The 11+ and Other Horrors

The title is a lie, there are no other horrors as fearsome as the 11+ which incidentally had a friendly re-brand and is now called the 'Transfer Test'.

So instead of failing the 11+ kids can now proudly say that they failed to get a STTS (Standardised Transfer Test Score) or 121 or above. Much better for self esteem.

When it comes to the 11+ the fear, loathing and responsibility is overwhelming.

Let's dive in with the cohort statistics. Out of about 10,000 children, 3,000 will be selected for grammar. The magical score children have to achieve is 121, sat on a scale of 0 - 200. Those pass numbers are skewed though because out of area applications have a much higher pass rate: perhaps if you don't live in county you only bother to take the test if you think you've got a good chance of passing. Within county, there's a pass rate of roughly 23%, so let's call it 1 in 4 children from the primaries in our area who get selected for grammar.

Looking ahead, children at grammar schools get better grades at GCSE level because only the most academically able are there. If you go to a grammar school, you have a 99% or so chance of getting A*-C in your GCSEs. In a comp, it's nearer 65% and the intake is the start point for the difference.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that unless your offspring get into a grammar then they are doomed to a life of mediocrity and low grades, which is as stupid as it is untrue. The problem is that the frenzy that parents whip up around the test can't fail to make children, and other parents, scared. Tutoring needs a blog all of its own. So does pushy parenting. But this blog is just about me and my kids so to hell with everyone else.

In order to retain some sense of sanity and order, I am repeating the following mantras:
They take the same exams whichever school they're in.
Kids with a good attitude will succeed regardless of the school they attend.

The headline is that 75% of children in our area go to comprehensives and while we have some excellent grammar schools, we have some excellent comps in our area too. Lucky us!

K is a smart kid. He works hard, questions everything and has a great memory. K is a process thinker; he likes to do one thing at time and get it perfect. He doesn't like to guess, still thinks short cuts are cheating (despite my protestations) and won't give up on a problem until he has the answer. These admirable personality traits will cost him dearly in the 11+ which relies on fast analysis, quick decisions and an ability to give rapid fire answers to rapid fire questions. Despite ability in non-verbal reasoning and literacy, K's maths is average and so the upshot is that he's a borderline case at best. It would be easier if he was a definite no or definite yes. Even if he did pass, would grammar be right for him anyway?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10328580/Weakest-pupils-suffer-crisis-of-confidence-in-top-schools.html

It's a divisive, unnecessary system I have come to hate on every level, but no one forced us to live in this county and so we have to concede that our son will end up in the school that is right for him.

The tricky thing is that K cares, A lot. He understands that this is a test that you pass or fail, however they play with the words. What child wants to fail? So as a parent even if you trust the system and allow the chips to fall as they will, you can't sit back and do nothing. You have to give them the best shot, so whatever number appears next to their name, be it 80 or 180, they can feel good about it and know they did well. I wouldn't go to an interview or test unprepared and I don't expect K to do so either but this is one single test with a score that proves only the narrowest of skill sets.

It doesn't test athletic or musical ability, kindness, science, ICT, real life problem solving, resilience, teamwork.

It's tests of character, not maths or verbal reasoning, that define success in life.

Delicate Matters

Money. The most delicate of matters. If you choose to HE you are rejecting the state option so - like private education - the costs are yours and yours alone.

In theory there are savings : no uniform or commuting to school, bye bye fund raising requests from the PTA and gallons of nit shampoo. The reality is that being solely responsible for a child's education does cost - the question is, how much?

We'd considered private schools for K as he doesn't thrive in a big group and we had some savings earmarked. They may yet be used for school, who knows, but in the meantime we're nibbling at the edges of the fund to support home education.

I say nibble.. it's more of a big greedy bite.

Home ed for us has been more expensive than we'd expected even if it is considerably cheaper than private school. This is my list of the financial impact of HE (so far). I've deliberately ignored the opportunity cost that if I'm home schooling then I'm working less because the reality is I am sleeping less. Some of the outgoings would have been spent even if the kids were still at school but now the boys are not wiped out at 3,30pm Mon-Fri we do more clubs, outings and adventures.

Costs
Things that are supporting our primary level HE - not all essential but they make life and learning easier, more fun or both

Resources - books, online subscriptions
Stationery - folders for work, art sketch books, drawing and painting materials, exercise books
Tutors - for the kids' interest areas, weak areas or strong areas, including Explore Learning, music teachers and subject tutors
Memberships - like the National Trust
Sports - swimming, badminton, bowling etc
Trips - zoos, theme parks, city trips
Topic kits - like science experiments, sewing kits

Looking ahead if we were home schooling into secondary (not something we're worrying about yet) then we'd need to budget for exams as they are expensive. The cost can sometimes be spread as you're not having to do them in a single lump.

Unexpected Costs
Things we didn't factor in, because, well you just don't think of these things 

Extra food - more fresh air and running around means more food
Printer ink - from enthusiastic printing of resources
Fuel - so many outings, we're clocking up miles on the car

Cheap & Free

Places to claw back some value

Museums and open days - best if you go for a specific exhibit or event to keep things focussed
Libraries - reading in the children's section for a change of scene
Places that give annual membership when you've been once - like Beaulieu and Bletchley Park
Natural resources - woods, rivers, lakes, etc with a picnic for the best in outdoor learning. Take a picnic and a reference book and go spotting for wildlife or historical interest. Unconstrained by the timetable, go when the weather suits
Matinees - be surrounded by school groups by heading to the theatre for the Wednesday matinee or get Tuesday daytime cinema tickets if you want to feel like you've booked a private screening

Online resources - thank you internet, especially YouTube, the BBC, TES

Holidays - everything's cheaper and quieter in term time although we have to go without friends

Colour

The boys had some homework and it's a minibeast behaviour investigation. Hypothesise, theorise, colour in - and then my favourite bit - sit down in the sunshine for 20 minutes. Lovely.

The objective was to find out which colour insects prefer. To land on I mean, not for their lounge wall. For lounge walls it's got to be dead salmon, mouse's back or clunch http://www.farrow-ball.com/colours/paint/fcp-category/list

The little critters didn't disappoint. The bugs were well behaved too. Within seconds of setting up our experiment we had creepy crawly visitors landing on our colour spots.

Orange was the run-away winner... or should that be Charlotte's Locks?

Don't Be a Hero

Armed with the National Curriculum, subscriptions to some of the primary resources sites, a strong coffee, packet of jaffa cakes and some good ol' fashioned positive attitude I figured I had this Home Ed lark in the bag.

Not really, as it turns out. The bag is big and has holes in and your stuff falls out the bottom when you're not expecting it. How annoying.

It's only once I was on the way I realised it's a bit bigger than I thought. I was totally focussed on the teaching aspect - what do they need to know, how can I teach it - which only gets you so far. If you're trying to stay aligned to the National Curriculum you're going to need some assessment.

Also some subjects might not be your thing. I'm not great at history. It didn't interest me when I was at school and I have some serious knowledge gaps (the gap is pretty much 1980 back to ... the big bang. Ask me about the last 30 years though and I'm fine. Because I was there.)

I'm revising British monarchs and the Roman Empire and feeling a teensy bit like I missed out. It's good stuff.

What's the point of this ramble? Just 2 tips.

1. If you want to stay on track for English and Maths get external assessment (RMEasimaths, Mathletics, Explore Learning etc etc)
2. Outsource some subjects to willing friends/family or private tutors

It gives me an objective feel for if the boys are making measurable progress against national standards, boosts those social skills and gives me a much needed bake-a-cake / put-the-washing-on / hoover / pay-the-bills / prepare-for-next-week break. I think of it as PPA. Worth every penny.