The Eleven Plus and A.D. 826

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Anxiety

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Carrots, Sticks and the Eleven Plus

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

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

Step One
Build your child’s self esteem.

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

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

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

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

For some parents a carrot works better than a stick.

Other parents will rely on sticks rather than carrots.

Some will use a combination of carrots and sticks.

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

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

Pigs, Horses and the Eleven Plus

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Probability

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

0 - Unlikely
Half - even chance
1 – Certain.

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Debate

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Harmony

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

Do not force your discipline onto any miscreants.

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

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

This needed courage on the part of the organisers.

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

Eleven Plus Half Term Rules

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

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

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

An Eleven Plus Campaign

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Isolation of the Eleven Plus

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Quicksand of the Eleven Plus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“My Dad said so.”

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

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

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

Common sense will, in the end, prevail.

The Temperature of the Eleven Plus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A straight line graph could be plotted.

The eleven plus question could be:

Change 60 degrees Fahrenheit to Celsius.

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

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

The Eleven Plus and the Magpie

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Eleven Plus and elessons

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

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

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

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

Nouns
Tally Charts
Area and Perimeter

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

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

So far so good!

The Eleven Plus Factory

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Getting On with the Eleven Plus

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

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

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

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

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

Side One

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

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

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

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

Side Two

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

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

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

“What makes you think that I care?”

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

Eleven Plus Attitudes

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

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

Should the families work together?

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

Should the families discuss the eleven plus?

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

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

Should you work with your friends towards the eleven plus?

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

Nursery Schools and the Eleven Plus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Plan

“Have I left it too late?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Analysis

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

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

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

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

“Listen to your mother. This is important.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Can I go now?”

“Can I go now?”

“Can I go now?”

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

“Can I go now?”

Eleven Plus Reading

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Papers

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

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

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

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

(One proud mum nearly turned a somersault.)

The girl suggested:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Progress

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Pressure

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

Some eleven plus children will naturally emerge as leaders.

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

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

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

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

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

Other children may wish to display far more conforming behaviour.

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

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

Questions you could ask your eleven plus child?

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

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

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

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

Do you wish you were not doing the eleven plus?

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

Eleven Plus Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eleven Plus Reasoning

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

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

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

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

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

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

Take the hoary old question.

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

The motor bike would only carry two.

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

In what order should the robbers be transported?

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

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

Eleven Plus Rewards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grammar and the Eleven Plus

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

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

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

Nouns
Verbs
Pronouns
Adverbs
Adjectives.

No group reached fifty percent on the test!

Children did even worse on:

Adjectives
Adverbs

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

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

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

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

The Eleven Plus and Chance

Clearly the role played by the home and parents during the course of the eleven plus is of vital importance.

It would be almost impossible to classify the different types of home environment – and the way different sets of parents behave towards their eleven plus children. The equation becomes much more complex if an attempt is made to try to factor in the differences in the way the father and the mother may behave towards their eleven plus candidate.

There must be all shades of variation from the strict father and the mild mother to the complete opposite. One of the parents may be intensely ambitious and the other far more relaxed about the consequences of the examination.

It is possible; however, that some of the parents of well adjusted children will be happy to observe signs of independence and maturity. It is also likely that these parents will enjoy a relationship with their children based on understanding and consideration.

Of course children will hope that their parents are able to communicate without being too strict or too relaxed. After all some eleven plus children are going through a period of pressure – and many of the children may be very aware of high expectations.

It would be impossible to estimate just how many children have the potential to pass the eleven plus. There will be children in other countries, for example, who will never go to school and will never enjoy the fruits of intensive examination preparation. The eleven plus child does not need to shoulder the burden less fortunate children. There may, however, be some room for compassion.

Passing the eleven plus is not just a matter of sitting down to paper after paper. The eleven plus requires considerable interdependence – parents, home, school, children, relatives, head teachers, teachers, class mates, siblings – the list must go on and on. The quality and quantity of the preparation must also, to a degree, be taken into account.

There will always be children who can pass the eleven plus without doing any extra work. There will always be parents who will do almost anything to give their child the best possible chance.

Passing the eleven plus is not altogether attributable to chance – it must, in part, be down to hard work, ability and a desire to succeed.

Eleven Plus New Year Resolutions

A mere thirty days ago you and you eleven plus child sat down to discuss the `Eleven Plus Resolutions’. The promise and resolutions were made in a spirit of reconciliation and pledges. Some will have been easier to keep than others. Examination candidates, and their mentors, will give their word to almost any thing if they think it will help.

(Some resolutions apply to the child, some to the parent and some are shared by both.)

I resolve to behave in such a way that I will respect the needs of the eleven plus and will work as hard as I can.

I will be polite and respectful to my mother and father (to my son or daughter) at all times. I will never raise my voice – unless I am excited by a correct answer.

I will keep my eleven plus materials neat, clean and well organised. I will pick up and put away. I will never leave a used cup or class on the hallowed eleven plus desk. I will always put any cutlery away.

I will do my eleven plus work when it is time to work. I will not argue or seek arguments. I will try hard to maintain a steady and purposeful direction towards the examination.

I will make reasonable adjustments to my work schedule. I know that one meaning of the word `reasonable’ is `in accord with common sense’. (I understand that definitions of the words `common sense seem to vary from generation to generation.)

I will treat everything to do with the eleven plus with dignity and forbearance.

It is not hard to understand why sometimes it is hard to maintain the intent of too numerous `New Year Eleven Plus Resolutions’. The old eleven plus proverb (borrowed from antiquity) maintains that it is impossible to square the circle. All parents and their children can do is their best.

Past Eleven Plus Results

I heard today about three sets of parents who wanted to leave one school and go to a different school – because the desired school had had better eleven plus results. The parents decided to try to move during the eleven plus year to give their children the best possible chance. The children would leave behind the friends they had had through out their school careers. The mothers were sure they were right and their present school was wrong.

Comparing schools on the basis of previous eleven plus passes can be a little misleading at times. Let us look at four different schools. Suppose the number of children winning places in grammar schools to be 26, 23, 20 and 21. It would be possible to place the schools into rank order – A, B, C and D. If your child was in school D you may wish your child to go to school A. Schools A, B and C had comparable intakes. But school D had almost twice as many children sitting the eleven plus. On this basis should school D be ruled out?

Schools A, B and C had year intakes of around 50 children. School D had around 80 children. Does School A still look the best choice?

School A, however, is about to enter a year of transition. The Head Teacher is retiring. The much loved, and highly respected, Year 5 teacher is about a take a year out to do voluntary work in Cambodia. The school is about to have an exclusion unit added – that would take in troubled children from the other schools. One of the school governors is to appear in court for threatening a parent who was downright rude.

Is school A still the best choice?

School C had an outstanding OFSTEAD report. The head is to take over the management of school A as well as run school C. School A is looking for a new full time head.

School D, however, is about to move into new buildings costing millions of pounds. The IT suite will be the envy of all the schools in the authority.

Should parents be conservative during Year 5 – or can they exercise their rights? Are good eleven plus results worth more than friendships?

The scenario with the parents mentioned about has yet to draw a final curtain. The first shots have been fired.

Is there more to a school than last year’s eleven plus results?

Eleven Plus and Independent Schools

There is a thought provoking article in The Telegraph today.

An article written in by a respected journalist is always interesting and can broaden the debate.

Solving Eleven Plus Problems

If you bought your eleven plus child an educational science kit for Christmas, and it is still languishing unused, you could try this little experiment. Create a circuit where there are two light switches – and each one can only be in one of two positions. There is also an electric bulb.

If you are a brave and forward thinking parent you will have the confidence to try this will all the members of your family, the task is to tell, on the basis of turning one switch only, what turns the light on.

Trial One

The light is off. Your eleven plus child turns one switch and the light comes on.

Trial Two

The light is on. The switch is moved and the light goes off.

Trial Three

The light is on. When the switch is moved nothing happens.

Trial Four

The light is off. When the switch is moved nothing happens.

Whichever way the problem is presented everyone in the family will find that they need to follow a similar pattern of steps.

In the first case the only thing that needs to be understood which position and which switch was used. The remaining trials require more than one thing to be remembered. Take Trial Four where nothing happens.

The present position has to be rejected,
The original position of the switch has to be rejected.
The present position of the switch that has not been turned has to be rejected,
The alternative position of the switch that has not been turned has to be the one that turn the light on.

The experiment was first set up by J. Huttenlocher who was in part looking at how few steps were needed to solve the problem It was found that some six year old children were just as good as twelve year old children.

This seems to suggest, but this could be a rather wild hypothesis, that some six year old children could possibly solve some problems that some eleven plus candidates find difficult. Perhaps the parallel can be drawn out a little further – some eleven plus children may be able to solve some problems with fewer steps than their parents. (If any one has any experience of this happening please let me know!)

Lot and Lots of Similar Eleven Plus Questions

Back in1212, long before the eleven plus was a twinkle in the eye of the educators, Etienne started the Children’s Crusade. Etienne was a shepherd boy who had a vision He appointed himself as an ambassador to make a pilgrimage.

As he marched through France he was joined by thousands of boys and girls – and some were even bearing arms. As the madness spread through the country, parents were unable to control their children. The children howled until they were able to join the march – and some even crept away in the night.

Is it difficult to imagine a similar Eleven Plus crusade in today’s world? The children would be able to make the crusade from the safety of their computers and phones. Bebo, My Space, Skype, Messaging and Face Book would offer relatively safe havens for the children. Their parents would be able to monitor their conversations, twitters and chat.

Would the eleven plus stay in the same format if every child who has embarked on an eleven plus course was able to be part of a massive eleven plus `chat’ scheme? Children would be able to communicate their answers, thoughts and grumbles. The children would be able to comment, in their own words, on particular papers and formats of papers.

There may even be some children who do not agree with the present control and standardisation of the format of today’s eleven plus. These children would not necessarily be the demonstrators we have seen recently complaining about university fees. These could be children who are genuinely embarrassed by the content of the exercises they have to endure. By the time the brightest of our present children have understood the principle behind the formulaic analogy question – then their curiosity and excitement must be contained. If you have seen one: Grass is to green as snow is to (black, purple, and white) then you have seen the lot!

But our eleven plus children are only around ten years old. Would they be strong enough at this tender age to be to resist pressures from their parents and tutors? Should they be content to continue to attempt to crack `play play’ codes like: “If 123245678 in code is paramount what is 8321?

After all if you have seen one you have seen the lot!

Eleven Plus Predictions

How will parents be certain that their child will be able to react in a positive manner in the actual eleven plus examination?

First of all parents must know their child pretty well by the time the eleven plus examination comes along. There will have been many different opportunities for a child to be able to prove the ability to rise to the occasion.

However a mother loves her child, and is able to see more than strengths, it must be recognised that parents do not have access to a set of objectives they can judge their child by. Predicting eleven plus success is not like predicting consumer trends – there is much more to it than a line on a graph.

Parents are able to look at their children with hearts full of faith and confidence but they can not rely on a scientific formula that will safely predict academic success. A child can walk into the examination with a confident wave of the hand – secure in the knowledge that many hours of work have been spent in preparation. There may even be time for a few cheerful words with close friends. Some children will be able to demonstrate a complete resistance to nerves and feelings of fear and fright.

Why then should a child sometimes emerge with a totally unexpected score? Was there an unforeseen happening to cause a popping of the `concentration bubble’? Did a question emerge that was not in one of the practice exercises? Did something happen at school or at home?

Eleven Plus Compassion.

We once had a very bright girl who attended lessons. Her mother was invariably cheerful and upbeat and very positive with her daughter. The daughter achieved all but perfect marks on two papers – but failed one, inexplicably, by one mark.

Mum did not want to appeal. “If she had been meant to pass she would have passed. I am quite happy with the local school.”

Her head teacher said that would support an appeal. I offered to attend an appeal. Her dad said he wanted his daughter to go to grammar. The girl said little. Mum did not want to change her mind. “What will be, will be.”

Both parents were professionals within different fields.

The girl was quiet, modest and very able. She was not one to laugh and joke – she simply wanted to do her work to the best of her ability. She certainly had the necessary tools to be able to argue with her mother about going to a grammar school – but chose to adopt her mother’s advice. If the girl had had a different personality would she have pressed for a place?

We know that a person’s personality alters as he or she grow older. Certain traits must become ingrained while others give way to new ones. The shock of not passing the eleven plus may have helped the girl, mentioned earlier, to almost freeze her thoughts – and listen without question to her mother’s arguments.

Personality is studied through interviews, questionnaires, projective tests and direct observation of behaviour. There will always be some degree of scepticism about the assumptions that the tests are based on. Who needed the personality assessment?

The bright, articulate, well educated and down to earth mother?

The able, hardworking and `super’ little girl?

The human in the local authority who did not pick up the phone - when he or she looked at the wonderful marks on two of the tests – and the strangely out of line mark on the third test?

Should compassion play a part in the eleven plus?

Challenges to the Eleven PLus

A reasoning score, be it verbal or non verbal reasoning, gives an immediate and concise piece of information. This must be one major reason why reasoning scores are used in so many eleven plus examinations.

To sum up the whole of a child’s academic potential in a single score does, however, need to be treated with some degree of caution. The eleven plus test are supposed to be predictive – in that the results are used to say which children should benefit from a grammar school education. It would be interesting to read studies that confirm the effectiveness of the present tests.

The whole area of mental measurement is infinitely complex. Some of us may occasionally find the final test results very frustrating. The validity and fairness of the present eleven plus tests can not, at present, be challenged by parents. In the eyes of many there is not viable alternative.

Many years ago a Frenchman called Binet used a series of tests to identify mentally handicapped children. This lead to the development of other intelligence tests – and then to the widespread application of tests in schools. The reasoning tests used in the eleven plus are standardised, reliable and valid.

There does not, however, appear to be any appetite for questioning the validity of the tests. The stability of the tests is unquestioned – as they have been used effectively in their present form for many years.

The world, however, has moved on considerably in the past few years with the impact of the internet and social networking. Teaching in schools is being challenged on a daily basis. Children are taught with whiteboards and through on line lessons. Perhaps children being educated in today’s world need a different kind of ability test that is more suited to the world they will meet in another six years time.

The Eleven Plus Under Fire

Has much of the published eleven plus content become a little too docile? We hear of some children and some parents who have become preoccupied with the number of questions answered correctly on online tests and exercises. We have also been told stories of tutors who work doggedly through paper after paper.

The eleven plus for ten year olds could, for example, involve critical reading and wide searching examinations. The whole eleven plus experience for some children is to do with preparing `objective' or `multiple choice' answers. There is little room for criticism or detachment.

Some children will be able to pass the eleven plus after working through hundreds or even thousands of questions with answers that are either right or wrong. There is little room for shades of grey! Does the act of reasoning actually come into the examination?

It is a massive achievement to pass the current eleven plus. First class teaching from the thousands of well thought of eleven plus teachers from all over the country help children to `go to grammar. Even the most gifted teachers must, however, be constrained by the tight bands of the some of elements of the eleven plus.

Very bright children are subjected to a caricature of an examination. We have an incredibly able boy with us who is aiming at achieving marks in the top two percent. He tears through questions - at twice the speed of other able children. He does not need lessons as he can cope with the mechanical aspect of the present eleven plus. His face only lights up when he meets an occasional demanding problem. We have told him, and his parents, that he does not need lessons yet the family feel that he still needs to go through the motions of examination preparation.

Should we offer the present `eleven plus syllabus' or is it our responsibility `to go where no boy has gone before?'

Eleven Plus Shopping

It is simply time to dream again.

You are in the supermarket with your family. Your children say to you:

“Mum we can do the shopping? You go and sit over there. Have a nice cup of tea and one of those cream cheese cakes you love. We will sort it all out.”

Your thoughts go round and round.

Is there something dodgy going on?

What do they want?

Can I trust them with my list?

How can we pay?

My feet do hurt. I would love a cup of tea and a cream cheese cake.

Then you say those fateful words:

“Oh all right then. Thank you. I will be over here.”

You sit down at the table and sink back into your chair. The tea is wonderful. The first nibble is squishy. You are in heaven.

You see an eleven plus paper sticking out of your child’s bag. With a sigh you pull it out and start looking at question 34 again. The answer in the back simply can not be right. A strange woman leans across and says: “We can’t do that one either. We think that the answers are wrong.” Two other mothers, also complete strangers, lean over.

“We tried that one last year. We could not do it. My husband and I had a fight over it.”

The other mother says: “I creased to be a yummy mummy when we tried that question. I got so cross that I wanted to belt my child. Of course the answer in wrong.”

The chat then moves in different directions. All five mothers are listening and talking at the same time. Your child runs up to you. He greets the other women and informs you that the shopping is finished and you have to go to pay. Before spinning away he glances at the paper and says: “I know how to do that now.”

There is a chorus from the assembled mothers. “How?”

My friend’s nine year old sister worked it out. It is a rotation as well as a transformation. See?”

One of the mothers says: “You are so lucky.”

Another says: “And they did the shopping!”

The third mother, the one whose child passed last year, asked: “But what did he want?”

The fourth mother remarked: “Out of the mouth of babes.”

Eleven Plus Sugar

How much sugar do eleven plus children need? Our society has become addicted to sugar. About one hundred and fifty years ago sugar was virtually unknown in the West. Children today meet sugar in all sorts of ways – from little `lifesaving sweets’ to `must have’ biscuits.

There is a fairly general feeling that refined sugar is bad for the body. The only real contention is just how bad sugar is for us. Some medical authorise used to think that sugar caused diabetes and contributed towards coronary thrombosis and ulcers.

Some `experts’ also feel that the `sweet tooth’ so beloved by many of us is not a natural urge – it has come about through social convention.

There is a village in Ecuador called Villacabamba where people live for a long time. Of the eight hundred or so inhabitants nine were over one hundred and one was one hundred and forty two. Their diet has remarkably little fat and even less sugar. They eat a lot of vegetables and only eat a few grams of meat a week.

It would take a very brave mother to suggest, and implement, a simple diet with little fat and sugar in the build up to the eleven plus.

Some children may benefit from a reasonably well balanced diet; we sometimes see families where children arrive for their lessons with little cartons of fresh fruit and raw vegetables. We are more like to see sweets and coke.

Few mothers, however, in today’s world need to be reminded that eleven plus children, like so many of us, just need to eat sensibly and well.

Eleven Plus Percentages

Your child has a bike which is now rather small. You bought it at great expense some time ago. The bike has stayed the same size – it is your child who has grown. You want some money for the bike – and don’t want to give it away. You do not want much money for the bike – after all it has been used.

A friend offers you £35.50. You work out that this would give you a return of 17% if you did not trade the bike in.

Your child’s older sister, who is at grammar school and it at all times a bit of a `know all’, maintains that you need to make a profit of 26% on a private sale when you take into account what the shop is offering in incentives.

You mumble rather inconclusively as you just want to get rid of the bike. At the moment the bike is just one more bit of clutter. Your brain then lights up. Your eleven plus child should solve the problem and then receive the bike as a reward for going above and beyond the so called eleven plus syllabus.

You and your child have studied percentages.

117% of the bike is the cost price.

126% must be £35.10 multiplied by 117 and divided by 126.

Your child’s answer is £37.80.

You settle on this revised price. You try to work out if the extra £2.70 is worth upsetting your friend. You want to acknowledge your daughter’s acumen but you do not want to loose the friendship.

The Eleven Plus Dilemma

a) Do you stick with the original quoted price?

b) Do you simply give the bike away?

c) Do you take the extra money and spend the difference on a very small glass of wine?

Trying to Organise an Eleven Plus Child

Some people like to enjoy a highly organised approach to eleven plus preparations. Others may prefer to be a little less systematic. Most of us will be somewhere in between. Some child will like to have their eleven plus papers spread out so that they can pick up where they left the work on a previous occasion. Other children will put their work away leaving their work place wondrously neat and tidy.

A comparison with a computer manual and organising an eleven plus sessions may throw some light on the subject:

Recommended tools to change a component on a computer:

Small flat blade screwdriver
Small Philips screwdriver
Small plastic scribe
Bios update

(Confidence to do the job)

Recommended tools to prepare for an eleven plus lesson

Pencil
Paper
Eleven Plus paper
Clock or watch

(Desire and willingness to do the work.)

The Computer

Keep the work surface clean and tidy
Ground the system board
Change the component

Eleven Plus lesson

Keep the work surface clean and tidy
Remove distraction
Work on the paper

Some parents will try to help their children become more organised. Some children will persist and want to do things their way. There could even be some arguments. Parents can always say: “I know better. Keep your work place tidy.”

If your child persists with an unwarranted argument then quote Mark Twain:

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

An Eleven Plus Debate

There has not been a country wide debate on the value of the eleven plus for some years. An important ingredient in the early arguments for the eleven plus was the ability of the examination to find bright children, who were poor, but would benefit from an academic education.

It would be very difficult to have a broad debate about the present effectiveness of the eleven plus without the presence of newspapers. Would a barrage of negative articles about how the eleven plus was failing poor pupils help to sway people’s attitudes?

Would the intervention of powerful forums like `Mums Net’ help to build a tsunami of opinion that would force the government to act?

The underlying assumption of the eleven plus is that the examination will filter out a number of bright and able children. The evidence for this may have been compelling some years ago – but it may be time to question the nature and content of the examination.

Children from poor backgrounds may benefit additional preparation – but the sheer economics may help to militate against their progress. Books, papers, connection to the internet, teachers, tutors and transport all cost money. As in all walks of life the parents may be very willing to do what they can – but may lack the financial resources to be able to help their children.

A wider public airing and debate may help some parents caught in what some call the `poverty trap’. The notice of a `means tested eleven plus’ may, however, be an anathema to some.

Any attempts to question the eleven plus would bring in the main political parties.

I have seen the immense value of the eleven plus in its ability to change the lives of children.

Boys who were hitherto uninvolved and disaffected; clamouring for more work.

Girls learning to love mathematics - and subsequently wanting to `do’ mathematics at university.

Bright children achieving their potential.

Class room teachers being delighted by the progress that some of their charges may have achieved.

Parents happy and proud of their children.

Eleven Plus, Speech and Sport

Some of the present grammar schools are really ancient. They have a system of `houses’, `prefects’, `school loyalty’ and `team spirit’. It can be argued that this structure can, to a degree, explain how grammar school children can compete with the best of the public schools.

Sir Robert Morant, who was a product of one of the best public schools, worked on the 1902 Education Act. This act was to develop the idea of Local Education Authorities and provide funds for non religious education. The act also made more provisions for some money to be set aside for Adult education. Grammar school education was largely secure.

When a child entered one of the early grammar school the emphasis was often put on trying to level out the different accents of the children. It was felt, in some quarters, that the way an Englishman talks and moves would affect his social mobility. Speech alone was a significant social ticket.

When we listen to presenters on regional and national television – and to Members of Parliament – then we must be thankful that there have been changes in attitude towards accents and local idiosyncrasies.

For many years sport has been used to play a part in developing character. Sport is still highly prized as a worthwhile formative influence. We worked with a family some time ago where sport was a vital element in the choice of schools. A boy with a wonderfully positive character passed the entrance test to two schools. The boy was a very good swimmer. He had the marks to go to the one very successful and highly academic grammar school – which had a good history of sporting achievement. He chose to go to the lesser grammar school in order to make more time available for his competitive swimming. He was a national age group competitor and needed hours in the pool. The boy and his parents recognised that there was simply not enough time in the day for work, sport and play.

The Head Teacher of the primary school where the swimmer attended wrote (we were told) to the Head of the grammar school explaining the training schedule and the commitment that was entailed.

Entrance to grammar school used to be made up of intelligence tests, attainment tests, critical compositions and reference to the child’s school record. This has been replaced, in some authorities, by single subject ability tests.

Eleven Plus Methods

There have been many raging debates in Education over the years. One persistent discussion has been over the best way to teach a child to read. There are times when an eleven plus child needs the disciple of reading and learning through the whole word method and there are times when a child needs the methodical approach developed when learning phonics.

Comenius suggested a whole word or `look and say’ approach back in the sixteenth century – and students in English training colleges were appraised of this method before the 1914-18 war. Phonics, however, was the usual method of teaching children to read.

Many teachers liked the whole word method because it appeared to offer a wider range of reading, more attractive illustrations and a release from phonic drills. It was also felt that some children found the phonic drills boring. Every now and then the debate reopens in some educational quarters but it looks as if the great majority of teachers acknowledge that a combination of methods is better.

Another debate that crops up now and again is the amount and degree of differences in maturity between boys and girls as they approach the eleven plus. I was in Bluewater today. There is an amazing food hall with a variety of `chain’ food shops. There are hundreds of tables.

There was a group of five girls, around the age of thirteen, on a table near ours. The girls talked the whole time. The talked through each other and over each other. Several girls were conducting two conversations simultaneously while texting friends at the same time. They flicked their hair and the conversation ranged over an incredible number of topics. The girls left the table and a group of six boys took over.

The boys sat without a word and ate in silence. They did not look around but concentrated on their food and their own thoughts. At least two boys did not lift their heads to look around throughout the meal. One boy stood, collected the plates and plastic utensils while a second boy threatened to pour the remains of a drink over the others. This was the stage when they erupted into movement. They talked and laughed raucously and pushed each other exuberantly as they sauntered off.

All this to say is that, like with reading, there is probably not one `best’ method of eleven plus preparation. Some questions will need to be analysed (phonic approach) very carefully. Other questions will require different reading and comprehension skills (whole word).

Some girls will be mature and sociable beyond their years – while some boys will be able to perform even simple tasks with great concentration. Parents are fortunate – they just have to work with the children they have!

Eleven Plus Sleep

Over three hundred years ago Samuel Johnson wrote about sleep:


“Sleep is a state in which a great part of every life is passed. No animal has been yet discovered, whose existence is not varied with intervals of insensibility. Once in every four-and-twenty hours the gay and the gloomy, the witty and the dull, the clamorous and the silent, the busy and the idle, are all overpowered by the gentle tyrant, and all lie down in the equality of sleep.”

Just on a year ago, in fact just before Christmas `Little Cat’ arrived at our kitchen door. She was cold, thin and very depressed. We did not feed her for two nights – but took her round to all the neighbours to see if anyone had lost a little cat.

If Samuel Johnson and seen Little Cat he would have been able to add several riders about the degree and extent to which some cats can sleep. Little Cat is a world champion sleeper. She likes her head rubbed before she drops off – but sleeps through anything and everything.

A study of the sleep habits of the eleven plus child may prove fruitful.

Few eleven plus children will be insensible – unless they are asleep.

Many eleven plus children will display a variety of moods as they tackle their eleven plus work – ranging from the witty to the busy.

Few eleven plus children will nod off during a paper.

Some eleven plus children may enjoy having their heads rubbed as they work through a paper.

Some eleven plus parents may feel a little sceptical, or even suspicious, if their bright and bubbly eleven plus child suddenly mummers - in an unforeseen manner: “Mum, I feel a little sleepy and won’t do this eleven plus work now. I think I need a little sleep.”

Evaluating Steps in the Eleven Plus

Do you remember how to evaluate the square root of 405 768?

You will recall that you had to follow successive steps:

Mark off the digits from the right in groups of two

40 57 69

Look at the 40. Find the largest square number whose square is not greater than 40, i.e. 6

Put the 6 in the working above the 40.

Multiply 6 by 6, and subtract the result from 40, leaving 4.

Bring down the next group – the 57.

Double the 6 on the next line and put down 12 – to make the first part of the divisor.

124 times 4 is too big.

123 times 3 is 369.

Put 3 above the 57 – and also after the 12 to make 123.

Multiply 123 by 3 to obtain 369 and subtract this from the 457. This gives 88.

Double the 63 on the top line and put down 126 as the frst part of the divisor.

Put 7 on the top line and complete 1267 as the divisor.

Bring down the 69

You now have 88 69

Multiply the 1267 by 7 to find 8869

Take the 88 69 from the 88 69.

The square root of 405 768 is 637.

Prove this by multiply 637 by 637.

It may be an idea to work through this example yourself before trying it with your child.

Some eleven plus children, who know how to divide, will be able to follow these instructions. Some nine to ten year old children may find it a challenge.

Square roots of this nature are not, however, in the eleven plus!

Is long division really necessary in the eleven plus?

Eleven Plus Chances

Some children may find the relationship between passing an eleven plus examination and future success a rather difficult concept to understand.

“If you pass your eleven plus, and go to university, you will get a good job with a nice house and a lovely car.”

“Well Dad did it without going to university. He sometimes says that he is doing better than some of his friends who went to university.”

One way of trying to explain to children, who have the ability to do well academically, is the difference between a `operator’ and a `supervisor’.

The operator is mainly concerned with machines and materials. The supervisor is concerned with human beings.

The difference between an operator and a supervisor or foreman is probably much bigger than the difference between the supervisor and the director of the company.

Try explaining to your child that the operating success of a business often owes much to the middle management who do get to communicate with workers. The future direction of the business, however, is down to the directors – with input, hopefully, from all the staff.

Passing the eleven plus and going to university gives the opportunity to choose what sort of job or a person wants to do. Some very able children, who could pass the eleven plus, can easily land up as happy and contented adults doing something that they want to do. Grammar school and university needs to be a goal for some – but not all.

“Well Mum. I have listened to what you say. I don’t want to go to university. I don’t want to go to grammar. I want to be just like Dad.”

“You may change your mind later on – and then it could be much harder. Why not try to pass the eleven plus, try grammar school. If you don’t like it you can still change your mind when you are older. Please, just give yourself a chance.”

Spiders and the Eleven Plus

Most of us, at one time or another, will have found a spider in the bath. On seeing a spider we have a variety of choices:

Whip the spider out of the bath and throw it out of the window

Call for `spider patrol’ and watch, in a squeamish manner, as some one much braver tackles the awesome task of coping with a live daddy long legs.

Fill the bath, cover the exit pipe, and hope that the spider floats out.

Throw a towel over the side of the bath and pray that the spider climbs proudly out.

One’s approach to the spider problem is much the same as tackling some eleven plus questions. Do we encourage children to try to solve as many problems as possible without calling for help? Do we explain every topic carefully and make sure that the child knows exactly what to do – or do we allow the child to make mistakes and work out their own solutions?

When that little creature climbs onto the towel – and carefully makes his or her way out of certain death – we must be thankful that survival requires a very small brain. Our eleven plus children are blessed with big brains and lots of ability. They deserve a helping hand but don’t need to be spoon fed. We do not want them to throw the towel in during the actual examination.