The 11 Plus Exam Blog

The Eleven Plus C.V.

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:13:00 +0000

Will there ever be a change in the admission system for the eleven plus? After all there must be some very bright children who do not pass even though they have all the characteristics of being remarkably bright and able.

It could help some children if an application form could be added to the test results. The form would take a bit of filling in – but could help educators to look beyond 11+ results. There would need to be all the usual sort of information about the candidate –and then parents could be invited to submit detail about their own backgrounds and personal development.

On the application form parents could be asked about what they are looking for in a school. They could also be offered the opportunity to say why they want their child to be considered as a worthy grammar school candidate,.

The eleven plus child could be asked about personal preferences, interests, hobbies and attitude to academic life. In addition to the short biography there could even be a short statement about how the candidate feels that he or she has the ability to cope in a fast moving academic environment. Bright children should be able to articulate their dreams and ambitions at a young age.

An example of the ability of a child to communicate in a a mature and honest manner came our way today. We had a application today from a past pupil wanting to do some voluntary work with us. His C.V. had 13 A* GCSE passes – plus two other subjects at A level and diploma level. We had worked with him towards the 11+ but he used us a sounding board for his theories on a range of mathematical topics. We recalled him well because he explained the formula behind quadratic equations when he just nine years old.

It may also be helpful if the child’s school could be prepared to complete some core questions about their child’s abilities and potential. After all it is the teacher at school is who at the heart of the child’s progress. There may even be a case for a comment from a teacher who knew the candidate in previous years.

It is difficult to know how long a submission of this sort would take to build and create. An articulate and well informed child would shine through on a carefully prepared C.V.

Eleven Plus Slamming Doors

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:25:00 +0000

Do you remember the story of Rebecca? She was the girl who liked to slam doors. An edited eleven plus cautionary tale by Hilaire Belloc lives on:

She was not really bad at heart,
But only rather rude and wild;
She was an aggravating child...

It happened that a marble bust
Of Abraham was standing just
Above the door this little lamb
Had carefully prepared to slam,
And down it came! It knocked her flat!
It laid her out! She looked like that.

The children who were brought to hear
The awful tale from far and near
Were much impressed, and inly swore
They never more would slam the door,
-- As often they had done before.

The passing of the Children’s Act of 1908 paved the way for later reforms. The law attempted to safeguard the children from physical cruelty – and also showed concern for the mental and moral welfare of children. There was a time, for example, when reasonable punishment was allowed by a teacher or parent and guardian. Many years ago a child of five could be taken from parents and deported for stealing.

There is considerable debate at the moment about the rights of children who are being educated out of school – and parliament is naturally much involved in trying to safeguard the children. In a number of decisions by parents to keep their children out of school the word `bullying’ is used.

It would be interesting to know how many children who are being educated out of school are also preparing for the eleven plus. Very bright children are often mature beyond their years in some areas. The same child may, however, be emotionally at the same stage as other children of the same chronological age. For most parents a caring and sharing school would tick most boxes. Parents of bright children, like all other parents, just want to feel that their child is being given the best possible opportunity to do well academically.

It is very likely that children who are successful in the eleven plus will come from many different backgrounds. The children will have had many different experiences growing up. Some will have always felt cosseted and loved. Other children will have felt bullied and oppressed. Some of the children who pass will be very bright. Others will earn a grammar school place by hard work and determination.

At one time or another, whatever the circumstances, it is possible that your eleven plus child may occasionally become a little frustrated and feel like slamming a door. You could consider just whispering the words:

She was not really bad at heart,
But only rather rude and wild;
She was an aggravating child...

and then end with the lines:

They never more would slam the door,
-- As often they had done before.

Eleven Plus Research

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:27:00 +0000

It is probably time for some research into the eleven plus. The internet has helped to expose the strengths and weaknesses traditional eleven plus materials. The same internet has allowed an abundance of materials to flood into homes. There is no case for regulation but a controlled trial may offer some parents useful information.

There is no time and no place for an experiment into the value of different teaching materials – because this would be very risky for the families and the children involved. An investigation could, however, cover at least three main areas:

1. Do eleven plus materials actually boost a child’s performance?

2. Would children have made the same progress if different materials had been used?

3. Do children forget everything they have learnt very soon after the examination?

The trial would need to have a number of schools that would be willing to participate. There would be little point in conducting a trial if the head and all his staff were violently opposed to the eleven plus. If schools were not willing to co-operate then alternative methods of sampling would be needed.

The eleven plus work could be tested against reading and verbal reasoning quotients – and some areas would be able to add mathematics. Children would be tested before starting on any eleven plus work – and then re-tested after six or seven months.

The children who were in the control group (no eleven plus stimulation) would simply continue with ordinary work.

We would expect:

1. Eleven plus materials do not really help.

2. Different materials do not really make a difference.

3. Children will forget most of what they have been taught within six months of the eleven plus.

The report would be published and read with considerable anticipation by widely varying groups. Anti eleven campaigners would be able to latch onto some of the findings to prove that the eleven plus is a vile and un-necessary examination. Some parents would be grateful that they had an opportunity of helping to determine their child’s future – with out being told that the National Curriculum: `Does not do it that way.” Tutors would read into the conclusions what ever they wanted to find. Other parents would acknowledge the value of the research but would continue to try to do the best for their children. The lives of the researchers would be examined. At least two researchers would land up on the couches of the early morning news programs.

Publishers would continue to publish.

Examiners would continue to examine.

Parents would continue to worry.

Children would continue to sail through the year.

Life would go on.

An Eleven Plus Song

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:07:00 +0000

Before the 1944 Education Act some parents had a choice about where their child was to be educated. If you had money you could choose to have your child educated privately. Parents with less money could not easily make a choice – hence the introduction of the eleven plus.

We could write the words of a song:

She had the money, he had the talent.
She had her school, he had his.
He was a late developer, she developed early.
He has no preparation, she was taught and taught.

Chorus
Oh! The Eleven Plus
Oh! The Eleven Plus
Better jobs, better professions
Doors closed on those who can not pass.

She had the culture, he had the drive.
Her back ground was rich, his was impoverished.
He was outside the zone, she lived near the school.
He had desire, she had birth and brains.

Chorus
Oh! The Eleven Plus
Oh! The Eleven Plus
Better jobs, better professions
Doors closed on those who can not pass.

Perhaps the eleven plus tests need to take into account children at schools who do not teach to the eleven plus – to try to nullify, to a certain extent, the effect of educational and cultural advantage. There must be a number of schools which seldom send a child to grammar schools – and lucky children at other schools where a good proportion of children have a better chance – or even a fairer chance.

The eleven plus examination takes place on a certain day at a specified time. There is little room for compromise. The examination, in its present form, can not take into account the preparation a child has had at an ambitious school – nor can the papers make allowances for children with few books and opportunities at home.

She passed with joy, his heart was sad.
She went to grammar, he could only dream.
He went on to get a first, she managed a third.
He had the drive, she had the advantage.

Chorus
Oh! The Eleven Plus
Oh! The Eleven Plus
Better jobs, better professions
Doors can open for those who could not pass.

The Eleven Plus Gang

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:05:00 +0000

“I leave the eleven plus stuff to my wife.”

“I don’t do the eleven plus. My husband does all the work.”

“My mother is a retired teacher and she does all the eleven plus work with her grand daughter.”

Some of the more entertaining of the eleven plus questions must pull all of the family in. Parents have the ability to do well at most eleven plus questions because they have wisdom and experience. These are great substitutes for burning desire and ability.

The role of an observer to the eleven plus journey is not always straight forward. The word ethnology springs to mind. An ethnologist is a person who studies the many facets of other humans. One such man was the sociologist William Foote Whyte. He made a study of an Italian slum corner just before the Second World War. He met up with the leader of the gang and gradually became assimilated into the gang’s various activities.

Whyte learnt to speak Italian and took part in many of the gang’s activities. He was taught how to gamble and to bowl. He also engaged in other activities that have no part in the rambling of an eleven plus blog. Gradually he became more and more involved in the life style of the gang – and then he suddenly realised that he was no longer an observer – but was an accepted member of the gang.

Much the same feeling of `incorporation’ must occur during the approach to the eleven plus examination. Bit by bit members of the family have to become involved in the `eleven plus gang’. The eleven plus gang has to learn new and old facts. Work has to be done on papers. The question of timing becomes important. Forgotten skills and attributes have to be revived and brought into the open for scrutiny.

There will be a gradual shift of priorities where the observer becomes a participant. Once this paradigm shift is in place, the roles of the various members of the family will change. It may be that `mother’ has a hitherto unknown ability in solving anagrams and codes. The `father’ may be a true and sustainable expert in withstanding specious arguments about the value of study and the worthiness of reading. The younger sibling may have a more comprehensive knowledge of tables.

What the eleven plus child has to cope with is a shifting of the roles within the family. Some of the shifts could be seismic –almost like the displacement of rocks at a fault. Imagine that grandpa can do more than play golf and moan – he is really good at maths – and he can make jokes about how much to study! Auntie Isabella is not just the quickest slurper of a Martine in the family – she is also good at non verbal reasoning questions.

Little bit by little bit the eleven plus will become part of the history and the fabric of the evolving family. The family, for example, may start with assumptions about the candidate – and then find new facets that can be burnished and polished. The child may have categorised the family into different and discrete `units’ – and then finds that he or she has to re-evaluate and re-think his or her role.

Is Our Present Eleven Plus Syllabus Too Narrow?

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:14:00 +0000

“The eleven plus examination, as it stands at the moment, is an `ism’ not an `ology’. Discuss.”

This is one of the questions that prospective eleven plus parents will have to pass before submitting their children to the stresses and strains of the eleven plus. “Antidisestablishmentarianism”, for example, is an `ism’ – as is magnetism but Kidology and Physiology are `ologys’.

Eleven plusism implies a belief in the eleven plus and what it stands for while eleven plusology is to do with the study of the eleven plus – as well as the study by children and parents within the eleven plus.

Our eleven plus children are subjected to the `ology’ side of the eleven plus – because this is to do with studying a particular branch of knowledge – where every thing is limited towards the examination. It is no good studying something of interest outside of eleven plus work because it won’t come up in the examination.

The ologys are not completely finite. Skills learnt in verbal reasoning exercises may sometimes be carried across into non verbal reading exercises.

Eleven plus `isms’, however have the power to be able to lead parents into realms far beyond the remit of the examination. Big Brotherism is an example of an ism that transcends taste while tribalism leads to thoughts of football crowds.

If we see or hear the word criticism in connection with the eleven plus we think immediately of parents worrying that they are not doing enough for their child. If criticism comes into a child’s vocabulary we must surmise that the child is feeling despondent about the attitude of his or her parents.

Some parents may choose, when possible, not to involve their children so deeply in the eleven plus to the exclusion of other activities. It may be better to shun the ism side of the eleven plus and go for a much wider ology.

ReadinG problems and the Eleven Plus

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:34:00 +0000

Some eleven plus children will be approaching their eleven plus examinations with a reading problem. All eleven plus children have to write the same examination – but not all children have similar reading skills. Some children may even have a descriptive label while others, with similar problems, may be in a system that does not recognise the `specific learning problem’.

Some children are in schools where there are specialist teachers who are able to support the classroom teachers. Some eleven plus children may even be in a class where the teacher is trained in coping with children with difficulties in reading. Other children may be withdrawn to a special class – while others are helped by specialist and well trained teachers.

Children are usually offered extra help at school after a full and comprehensive examination or battery of relevant tests. Most classroom teachers will be aware of the child’s problems but may not have the tools to be able to help the child in their care. Naturally most eleven plus parents will have been aware of problems with reading and interpretation of questions – and will have tried to help their children as best they can.

Some eleven plus parents may feel that they are forced to become politically orientated towards trying to apply pressure on some one or some body in order for their child to have the best possible opportunity in the examination. The political orientation is probably not to do with party politics – but with a pragmatic desire to make something happen.

If parents take their child to twenty different eleven plus teachers they will be offered twenty different opinions on the effect of the perceived reading problem on the child’s ability to cope with examination papers. The different eleven plus teachers may have varying methods of assessment – and will certainly have different methods of trying to help the child.

It is likely that some parents will listen respectfully to the different eleven plus teachers –while others may feel inclined to argue. Some eleven plus tutors, for example, may focus attention on perceived behaviour problems while others could focus on lack of attention. Some tutors may be trained in reading problems as well as the eleven plus while other may tend to specialise in the delivering good eleven plus lessons.

Some eleven plus teachers may have difficulty in accepting that a child is dyslexic. Some parents may feel they understand a lot of educational problems once their child has been diagnosed as dyslexic. In the similar manner some children will accept they have a problem and endeavour to move on – while other children may feel the need, at times, to blame their `dyslexia’ for all types of ills.

It is most likely, however, that a child with a reading problem, whether labelled or not, probably needs compassion, understanding, comprehension and interest. After all the examination is hard enough without the child experiencing the additional difficulty of being not entirely sure of what is being read.

Parents, of course, have one massive advantage over all the specialists, teachers, tutors, psychologists, ophthalmologists, therapists, doctors, paediatricians, hearing specialists and neurologists – and that is that parents have that wonderful ingredient called love.

ReadinG problems and the Eleven Plus

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:34:00 +0000

A Child's View of the Eleven Plus

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:48:00 +0000

What on earth could possibly stop your eleven plus child from wanting to work on a steady and sustained basis? After all you, as fond loving parents, have offered every opportunity. You have bought papers, books, engaged the best possible tutor and even called upon Auntie Annabelle who is the really intelligent one in the family. You can do no more.

Your ever loving child, however, has different ideas. In his or her life the eleven plus has a place but the examination is not the focal point of existence. You settle down to one of those 8.30 on a Sunday morning chats. (These are the discussions that your child regards with dread and fear.)

“Do you think, dear, you could suggest why you do not choose to work on a regular basis at your eleven plus work?”

“Certainly, mother. Thank you for offering me the opportunity to offer my point of view. Here are a few of my ideas.”

“Tell us what you think,” suggested dad.

“Number one. Eleven plus work breaks my leisure. I never get free blocks of time to pursue any activity I am interested in. You have stopped my swimming, my horse riding and my archery classes. All I have to do is work and work.”

“That is not entirely fair, dear, but do go on. We are interested.”

“Secondly I have to do too many different activities to do with the eleven plus. I have to do papers, work with dad and you, go to a tutor and even have to listen to Auntie Annabelle – and you do know how I feel about her.”

“Oh dear. We did not realise how you felt. We are only just trying to help.”

“You see, mum, dad, I suffer from a severe lack of opportunity to be rewarded by my endeavours. You expect me to keep working without any chance of financial reward.”

“Now look. You can not have everything. You had Florida last year. This year we are going to Rome. Your work towards the Eleven Plus does not, and should not, need to be rewarded.”

“Mum, dad, you have to let me have the freedom to make my own judgements about the eleven plus. I respect your thoughts on extra pocket money. I will not raise the subject again. I am just losing contact with the outside world. It is just work and more work. I can not see any way out of the cycle.”

“Once again we have come to the end of our little chat. Just do that paper you promised earlier in the week. Show it to me before we leave.”

“Oh mum.

Oh dad.

I never can win.”

Eleven Plus Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:38:00 +0000

Every now and then the minds of some parents must wander in the direction of: “How well is my child doing towards the Eleven Plus?” Suppose your child is at a mixed school where there are two Year 5 classes. You could obtain some data from the scores of all the children in the year group.

In one scenario the school could usually help around 27 children to pass the eleven plus in any given year. A different school could reflect on why only three or four children out of the year group pass.

You could obtain a lot of data from looking at the scores from the children’s results. It would be considerably less easy to try to work who is going to pass by trying to predict pass scores. It may even be easier to try to work out whether more boys than girls will pass. In this exercise there are thirty boys and 20 girls.

Hypothesis One:
The chances of more boys than girls pass is random.

Hypothesis Two:
The chance of more boys than girls passing is not random.

Decisions on whether more boys than girls are likely to pass can only be made if it is accepted that some ten year old girls are more likely to pass than some boys. If this hypothesis is also rejected then it becomes even more difficult to predict which boys and which girls will pass.

The Eleven Plus Plod

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:46:00 +0000

If you are sometimes worried about your child’s progress towards the eleven plus – take heart. There are a wide number of axioms you can call on to bolster your flagging spirits.

One of them is `the courage to plod’. Naturally a phrase like this will have many different connotations – and uses – but an eleven plus courage to plod is to start at the beginning and plod to the end.

You could remind your child too that: “The good guys get tired of being good before the bad guys get tired of being bad.” Once you have explained to your child your interpretation of this rather enigmatic statement, you may feel that you are in a position where you can cope with almost any eleven plus situation.

Children are offered all sorts of stimulating messages through the medium of advertising. Imagine in a world where the more complex elements of the eleven plus were promoted at primetime on one of the major networks.

Questions of the fairness of the eleven plus would be swept away – after all the messages would be seen and assimilated by a much wider audience. The purpose of advertising is to sell products. An example of an eleven plus product could be helping children to decipher and cope with code questions. Think of the impact on your child if a major star extolled the main points of the structure of a codes question through sound, video and a strong message.

Advertising, however, very often does not impart full information – possibly because of constraints of time. An `eleveninfo’ advert could encourage a much wider audience to share in a different thirst for knowledge. It is the parents who usually make the economic decision associated with buying the product – but the child can play a large part in guiding the parent towards making a purchase.

If more children could see the benefits of following a comprehensive eleven plus course then it possible that some of the children may want to lobby their parents to `get a bit of the eleven plus action’.

Small children are often depicted as being gullible and unwary. Eleven plus children, however, should be able to distinguish between a well prepared lesson and one where they are not stimulated or engaged. After all it is difficult to see why parents would want their child to plod towards an examination when there could be an option for `lights camera and action.’

Do you remember that bit from Thomas Gray?

THE Curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea,
The plowman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

Don’t push your child too hard to work when he or she is tired. Don’t expect your message to be received with joyful acclamation every time you make an eleven plus pitch. Just keep plodding on. Eleven Plus step by Eleven Plus step.

The Saga of the Eleven Plus Refocillation.

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:50:00 +0000

At one time or another parents of eleven plus children may have to offer words that light a spark of fire. It is possible that some children find it very difficult to maintain a `high five’ attitude towards the eleven plus. Some eleven plus children may even feel that the whole saga of eleven plus preparation goes beyond the bounds of human decency. Parents may need to act. They may need to `light a fire’

There is a word in the English language, refocillate that means to refresh or reanimate. One of its meanings is to relight the fire. Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary offers:

Re*foc"il*late\ (r?*f?s"?l*l?t), v. t. [L. refocillatus, p. p. of refocillare; pref. re- re- + focillare to revive by warmth.] To refresh; to revive.

We can see from the `atus’ and the `are’ that the roots of the word are more than likely in Latin:

The main problem with the word and any self respecting, bright and astute eleven plus child will be pleased to point this out: `refocillate’ is not a valid Scrabble word. Parents may need to act:

Ten Ways to Light a Fire under your Eleven Plus child.

At seven thirty on a Sunday morning, just before the family leave for Disneyland, Paris, sit down and have a heart to heart about the eleven plus.

Explain how Aunt Mary, who is now a judge, had to study every day for her eleven plus. Go into detail on how she never missed a day of study.

Give examples from history about how high achievers often seemed to have a cathartic moment when they suddenly realized the need to turn their lives around.

Discuss your trials and travails of life – and how you went on to become a wonderful mother

Warn your eleven plus child how a younger sibling is sure to `go to grammar’.

Recount how hard you were forced to work towards your grammar school place. Trot out the old story how you won a place through hard work and dedication.

Invite your child to abandon all hope of entering a favourite cinema, dance studio and swimming pool unless all work is completed on time – and virtually error free.

Take your child to sit outside the gates of the most unappetising school in your neighbourhood – and then ask your child to ignore the fact that each and every friend has rejected grammar school but want to go to the unloved comprehensive – because the school has been designated as an art performing college.

Threaten early bed, no pocket money and a miserable life if your child simply does not want to go to the school of your choice.

Ask your child to write out ` refocillate’ one hundred times – with an accompanying set of dictionary definitions.

If all else fails adopt a recumbent position. Ask for help. Pray aloud. Dream of what might have been. Then say quite fiercely: “You need to refocillate your life. Stop prevaricating and do the work. Thank you.”

The Eleven Plus, a Fox and a Cat.

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:46:00 +0000

We have had a fox at the bottom of our garden. This is not an unusual occurrence as urban foxes are plentiful in England. We became aware of the fox when one night the neighbour’s cat took the fox on at around two in the morning.

We have a cat – called `Cat’. Cat, a mature female, joined us just before Christmas. She was thin and very cold. We did not feed her for two days – but could not take the pitiful looks she kept giving us. We took her in, fed her and rubbed her down. She purred on the third day. We hawked her particulars around our neighbours but Cat was not a local.

The vet did not charge to see if Cat had a chip. The vet knew we would return. Last week Cat was diagnosed with a slight heart murmur. She has objected to the twice a day tablets in an almost human manner.

On Friday our fox disposed of a fat juicy wood pigeon. We have been casting food onto the lawn to feed the birds. It looks as one bird looked for breakfast a bit too early in the day.

At the bottom of the garden we have a garden shed. Just a common or garden variety of garden shed. The paint is slightly faded. Right beside the shed is a wooden compost heap. This is a one metre cubed wooden structure – filled with rich looking compost. The fox dug a hole under the front of the compost heap – and then under the shed. We could see the progress because of the amount of earth that the fox had to dispose of. This was a hardworking and diligent fox!

Just before the weekend we cleared the earth away and covered the ground in front of the compost heap with a layer of fine sand. We wanted to see if the fox was under the shed – or was simply preparing a lair. The rain came – but we added a further layer of sand. There were no paw prints for three consecutive nights.

Foxes have their cubs in March. We did not want to disturb the lair if there were cubs under the shed. We needed to do something about the fox because Cat was becoming rather neurotic about going into the garden. Cat would only walk on the side furthest from the lair. At this stage it needs to be mentioned that Cat is having a little trouble jumping – she scrambles to climb onto a bed. Cat would have no chance against a determined and maternal fox.

We ran a hose down the garden and poured water into the lair for twenty minutes as we wanted to board the hole up – but not if the fox or any potential cubs were underground. The hole filled and nothing came out.

Foxes have a right to live in gardens. Foxes have cubs in March. Foxes dig lairs for their cubs – and we think that the fox was preparing the lair for a litter of cubs. It can be argued that the fox has a right to a lair in our garden.

Our cat is called Cat because she is the ultimate cat. She sleeps for long periods during the day. She purrs and is a lovely little cat. She has rights of access to our garden.

Now follows a completely inconsequential statement. Next door has five cats. There are two further cats on the other side of our house.

Further background detail may be germane. Foxes used to live on common ground behind our house – but civilisation and progress has meant that a modern estate has taken the place of the fox’s natural habitat. The common has gone.

ELEVEN PLUS QUESTION

A young fox is called a:

Nuisance
Cub
Asset

FACT:

There are, at the moment, no foxes or cubs in the newly prepared lair.

QUESTION

Should the entrance be boarded or do we leave the lair? In other words does the fox have rights to our garden?

Please ask your child for his or her opinion. We will go by majority rule.

Thank you.

Eleven Plus Excuses

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:40:00 +0000

“I know what you mean but my teacher does not do it that way.”
(So?)

“It is not my fault that I got it wrong.”
(Oh yes it was. You did not read the question.)

“My tutor says that my maths is getting better.”
(Of course, because dad explained how to do proportion last night.)

“I am so hungry. Can I have a break?”
(You have only been working for three minutes. Before that you had a sandwich and a drink.)

“Can Jane come and do some eleven plus work with me?”
(The new DVD is fab. She would love to see it because her DVD is broken at home.)

“I have finished as far as I want to go on the paper.”
(You have done three questions. You can not play with your IPOD.)

“I have finished the paper.”
(You have done three more questions. There are still twenty seven to go.)

“I really like maths.”
(You were in tears over maths last night.)

“Would you like some tea? I am making some.”
(I see. You want to stop work now.)

The Eleven Plus Dyad

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:50:00 +0000

Eleven Plus children learn about fairness on a day to day basis.

“Mother, please can we go swimming? We have not been swimming for a long time.”

“Certainly, dear, I would prefer to go the cinema because there is a film I would like to see – and I think the whole family, including you, would enjoy.”

This dialogue has a variety of out comes.

The child can promise not to do another bit of eleven plus work if swimming is adopted by the whole family.

The child can reserve judgement until the title of the film is announced.

The child can embrace the film scenario and endorse the concept willingly.

(Parents will, at this stage, want to add their own child’s dialogue.)

Mother: “Well don’t speak to me like that.”

Mother: “It is the one you have always wanted to see.”

Mother: “You are such a nice child. How accommodating. We will do everything we can to help you with your eleven plus work.”

In the whole two minute conversation some serious trading is taking places. Parents and `The Eleven Plus Child’ can reach agreement on a set of eleven plus rules which will run smoothly most of the time. Of course there will be limitations and restrictions but compromise should ensure that both parties feel that a satisfactory outcome has been achieved.

Mothers will probably deal the winning hand by suggesting that the family can enjoy both events. The agreement that is reached will cut arguments and possibly enhance the rewards – as both parties will feel victorious.

Most able children will readily accept turn taking – and will accept the basic rules of engagement. What some children feel passionately about is whether they have been fairly treated.

What adds to the richness of family life is the understanding that that are factors beyond the control of the parent and their child. What happens, for example, to the feelings of the rest of the family? Their reaction can not be guaranteed. What happens if the rest of the family unite to offer a third alternative?

The eleven plus conundrum can be described as a `dyad’. This is where parents are linked to their eleven plus child. In a pre eleven plus dyadic relationship both parties have to recognise that they are inextricably linked until after the examination.

“Lets agree to disagree, but lets work together.”

The Eleven Plus and Birds in Season

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:34:00 +0000

Bird fanciers have been called a variety of names over the years. True ornithologists would hate to be called twitchers. I grew up in the Southern Hemisphere so the birds of Britain and Europe are mostly a closed book. I have never really understood why grown men and women would converge on a cold and damp marsh to look through binoculars at a rare and strange bird. Anecdotal evidence seems to point to avid bird studiers crossing generations.

For the second day in a row we have had a visitor we have never seen before. Our copy of `The Observer’s Book of Birds’ has 243 species with 100 colour and 101 black and white illustrations. This is the 1979 edition and on page 171 there is a colour picture of a Sylvia Atricapilla. This is where I have to declare my ignorance – I had never heard of a Sylvia Atricapilla.

Fortunately the explanation of the warbler is comprehensive and entertaining. The warbler is a summer visitor and is expected between April and October. Our one has arrived a little early. We know the bird is a male because of its grey-brown plumage and black cap.

The little bird seems to be attracted by the winter food that is cast onto the lawn on a regular basis. The book says that the bird eats insects, flies and berries. The insects and flies may have been attracted to the garden by the scattered food.

Of course by now every one in Britain will know that we are discussing the feeding habits of a `Black Cap’. (A problem with being attracted to Black Caps is that Judges used to slip on a black cap before sentencing someone to death.)

In time to come children writing eleven plus examinations could be acknowledged by a series of names. Verbal reasoning seems to be a reasonably common eleven plus subject. What about `verbalisers’? There are some eleven plus regions when mathematics and verbal and non verbal reasoning are examined. What about `reasoners’?

We could also include parents in the eleven plus vocabulary. What about `worriers’?

Eleven Plus Play

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:08:00 +0000

A number of factors affect children when they are working towards the eleven plus. Even at the mature age of ten children like to play. The games the children play are not the same as they played when they first went to school – and are not the same as their parents enjoy. We still hear stories, however, of children who perform wonderful physical feats when they are with their parents.

Many years ago the Roman Centurions showed themselves as leaders of the infantry. The Centurion did not actually command one hundred men – but was often in charge of around eighty. Centurions lead their men marching from one point to another. The men would march then rest and then march a bit more. The troop would cover incredible distances in a day.

On a one to one basis the child, as well as the parents, can prescribe the pace of a lesson – and the direction of eleven plus work. If the parents and the children were given the opportunity of working together in a competitive environment it is likely, however, that the family would have the opportunity of covering far more work.

It is possible that it is the cadence of the men marching together that enables then to feel that they are a unit. The word `cadence’, when applied to marching, implies a rhythm or a beat. The word `cadence’ when applied to a child working through an eleven plus paper could describe the rhythm the child builds up as he or she works through a mixture of easy and complex questions.

Parents are not expected to play games with their children during eleven plus work. They could, however, consider the rhythm of regular breaks. After all’ an hour of intensive work, after a full day at school, is quite demanding. Parents will naturally hope that the break does not include `just five minutes of T.V., please’. The five could easily become ten and then twenty minutes. The rhythm of the lesson would be broken.

Other parents will naturally worry if the break includes an unhealthy snack. Obesity and passing the eleven plus seems to be an oxymoron. Bribes to engage in eleven plus work should only occasionally encompass chocolate – unless shared with parents!

What the break could be used for is to open a window of opportunity to all concerned to be able to chat about the examination. Possible fears could be dealt with. Pertinent plans could be discussed – and even modified if necessary.

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

Eleven Plus Solutions

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:17:00 +0000

Will there ever be a recognised condition called `Eleven Plus Phobia’?

One extreme of this as yet un – acknowledged phobia could be a child saying that he or she simply has no desire to do any eleven plus work. The child’s performance at school could be satisfactory, the intelligence could be high and the social conditions surrounding the child at home could be as ideal as possible. The child simply does not want to do any additional eleven plus work.

The high aspirations of the parents could be blamed – but there would be no evidence what so ever to link aspirations and phobia. It would not take long for the whole family to be involved if a child decided against eleven plus work. Some one in the family would know of a remote uncle or aunt who could be invoked as the `arch deacon of anti academic study’.

Some parents may feel immediately that they are to blame. Are we pushing too hard? Should we back off?

Some parents may also worry that their child could lose the ability to achieve his or her potential. What will lie ahead in the future? Will our child develop into a normal adult? Is university still on? The refusal to do any extra eleven plus work may then become a source of concern to some parents.

Is my child being bullied at school?

How well does my child get on with the teacher?

Is this the right school? Should we move?

Is the problem only to do with the selection process and the eleven plus – or is other work also being rejected out of hand?

Have there been changes of circumstances at home?

Naturally most of these and any other concerns will be rejected immediately and thought of as scare mongering. Just because a ten year old does not want to go to grammar school does not imply that there is anything wrong with parents, school or child. It may be that he or she simply does not want to follow one particular path through school. Some children may also be remarkably unexcited by some of the more mundane and rather artificial eleven plus problems.

The child may simply feel rebellious. The more the parents want their child to pass the examination the more the child pushes and pushes to find the breaking point.

It is certainly not a phobia if a child goes off the eleven plus for a period – because examination preparation can sometimes be a long drawn out process. There must be some degree of conflict in the lives of even the most ideal eleven plus children. Most parents will simply want to minimise disruption and avoid overt coercion.

The panacea or solution? Start early in the preparations. Allow time off for good behaviour. Offer lots of praise – when warranted. In other words most parents will try to help their child feel that he or she is worthy of the examination.

Pre Eleven Plus Work

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:48:00 +0000

Eleven plus parents may sometimes be tempted to quote the claims of Dr J. B. Watson. He made statements and said that he was able to back up his theories by experimental science.

He systematically observed a large number of young infants. He found that he was able to provoke a limited number or reactions. He could make the infants kick, he could make them squeal and he could make them smile. He also felt that an infant would respond to a wink.

He is important to us today because his idea was that a child was a `tabula rasa’ – an open slate where anything and everything could be programmed. He said that this gave proof that all men were equal. Watson maintained that any difference between one human and another was due to environmental influences.

Dr Watson said that he could develop any infant to become an adult of a certain type. Do you want a doctor? Easy. Would you like your child to become a waiter? No problem. He felt that he could build a world of men and women of genius – and eradicate crime.

There was just one problem in his theorising. Although he was feted in the early days no one could replicate his ideas. In any case he was much too early in his thinking for any eleven plus parents because his hey day was between 1913 and 1925. It looks, therefore, as if parents of eleven plus children will need to rely on more than environmental stimulation.

There may be among us today some parents of pre eleven plus infants. These fond parents will be able to observe their children kicking, smiling and squealing – just like Dr Watson did. What our parents will struggle to do is to ensure that their very young children will be able read improving books, devour mathematics problems and enjoy a rush when faced by a verbal reasoning paper.

Parents of present day eleven plus children will know that early claims of genius are sometimes diminished when a child does not feel like doing any additional work. After all and half decent eleven plus child will be able to adapt intelligently to most given circumstances.

“Do you fancy a trip to the cinema?”

“Oh yes please. Do I have to do a paper first or can we simply go and have some fun?”

Eleven Plus Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:30:00 +0000

At one time or another we will have used the immortal words:

Red sky at night,
Shepherd’s delight.
Red sky at morning,
Shepherd’s warning.

We all know of sages who are able to predict the weather from signs. Some use fir cones and others seaweed. Meteorologists today use computers to forecast weather patterns.

Eleven plus type questions emerge in the form of rainfall tables:
London 583 mm
Moscow 624 mm
Tokyo 1562 mm
New York 1092 mm
Lima 38 mm
Sydney 1181 mm.

Questions are forced:

What is the difference between the highest and the lowest temperature?
Give the mean of the figures and express your answer in cms.

But predictions are not always entirely reliable. In one sense the eleven plus examination is used to try to predict which children will benefit from an academically orientated education. Just as the weather experts make mistakes it may be possible that the eleven plus examination can also fail some children.

In time a group of eleven plus sayings may emerge:

Won’t read at night,
Mother’s fright.
Won’t read in the morning,
Mother’s warning.

Other children may terrify their parents in a different manner:

Has to argue at night,
Mother won’t bite.
Won’t work unless bribed,
Mum just cried and cried.

Or:

Eleven Plus child is very bright
Always studies at night.
Eleven Plus child is very smart,
And has a lovely warm heart.

How easy would it be to be able to predict which child will do well at grammar school? Most parents would hope for a smooth and loving relationship – but children are growing and developing and some are quite happy to rail against the forces of nature.

Eleven Plus Words

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:46:00 +0000

Children working towards the eleven plus may need, at times, to call on other disciplines for help. It is naturally of great interest to parents how the words are organised in the brains of their children. Parents are usually aware of the reach and extent of the vocabulary their children possess. But when children are working through some of the more obscure eleven plus questions, they need to know what words mean, how they are spelt and what they sound like.

Psycholinguists are able to use simple experiments to try to gauge the ability to distinguish between real words and nonsense words. A child is placed in front of a computer. A word is flashed onto the screen and the child has to make up his or her mind whether the word is real or otherwise. The psycholinguist can measure whether the word is correct and how long it took to answer.

We would expect a word like `love’ can be recognised very quickly while it might take a little longer to comment on olve. The longer time that it takes to process a word that is almost right is called the frequency effect. It takes longer for the brain to reject a word that is nearly right than a word which clearly can not fit into any dictionary.

A different way of looking at words is achieved through priming a word. We would expect a child to see a relationship between cat and dog much faster than between cat and flower. Words like may and say could possible be linked in the brain quicker than words like may and elephant.

When you expect your child to be able to find opposites he or she may be far more efficient in understanding the connection between familiar opposites even if the words are very different in shape and pattern than words which are clearly not opposite – but are remarkably similar to the correct answer.

Instead of a mother or a father throwing hands up into the air – they could take the time to look at the alternatives and help their child to recognise the pattern – and the intent of the question.

Eleven Plus and Forgetting

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:33:00 +0000

Back in the 1960s the Nuffield Mathematics project was the next big hope in raising standards of mathematics. The key to the project were the words:

I hear and I forget
I see and I remember
I do and I understand.

Major debates raged when compulsory education was established in England around 1880. Schooling for all was supposed to help to fight crime and pauperism. Teachers were charged with educating their children to adopt good habits and wide reading. Children were supposed to read the Bible. The theory was that reading the Bible would help their morals.

I once met a mother who divulged how she helped her twelve year old son to combat dyslexia. They sat together every day and read passages from the Bible – on a word by word basis - but backwards.

Understand I and do I
Remember I and see I
Forget I and hear I.

An adaptation of this technique may help some children who are inclined to rush questions. “Slow down, read the question word by word. What are you looking for?”

“When you are trying to solve a problem it can help to work backwards. What is the question asking?”

Which letter of the alphabet comes straight after the third letter of the tenth word?

To answer this question the eleven plus child has to find the tenth word – and then count three letters before solving the answer.

Perhaps when the errant eleven plus child is showing a remarkable unwillingness understand a question – and the patience of the every loving parent is about to disappear in a cloud of fury – there could a reason for moments of contemplation.

We are working towards the eleven plus to try to help my child to do as well as possible academically.

We want our child to have good habits – and lead a life far from poverty and uncertainty.

We wish that our child would read a little wider – even some `improving’ books.

As a parent I must remember to help my child through eleven plus work by encouraging him or her to do more – without having to listen too much to me. (I hear and I forget.)

Eleven Plus Mathematics

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:21:00 +0000

In theory we should never ask a question if we do not know the answer. Well I don’t know the answer which is why I am asking the question.

Mathematics is supposed to be one of the most exact of human thought.

In many eleven plus examinations mathematics plays a large part in the selection process. We must presume that a number of the topics that are likely to appear on an eleven plus paper have been carefully selected to allow a child to show the ability to think and reason.

At what stage in the examination do the questions change from attempting to test understanding of a group of skills to investigating thinking and reasoning?

Do we dare hope that there are questions on the paper that will not have appeared in a sample paper – and are therefore designed to try to find children who can think beyond the bounds of a so called eleven plus syllabus?

When I was once in Baltimore,
A man came up to me and cried,
‘Come, I have eighteen hundred sheep,
And we sail on Tuesday’s tide.

‘If you will sail with me, young man,
I'll pay you fifty shillings down;
These eighteen hundred sheep I take
From Baltimore to Glasgow town.’

He paid me fifty shillings down,
I sailed with eighteen hundred sheep;
We soon had cleared the harbour’s mouth,
We soon were in the salt sea deep.

The first night we were out at sea,
Those sheep were quiet in their mind;
The second night they cried with fear –
They smelt no pastures in the wind.

They sniffed, poor things, for their green fields,
They cried so loud I could not sleep:
For fifty thousand shillings down
I would not sail again with sheep.

This wonderful poem by W.H. Davis has so many elements we can admire - and has the potential for a multitude of eleven plus questions:

How many legs were on the ship?

What is the difference between fifty shillings and fifty thousand shillings?

The questions could march on.

The Morality of the Eleven Plus

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:56:00 +0000

Will the eleven plus examinations ever be able to take into account the interests of bright children? Surely exercises taken from verbal reasoning and non verbal reasoning books and texts would not rate particularly highly on the league of interests of many eleven plus children?

Among the educational objectives of the eleven plus there must be at least one which stresses the need for the tests to be able to select bright children for an academic education. How much these needs are deep seated in children – or are simply a result of social pressure could be explored at length by academics and practitioners alike.

The eleven plus examination does, however, create an interest in verbal and non verbal reasoning exercises. But maintaining and sustaining this interest can not be part of the long term strategy of the eleven plus. We presume that children at the age of ten are reasonably malleable – and we know that they are generally prepared to study and work for a goal that not all will achieve. The eleven plus examination, will not however, serve the interests of all the children who prepare.

We have to accept that eleven plus examinations have the potential to guide children in learning methods of acquiring skills that could be useful in later life. The habit of study and the need to be competitive must, for example, be encouraged.

An eleven plus child has to know what an analogy is – and be able to apply this in both verbal and non verbal reasoning exercises. We presume that being able to solve analogies demands higher order skills. We know that parents and teachers can show children how to solve analogies. But how do children go about solving the analogies in the actual examination? Should the child start at the bottom and build towards an answer? Will the answer appear from the sky in a parachute?

If mother and father have gone over analogies at least fifty times before the examination – and the child can not work out the answer on the day, does this mean that the child has been badly taught or possibly does not have the predisposition to be able to learn in a grammar school environment? It may be that the examiner has looked at all the available literature and has invented some new form of presentation – or delved deep to find abstract and abstruse questions and answers.

The eleven plus child will often be forced to deduce an answer. If the act of deduction is an abiding objective of the eleven plus – then we hope that some will agree that the examination is worthy. If, however, the end result of a deductive process is simply achieving the right answer on a competitive and public test – then the examiners need to think again.

Some eleven plus children are highly moral by nature. They are not only moral in themselves but their parents are also prepared to follow and live by moral virtues. The eleven plus examination, however, does not attempt to entertain questions involving morality. There is an inherent problem – one man’s morals is another man’s immorality. Why can’t grammar schools seek to find bright children who are good at analogies – and have a strong sense of morality? These two events would not exclusive but may give rise to a new type of eleven plus question.

The ability to think and ponder on morality may engage the interests of eleven plus children far more readily than being able to provide an answer to an eleven plus question on analogies.

The 11 Plus Exam Blog

The Eleven Plus C.V.

Eleven Plus Slamming Doors

Eleven Plus Research

An Eleven Plus Song

The Eleven Plus Gang

Is Our Present Eleven Plus Syllabus Too Narrow?

ReadinG problems and the Eleven Plus

ReadinG problems and the Eleven Plus

A Child's View of the Eleven Plus

Eleven Plus Predictions

The Eleven Plus Plod

The Saga of the Eleven Plus Refocillation.

More Eleven Plus Reading - and Thank You!

The Eleven Plus, a Fox and a Cat.

Eleven Plus Excuses

The Eleven Plus Dyad

The Eleven Plus and Birds in Season

Eleven Plus Play

Eleven Plus Solutions

Pre Eleven Plus Work

Eleven Plus Predictions

Eleven Plus Words

Eleven Plus and Forgetting

Eleven Plus Mathematics

The Morality of the Eleven Plus