11+

It’s 11+ Results Day

- TracyB 3 Comments

It’s 11+ Results Day

Yes, it’s a very nervous day in my household today. It’s the day my youngest son’s 11+ results arrive on our doorstep.

11+ results

As the day has drawn closer I have noticed him getting more and more concerned about it. He is hoping to pass but we have tried to warn him that it doesn’t always go to plan and not to be too disappointed if he doesn’t get through.

However, what makes it worse is that he is a bright boy. He absolutely has the potential to pass. He has done some work towards it but we tried not to put extra pressure on him as there is never any guarantee.

Going on his work at home, if he finished the practise papers on time he then didn’t do very well. But if he concentrated and didn’t finish the paper on time, quality rather than quantity, then he tended to get a good score.
On both of the test days he came out saying that he had finished the papers. So not a great sign at the time.

But you just never know. We are not holding our breath as parents however, we are trying to prepare for the meltdown that will be if he doesn’t ‘pass’ the test. I know he will feel a failure, and may feel a little resentment against his brother, who did pass a few years ago and attends the school my youngest really wants to go to. So, tomorrow going into school will be hellish for him.

You see most people have the opinion that he will pass. I’m afraid that they mistake his confidence, which he has in abundance, for ability. I think he feels under pressure because of this.

These are children who are only 10 or 11 years old. They are too young to have this much pressure. I know of many parents who openly talk about it all in front of them and therefore, the pressure of not being a ‘failure’ is all too apparent.

My post does not arrive until lunchtime. Blimey I don’t think my nerves will stand it.

Little does he know that I will be steaming that letter open to find out the result before he opens it on his return from school. I need to be prepared in order to deal with any of his disappointment straight away.

On the other hand he may pass and be overjoyed. Who knows what the day holds.

Either way we will be treating him to dinner out to at least celebrate the fact it will all be over!

11+ nerves

- TracyB 8 Comments

It’s 11+ tests tomorrow and I don’t know who’s more nervous…….mum and dad or the son who’s taking it!!!

We have a 13 yr old who has already gone through this who comfortably passed his and attends a really nice grammar school close by. This school is perfect for him as it is mixed and because he is a sensitive soul we thought it would be better for him. He loves it there ( as much as any boy ‘loves’ school!) and has made a great set of friends that from the beginning of year 7 to today in year 9 have all stuck by each other.

However, I think this makes it more difficult for the second child. He also wants to go to the same school as his brother, he has already had a look around and loves the drama department there ( as some of you may remember he is a budding ‘actor’!!). He is also a very capable child and has been in top sets for maths and literacy in junior school. But there is no guarantee that he will get through on the test!

He has worked hard towards it with his dad ( which we did with our older son) however, we have tried not to put too much pressure on him about it. Rightly or wrongly we never sent either of our boys to a tutor in order for them to pass. Any work they have undertaken over the summer has been worked through by my OH who seems to have the patience of a saint when it comes to school work!! We live on the border of Kent so the children can also apply to do the Kent 11+ too and I know some of the kids from his year have taken that on Saturday. He decided (just like my eldest) that he didn’t want to take this test as it would possibly mean that he would end up in a school out of our borough that he would have to travel to, and therefore lots of his friends would not be living close to him. So in the end we didn’t register him for that test as there would be no point sending him to a school he didn’t want to go to.

So now all his hopes are on the test tomorrow and Wednesday. He seems confident and we have confidence in him. But is it wrong to try and prepare him in case he doesn’t get through? That is what we have been doing. Trying to tell him it isn’t the end of the world if he doesn’t pass. It doesn’t make him any less capable than his brother. There is a lot of competition between them over the silliest of things so this really would cause a major upset!!

We certainly don’t want him to feel any sort of failure. We don’t want to be seen as treating him any different from his brother if he doesn’t get through.

So the next 3 weeks waiting for the results just won’t go quick enough!!! Talk about wishing your life away. As with his older brother we have told him that the letter will arrive and we will not open it as this will be his job when he gets home from school.
( What we won’t tell him is that we will have steamed the letter open at lunchtime when it arrives so we know the outcome before he gets his grubby mits on the thing!!)

And then the drama will start!! The next day at the school playground………….kids and adults alike all eager to hear if your child has passed or not!! Whispers behind peoples backs about the shock passes and ‘fails’ ( although no child at the age of 10 and 11 should be seen as a failure!!!) But that’s what it all comes down to with a lot of parents these days.

So on that note……

A HUGE GOOD LUCK TO MY SON AND ALL THE CHILDREN TAKING THE 11+ IN THE NEXT 2 DAYS