B. Check each answer carefully even if you do not finish.
C. Don’t ask your mother to solve a hard problem while she is dishing up a meal and talking on the telephone.

What is the correct response to an unanswerable question?

A. Just wait until your dad gets home.
B. Just wait until your mother gets home.
C. Just wait until I get you home.

What should you check before you start working with your child?

A. The T.V. is off.
B. You have the answer book secure in your hand.
C. You are impervious to any misleading suggestions.

How long have you been working on the eleven plus?

A. From birth – but I may need more time.
B. We wil start next week – that gives us five weeks to the examination.
C. I was not very good at mathematics at school.



Sores
Give yourself 50 marks for each answer you think you have marked correctly.
If you are not sure of the answer then give yourself 40 marks.
If you think you have made a mistake then offer yourself a mere 20 marks.

250 and 300 marks – you are too good to be true.
200-250 marks – one of you has to change – either your child or you.
150 – 200 marks – you are an ideal eleven plus parent. You are naturally full of fears and concerns. You have good friends who enjoy the same type of red wine. Your child will be fine.

The Eleven Plus and Investors in People

We have just heard the fantastic news today that we have achieved Investors in People Status once again.

The review was conducted by Mr Derek Milliner who is an Investor in People Assessor for Quality South East.

Investors in People is to do with business improvement - while Quality South East is to do with National Quality Standards. Recognition by these organisations is important to us to make sure we are providing the best possible opportunities for the people who work for us and our customers.

We achieve our outstanding Eleven Plus Results by the hard work and dedication of our people. Thank you!

The Extra Tuition Centre relies on providing good tuition. Thank you too to all our customers over the years.

Mr Derek Milliner can be contacted -

Derek Milliner
Milliner Consulting
Investors in People Assessor & Advisor
07732 273422

Eleven Plus Pressure

Children living in primitive surroundings sometimes have fewer stresses on their lives than children working towards the eleven plus. In puberty a boy would join his father in making a canoe, building a wall to protect against wild animals and preparing hunting weapons. A girl living in a primitive manner may be more prepared to look after a baby than attempt an exercise on rotational symmetry.

It is likely, therefore, that children growing up in a relatively simple manner will not feel so much pressure as our eleven plus child.

I have watched many eleven plus children half turn away when their mother offers those immortal eleven plus words: “I don’t really mind if he (or she) fails – so long as he (or she) is happy at school.”

Every single bright eleven plus child knows full well that the mother does not really mean that she does not mind. The children know that their parents will do all they can to ease the path towards the eleven plus.

We once had an eleven plus girl with us who was so bright that she could have passed the eleven plus at the end of Year 3. It is easy to recall her face when her mother said that she did not mind if her daughter passed. (You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time.)

While the eleven plus child is working towards the eleven plus it is the function of the parents to try to help him or her to pass the examination. Running battles can be edifying for on lookers – but can not help the preparation.

Not all eleven plus children like decisions to be made for them. After all they are learning more than facts and methods on an eleven plus course. They are learning how to compete and show maturity beyond their years.

Eleven Plus Problem Solving

Some children find difficulty in solving eleven plus mathematics problems. Problems are not only found in eleven plus papers – but also occur in many different contexts. We are often blessed with very bright children and are thus able to wander outside of the `official eleven plus syllabus’.

A ten year old girl today worked out the volume of a pyramid in her head – this involved working out one third of the area of the base times the height. She was also able to give a logical answer as to why it was necessary to divide by one third. The teaching time was no more than 25 seconds – because she able to grasp the concept looking at the example and then apply what she had read.

1. Your eleven plus child needs to know the four rules of number, fractions, decimals and the metric system. A sound grasp of tables must help.

2, Where possible every effort should be made to help your child see the problem in real terms. Distance, for example, can be discussed in terms of car or train journeys.

3. When you are explaining a problem try to keep your reasonably simple. It must help if any data you present is clear and free from ambiguity.

4. Try to hint a solution to the problem rather than giving the answer.

5. If you suggest that a diagram is drawn, where appropriate, then the illustration or visual explanation has to be clear to your child as well as to you.

Eleven Plus Adaptability

In broad eleven plus terms we can look at two types of pre examination intelligence. There is the natural intelligence of the child along with factors like the amount of effort put into the child by the parents and school and the degree of desire, by the child, to pass the eleven plus examination.

We may also need a different form of intelligence – and that is adaptive behaviour. Adaptive behaviour is the ability to cope with the natural and social demands of the examination. The ideal eleven plus candidate, therefore, begins to emerge. For some children this could be a child who states, with conviction, that the eleven plus is attainable and that he or she will work hard to achieve that goal.

Of course there are going to be a variety of factors affecting eleven plus performance. Some children may simply not have the ability to pass the examination. After all many eleven plus counties aim at drawing the top 25% into the grammar school system. If there is to be a top 25% there does need to be an average band too.

Other children may not be mature enough to cope with the rigors of the examination. These children may require considerable direction.

Other children will simple `mature into’ into the eleven plus bubble. They will begin to feel confident – and start displaying a responsible attitude towards the examination.

In summary, some teachers and parents may hope for a bright and adaptable child. One who listens carefully and approaches work in a mature and thoughtful manner. Some parents are fortunate enough to have such a child. We wish them well.

The Eleven Plus and the Power of Cooking

The question of timing of eleven plus papers has as many twists and turns as an Agatha Christie novel.

“Ten strangers find themselves trapped in a lonely island mansion off the Devon Coast. Ten strangers who have nothing in common – except that each one guards a deadly secret.

Then the murderer strikes – and there were only nine.
Then eight. Then seven.
Then six. Then five.
Then four. Then three …

By now you will have guessed that the title of Agatha’s book was:

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.

There is one way of encouraging children to time themselves. It is easy: teach them to cook.

Take a simple recipe. Your child will need a grill pan, a chopping board, a bread knife and a spoon. The ingredients include one muffin per person and a variety of toppings. Start the clock.

Heat the grill and toast the muffins for one to two minutes on each side.

Slice the muffin in half with a bread knife.

Put a spoonful of tomato sauce on each muffin.

Add toppings like strips of ham, sliced olives or tomato and grated cheese.

Grill the pizzas for a few more minutes. You know when they are ready as the cheese starts to melt.

The family are sitting expectantly. They are all looking at their watches. The eleven plus candidate enters the room carrying a plate full of toasted muffins. Hands reach out. It has taken under fifteen minutes for ten muffins. All that eleven plus effort on timing has worked.

The muffins are enjoyed.

The first one was eaten – and then there were nine.
Then eight. Then seven.
Then six. Then five.
Then four. Then three …

By now you will have guessed

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.

(This is where you consolidate the timing question to your child. Fifteen minutes is the time you take to prepare and eat a plate of muffins. To complete the task in the time allowed there is no times to waste.)

Eleven Plus Communication

When some of us arrive in a foreign country on holiday with out any prior knowledge of the language we often feel completely lost. Of course we can have access to translation sheets and dictionaries – and even sometimes one of these amazing little machines where you type a word in one language and the translation is offered in a choice of languages. If all else fails we hope we can rely the ability of the indigenous population to be able to speak English with due facility.

When immigrants come to a new country without any knowledge of the home language, then their approach to learning is often one that lacks complete organisation and method. The immigrant has to slowly learn to put the correct name to common and familiar objects – and then build to phrases that allow the ability to communicate.

Bit by bit fluency will grow, especially if lessons are available, until sentences appear. Of course the pronunciation may be almost incomprehensible at times – and the grammar may appear to be insecure but progress will be made.

Working on some aspects of verbal reasoning papers must feel learning a new language at times. A structured approach should help to accelerate learning.

Eleven Plus Change

If there are good arguments that there is a need to look closely at certain aspects of the eleven plus examination, then there will also have to be a discussion on how to make the necessary changes. It may seem to be a good idea to change elements of the selection process – but this will need to involve a lot listening to stakeholders.

The grammar schools set out a stall for the type of children they want. Parents look at the various educational options and some, not all, opt for trying to help their child secure a grammar school place.

If parents start demanding a fairer and more inclusive selection process then they have to be aware that they are starting on a journey where the end is not clear. Years ago, for example, the transition to grammar school, in some areas, took place at thirteen. Now the children sit selection tests at eleven. Whereas there could be an argument for many girls being ready to transfer at eleven, there may be a good case for some boys to transfer at thirteen.

There is so much at stake in the eleven plus process that a number of parents may prefer to opt for no change. (The devil you know …..) Other parents, coming from different backgrounds and having different interests, may embrace change and feel strongly about throwing down the gauntlet and looking forward to vigorous debate.

At the very least changes to the eleven plus examination would affect people politically and socially. Governments swept in the eleven plus in an attempt to differentiate the education of the young. A concerted wave of opinion then demolished many of the early grammar schools.

No government, at the time of writing, appears to want to engage in any eleven plus debate. The present government seems to have enough problems in broad areas of finance and education to want to rake up old ashes.

If, however, a fresh and invigorating discussion could engage the interest of the public - then it is likely that change could be effected.

The Eleven Plus Debate

The debate about the Eleven Plus and Grammar Schools is live.

It was reported that the place of grammar schools dominated one election debate.

The comments that followed the report by Oliver Evans are illuminating - and fascinating to read and touch at the heart of Eleven Plus debate.

Boys and the Eleven Plus

A fascinating look into problems boys have with coping with the aspirations of their parents can be found on the web site Why Boys Fail.

It is gratifying to see the progress that girls are making at school and at university.

Our boys at ten and eleven years old have to grow up so quickly when they are faced with competitive examinations. Some boys are grateful for the opportunity to display their academic ability. Other boys, in some cases a little less mature, just need a few more months.

All parents can do is try not to become too frustrated with their sons. Evidence does show that boys (and men) usually get there in the end.

Post Eleven Plus Pressure

Being an Eleven Plus parent is not always easy.

Some parents are over ambitious for their children.

Some parents underestimate their child's ability.

Some parents are happy with their lot - and don't mind if their child does attend a grammar school.

If your child is obviously bright and able - and doing well at school - then grammar school is certainly an option. After all you do not want your child to be bored and frustrated at school.

Some `non grammar schools', however, are obviously able to cope with very bright children. All is not lost if your child does not pass the examination - or does not choose to attempt the eleven plus tests.

The last thing most parents would want is for their child to earn a place in a grammar school by hard work and considerable effort - and then find that there is too much academic pressure.

Eleven Plus Tests

Many years ago an advert encouraged women to buy a new style measuring tape:

LADIES BE AS
SLIM
AS YOU LIKE
With our
PATENT EASY STRETCH
MEASURING TAPE.

This is a bit like believing that the eleven plus examination will be fair to all children. Some children will no doubt benefit from an examination based on verbal reasoning questions – but other children may need to be able to demonstrate other skills.

One way to achieve test consistency is by offering the children a test – and then retesting them on a similar test a little bit later on. There would be no proof of inconsistency if different results were obtained – but the greater the divergence between the two sets of marks would point to some degree of inconsistency.

If there was perfect correlation between the two sets of test marks then it could be argued that the examination was valid. One county publishes the results of the top 180 children – so if the same 180 children achieved the same positions on the retest then the test could be considered to be reliable and valid.

This information would only be useful to parents and children if they felt that the test questions were fair and reasonable.

We need an example.

If an eleven plus mathematics examination was set to include lowest terms in fractions then all the children would ideally need to be able to do lowest terms. Does the examiner make all the questions easy so that all children can do the questions – or are the questions made hard so that only the top twenty five percent can provide the correct answers?

The key point here is – what happens to the children who are in the top 26 percent and not the top 25 percent? Should they be denied a grammar school place?

The Fairness of the Eleven Plus

Years ago one of the arguments against grammar schools was that people in grammar schools felt themselves to be socially as well as intellectually superior. Grammar schools then, as now, represented between twenty and twenty five percent of the children selected at eleven.

Grammar schools were perceived to spend time on manners and speech – in order to enhance professional prospects. This made some parents keen to send their children to grammar school.

Arguments made against grammar school included strong feelings against coaching – as it was felt that coaching was unfair because it gave children an advantage.

People were also upset by parents who could afford to send their children to independent schools if their children did not pass the selection tests. Even today some preparatory schools prepare children for the eleven plus as well as common entrance.

Another argument that still persists against the eleven plus is that the examination places a restrictive influence against schools.

Protesters used to complain against the reliability of the eleven plus. These protests have, to a degree, fallen away as parents do not want to `rock the boat’. Today parents appear to accept the content or the syllabus of the examination and work hard to help their children to do as well as possible.

The only way that the present examination could be made fairer for more children is if an independent enquiry was established into the present needs of the grammar schools – and then a thorough investigation into the efficacy of the examination. There are a wide variety of eleven plus examinations. Perhaps this adds a richness or diversity to the selection process – but surely this can not suit all children.

Timing Eleven Plus Questions

Some children find it difficult to work out just how long to spend on a question. Of course having a watch helps – but only if the watch is used effectively.

Suppose that a question has to be answered with 45 seconds.

The 45 seconds is a length of time with a beginning and an end.

Tap twice to start the 45 seconds and count on.

Counting `One million and one, one million and two’ in a measured way sound count out the 45 seconds. End the sequence with a closing double tap. The duration of the distance in time between the first and the second double tap is the time allowed to read, digest and answer a question.

If extra time is needed then this will need to come off subsequent questions. The amount of time for a different question then needs to be made up where the duration of time allowed must become less direct. In other words `hurry’ comes into the equation.

Some children can start the question on time but lose time because they have to fill the period between starting the question and moving onto the next questions with many different mental activities. The passage of time is but one of them.

It will be much easier to help your child to count to 5 seconds than 45 seconds if the gap in between starting and finishing is concentrating only on time. If you ask your child to fill the five seconds with another activity it is likely that the ability to measure the duration of time is affected.

You and your child may find it easier to fill the time with words rather than noises.

You may find that meaningful sentences fill the time more easily than nonsense syllables.

You could also try filling the time by encouraging your child to read a question twice, eliminate multiple choices that can not be right, selecting an answer and checking it quickly.

If this works you may have helped your child with the timing of questions within a test.

Eleven Plus Work

The report on mines in 1842 revealed how girls of six spent their whole day in the day attending to ventilation doors. Young boys and girls – along with women- dragged loads of coal along the floors. In some pits girls worked in passages 26 inches high – while some adult women worked in passages no more than 30 inches high.

Very often when the women arrived home they were too tired to do more than sink into a chair. Fatigue was a major factor in the lives of women. Girls were brought up in unspeakable conditions. The overseers had licence to punish mercilessly. Children who tried to run away were shackled by irons linked their ankles – and they were still expected to work.

Britain has come a long way over the past one hundred and fifty years. It is very likely that some of the children described above must have had to ability to pass the eleven plus – had they had the opportunity.

Our eleven plus children are incredibly lucky to have the education, the families, the schools and the social conditions that exist today. Some of our present families may have survived those conditions to live in solid middle class surroundings.

It would be very sad to think of one of today’s bright eleven plus children complaining that they are too tired to do some eleven plus work. .

Kent Eleven Plus Examinations

The Kent 11+ tests are set for September the 15th and the 16th.

Registration is open now and has to be completed by July 10th.

To register see: http://ola.kent.gov.uk/kccadmissions/prefs.php.

There is an online form – or a paper copy can be down loaded.

Results letters are sent out to arrive on October 20th.

Emailed results on sent on the 19th – if an email has been supplied.

Parents then have until November 6th to submit their application forms for the schools of their choice.

It all looks very formal and straightforward. Good luck to all concerned.

Eleven Plus Motivation

Parents and children perceive their eleven plus tutor in many ways.

The tutor’s attitude to the children and their parents is determined by a number of factors.

The tutor’s personality will affect a relationship

The expectations made by the `customers’.

Other factors like age, sex, experience, qualifications will all play a part.

Inside the class room a teacher has a clearly defined role. The teacher is able to act largely without being questioned. Of course the teacher, in state schools, has to work to the National Curriculum. There is also help and assistance from the head teacher and the senior team at the school. A little cloud arrives on the horizon in the form of an inspection every now and again.

The eleven plus teacher does not have a laid down syllabus or curriculum. The work the teacher or tutor does with the child depends very much on the child’s needs. Parents of course want the best possible attention for their children.

Naturally parents will hope that their children are motivated to do well academically.

The Eleven Plus and Doctors and Dentists

It is interesting to note the Royal Commission on Doctors and Dentists Remuneration (1958) comment on the attitude towards the recruitment of intelligent working class boys towards professions.

“Medicine would lose immeasurably if the proportion of (middle class) students in the future were to be reduced in favour of precocious children who qualified for subsidies from local authorities and the Sate, purely on the basis of examination results.”

A number of children who are working towards the eleven plus today may aspire towards a future in the medical profession. This is laudable and must be promoted. After all we need good doctors and dentists.

Is it possible that the way some verbal reasoning questions are couched means that bright children are excluded from entrance to grammar school. I was working today with a very bright little girl who was struggling with one type of verbal reasoning question. The manner in which the questions were framed required Use of English rather than reasoning skills.

Strength in verbal reasoning does require strong comprehension and a broad usable vocabulary. Families from middle class background would expect their children to have achieved strong `Use of English’ skills. The families would hope that their homes, relations, schools and neighbourhood would stimulate and encourage good language and usage skills.

Perhaps one day when a fresh look is made at the eleven plus, and the contents of the examination, then time could also be spent on looking at some types of verbal reasoning questions that are revered by today’s eleven plus writers and tutors.

“Off with his head!” – and we all know where comes from!

Eleven Plus - Rights and Wrongs

We must all wonder a lot about the influence parents have on the development of their children.

“Your son seems to have inherited you ability in engineering.”

“A chip off the old block.”

“Your daughter inherited your love of sports.”

“Your son can do verbal reasoning questions just like his mother did.”

What does seem to be likely is that your enthusiasm for mechanical objects possible means that your children have above average access to all things mechanical and digital.

If your daughter does well at games it is likely that you spent hours in the car travelling to and fro to a wide range of sporting activities from swimming to hockey.

If the son can `do verbal reasoning questions just like the mother’ is likely that the two of them spend time doing verbal reasoning questions together.

A number of eleven year olds, however, are likely to refute any suggests they take after their parents unless it is of value to them. When your child is eleven the opportunity to argue and `discuss endlessly’ is highly appealing. We sometimes see a sweet gentle and wonderfully polite child turn into a virago when the mother asks for information about the course and extent of lessons. This is an invasion of privacy! Other children are content to stand demurely as they are discussed – smiling at the right time – offering helpful suggestions. The roles, however, can be reversed at the twitch of an eye brow.

It is through the endless arguments that your child learns right from wrong and when to thrust to win an argument – or when to back away.

If your child can learn from you to listen to the other side of a discussion and to make wise choices in life then you would really like your child to be a chip off the old block.

Eleven Plus Pain

“It will be all right on the day.”

“If the wind blows from the right quarter she should pass her eleven plus.”


What about the old adage: “A pilot flies by the seat of his pants.”

Space Scientist Dr Hubert Stughold wanted to test this theory. He injected his buttocks with anaesthetic novocaine until his posterior was numb.

He hitched a ride with a pilot who specialised in acrobatics. The pilot offered a full range of flying tricks.

Dr Stughold returned to earth feeling rather ill. He went on to maintain that a pilot’s pants are a most valuable tool.”

Health warning: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. It would be a sad day for the history of eleven plus preparation if a parent tried a similar experiment to see if they could encourage their child to sit still during the course of an eleven plus paper.

It probably will be all right on the day of your child does the right amount of preparation.

Eleven Plus Diets

Geri Halliwell, in her account `Just for the Record’, explained how she prepared for Brits – where it was likely that she would be offered an award. She had done all the preparation, written and recorded the song she hoped would win and seen the fruits of her labours selling and selling.

She then had the problem of the lead up to the Brits. She had been on the Atkins diet where she had eaten little but turkey slices. She really wanted to look slim so she then went on a three day fast of maple syrup and water.

She was in the process of shooting a new video where she had to learn to tap dance and perfect a pole dance routine. Her body rebelled and she woke up one night to eat and eat piles of cookies.

As your daughter approaches the eleven plus examination don’t suddenly change the routine and expect her to behave in a new and unrehearsed manner.

Keep the doing odd sections of questions.

Don’t worry about full papers in the last few days before the examination – unless your daughter has not done any at all.

Offer a diet that she enjoys – and no sudden changes.

Maintain a relaxed attitude to exercise.

Geri made it in the end – and we hope your daughter does too!

An Eleven Plus Winner

We heard this week about a wonderful girl who has won a place in a local grammar school. She is still with us and works with immense dedication and concentration. The family always thought that they would earn a place in the end. Good luck to the girl and her family.

The European golf is on this weekend – and like thousands others we have tickets for Sunday. It is sure to be a wonderful occasion. The weather will be good and the golf will be fascinating.

I was there, with my daughter Bridget, on the day Greg Norman did so well in the Open at Sandwich some years ago.

Faldo and Langer were playing fantastic golf. Faldo hit four birdies – while Langer and Norman each managed seven birdies. I can remember the Norman’s eighteenth hole as if it was yesterday. The `Shark’ hit a fantastic drive that landed up right in the middle of the fairway – about two hundred yards from the hole. He then took a four iron out of his bag. There was complete silence. He swung easily and landed up about 15 feet from the hole.

We all crowded forward. He putted. The crowd cheered and cheered. Faldo was beaten at a time when he was the best player in the world. You will recall Faldo’s incredible achievements from all his victories – but Greg Norman, the Shark, won on the day.

At the time Greg Norman had played the best final round ever to win the Open. He had the lowest ever winning score. The Sandwich links course was highly demanding. He beat Langer and Faldo.

When Greg Norman won in such a dramatic manner the whole golfing world was in awe. No one thought he was arrogant. He did not claim to have mastered the course. He paid respect to the demanding conditions and the quality of the competition.

When the girl reaches grammar school she won’t be arrogant. She knows that she has beaten other good girls. She will respect the traditions of the grammar school and we can fully expect her to do her best. Golfers often maintain that the feeling they get when they hit a sweet four iron is comparable to any other sensation in the world. Norman must have felt good as he walked up to the final green. I bet our girl will feel wonderful as she steps inside the grammar school on the first day of the new school year.

Thinking and the Eleven Plus

A study done in the USA back in 1931 suggested that the best time to teach reading was when a child had reached a mental age of six and a half years. This lead to the concept of `reading readiness’. Along with this age was the feeling that if a child was taught to read before six and a half, than the child would suffer lasting harm.

It was thought that it was possible to teach children to read before six and half – but that it was not genuine reading – it was called `barking at print’ - where a child worked from memory and understood little of what he or she was reading.

The age of transition to senior school was worked out by a study, over fifty years ago, which suggested that a child would be ready to leave junior school at around the age of eleven.

We could call this age, for the sake of argument, `Readiness for the Eleven Plus’.

To help a child to be ready for the eleven plus we can do many different activities from working on reading vocabulary to helping a child understand how pie charts work.

If a child is not ready to pass the eleven plus on the day of the examination, do we use the term `barking at examinations’?

Or do we call the eleven plus examination `barking mad’ because it relies so heavily on a child being able to remember facts and methods – and requires little original thought?

Eleven Plus Independence

One of the early thinkers about education and the development of young children was a man called Piaget. He was born in 1896. Some of his ideas may still be relevant to today’s eleven plus.

He used two main methods in his research.

One was to record everything said by children.

The other was set a number of standard questions to the children. The situations had to be contrived so to have some degree of conformity.

A typical Eleven Plus Conversation

“No, I don’t think that I understand. I am still not sure why the area of a triangle is half the base times the height.”

“Look at a rectangle. The area of a rectangle is base time height. Your triangle will be half the size of the rectangle.”

A typical Eleven Plus Contrived Situation

Find the area of a triangle of base 12cm and height 14cm.

Piaget set tasks that were not only foreign to school work – but excluded any form of readiness on the part of the child to give an expected answer.

Piaget used the example of a child being asked: “Why does the sun not fall?” He wanted to force the child to think on new and inaccessible problems.

If only Eleven Plus questions could be independent from knowledge, experience and learning.

Eleven Plus Cramming

On the BBC website there is a remarkably cheerful discussion on last minute cramming. Naturally all parents will have different views on last minute learning. Some will swear by it and others will recount horror stories.

John Hand was studying for an A Level Italian examination and looked at the value of last minute study. He reviewed work by a Mr. O'Brian who has written books on how to pass examinations.

Perhaps parents can do a similar exercise with their eleven plus children

1. Read the information - and try to commit it to memory.

To find 10%, divide by 10.

2. Go over the same information again 24 hours later.

To find 10% divide by 10

3. Revise it a week later.

To find 10% divide by 10.

4. Return to the same topic after a month.

To find 10% divide by 10.

Of course you may need to revise how to divide by 10 as you go along - but the repetition should help to consolidate what has to be remembered.