11+ Guide for Entry 2016 - Spalding Grammar School

GUIDE TO 11+ AT SPALDING GRAMMAR SCHOOL
FOR ENTRY IN SEPTEMBER 2016
REGISTRATION
The answers for the VR and NVR tests taken in September 2015 for entry in 2016 will be recorded on OMR
sheets. Each sheet will be pre-printed with the pupils’ details. All OMR sheets and exam papers (including
any spares) must be sent back to GL Assessment. Therefore, it is very important that every boy who wants
to take the 11+ test is registered by the 13th February deadline.
Late registrations can be processed after this date, but similar to a late entry for a GCSE examination, will
incur extra cost and require extra arrangements to be made. Please contact Debbie Haslam, Admissions
Officer ([email protected]) for any registration issues.
PRACTICE TESTS
These are dispatched to the primary schools in the summer term. All arrangements concerning these tests
rest with the primary Headteacher.
There are some primary schools that will not administer the practice tests and therefore arrangements will be
made to sit the practice tests at Spalding Grammar School. These practice tests are designed to familiarise
the boys with the style of question, the timing of the test and the process of using the OMR sheets to record
answers. The practice tests taken in the Grammar Schools are not marked, but are retained by the Grammar
Schools. Please contact Mrs Haslam, Admissions Officer at the Grammar School if you wish to arrange for
your son to take the practice test at the Grammar School.
The questions in these tests are similar to those in the “real” tests, known as Verbal Reasoning and Non
Verbal Reasoning Tests. Research shows that taking two practice tests helps to familiarise pupils with the
kind of questions set. Taking more than two is of little proven benefit. In addition to work done at school,
some parents “force feed” their sons and daughters on endless practice tests in the run-up to the real ones.
This is unlikely to improve their performance significantly and it may well increase their anxiety; moreover, the
questions in commercially available tests may only bear a passing resemblance to the type used in the 11+.
OPEN EVENING AND VISITS
On Tuesday 7th July parents and children will be able to visit the School for a guided tour of the departments
and a talk in the School Hall: outlining the arrangements for the 11+ tests, introducing some of the staff and
pupils at the School and explaining the arrangements for day visits. The talks will be at 6.00 pm and 7.00 pm
in the School Hall.
Visits have been arranged for the morning of Friday 25th September 2015 for parents and pupils who wish to
see the School in action during the school day.
ARRANGEMENTS FOR TESTS
The two 11+ tests will take place at your son’s primary school on Friday 11th and Friday 18th September 2015.
If your primary school is unable to make arrangements for your son to take the test then arrangements will be
made for your son to take the 11+ test at either the Grammar School or the High School on Friday 11th and
18th September. Please contact Mrs Haslam at the Grammar School if you are unsure of the exact
arrangements for your son to take the 11+ tests.
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
If your son has a Special Educational Need that means he has additional support to help with written tasks in
the classroom and special arrangements are made when he completes assessment tests, including the
SATs, then the primary school may make similar arrangements for the 11+ tests.
The use of a reader or scribe is not permitted unless your son has a physical impairment, as your son will
need to directly demonstrate competence in the skills the 11+ is designed to test.
Any Special Educational Needs your son has must be recorded on the 11+ registration form you complete.
If you feel your son has been disadvantaged in the tests as a result of his Special Educational Need, then you
can address this through the Appeals process.
EARLY ENTRY
If your son is exceptionally gifted you may feel he is in a position to transfer to a grammar school a year
earlier than his peers i.e. as a 10 year old. This is not an approach we would encourage as it often brings
social and emotional problems as the rest of the year group mature faster. Details of the process and
conditions can be accessed on the School’s website.
HOW ARE THE “REAL” TESTS MARKED?
There are 80 questions in the VR test and 65 questions in the NVR test (not counting the short “warm up”
tests) and your child should try to answer as many as possible. He will therefore get a mark out of 65 or 100;
we call this a “raw score”. These scores are converted onto a scale ranging from 70 to 140; this mark is
called a “Reasoning Quotient” or a “standardised score”. The conversion takes account of each pupil’s age,
so that, for example, a pupil born in August does not have to have a raw score as high as a pupil eleven
months older in order to achieve the same standardised score.
The standardisation is carried out by GL Assessment, the same people who set the tests. This is done in
such a way that approximately 25% of the entire County population of Year 6 pupils achieve a standardised
score of 110 or more in each test, or a total of 220 or more in both tests. If your child scores 220 or more he
or she is in this percentage and, unless the school is oversubscribed, will automatically be offered a
grammar school place if you have placed the grammar school as your first preference on the common
application form.
ILLNESS
If your son is unwell on the day of the tests then rather than struggle through the test we suggest that he
takes the test at a later date. If his primary school cannot arrange for him to sit the tests at a later date there
will be a ‘catch up’ session arranged at the Grammar or High School in the week following the test dates.
Please contact the School if you need to make use of the ‘catch up’ sessions. It is normal for boys to get
nervous about taking the tests. You may also feel anxious. Please try to conceal any anxiety you have and
help your son keep a proper sense of perspective about the tests. Pressuring him with lots of practice tests is
likely to be counter productive.
APPEALS
If your child scores less than but close to 220 an appeal can be made by you the parents. Full details of the
parental appeals procedure will be sent to you when places are allocated in March 2015. It is important to
bear in mind that a standardised score of 210 is not “only ten marks short”, “quite a close run thing”, as some
parents may feel. 210 or more is scored by about 40% of the entire age group, so a large number score
between 210 and 220 (for Spalding Grammar School it can be as many as 40 pupils or more), therefore it is
not really that close. Appeals are unlikely to be upheld unless the scores are very close and there are
circumstances which prevented your son performing to his ability on the day(s) of the test(s). If the primary
school carries out practice tests under full examination conditions, the results of the practice tests could
provide useful evidence in the event of an appeal.
APPLICATION (PREFERENCE) FORMS
You are asked to complete and return secondary school application forms, naming three secondary schools,
to the LEA by Friday 30th October 2015. Results of the 11+ tests will be posted to parents on Friday 9th
October 2015, i.e. before the final date or the return of application forms. As an Academy, Spalding
Grammar School has its own admissions policy and allocates places to the 150 pupils who score most in the
two Reasoning tests, having given priority to those pupils who live in the parishes of South Holland.
NUMBER OF APPLICANTS
The law now requires that parents be given information on the number of applications received at each
school for the previous year, the number which were successful, and the criteria under which they were
accepted (with an indication of whether this reflects the pattern of recent years). Last year we had 214
applicants of which 167 boys reached the required standard of 220 in the 11+ Test. 138 places were
awarded according to our published criteria for admission i.e. all boys who reached the required standard
were offered a place. This has been the pattern for the past 5 years.
NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS
In common with the other grammar schools in the Consortium we will send you the results of the 11+ tests on
Friday 9th October. The letter will tell you whether or not your child has reached the required standard for a
grammar school place. Letters will be posted and should, with luck, arrive in homes on the Saturday. If you
have not received the letter by the Monday, please contact Mrs Haslam by phone or email. Primary schools are
sent the results of the 11+ tests after the results are sent to parents.
OFFER OF PLACES
The offer of a place in a particular secondary school will come from the Local Education Authority and will be
made on Tuesday 1st March 2016. If you want to accept the offer you should do so by Wednesday 16th March
2015.
A Summary of the Key Dates
Tuesday 7th July 2015
Friday 11th September 2015
Friday 18th September 2015
Friday 25th September 2015
Friday 9th October 2015
Friday 30th October 2015
Tuesday 1st March 2016
Wednesday 2nd March 2016
Wednesday 16th March 2016
11+ information evening
Verbal Reasoning test at Primary School/Spalding Grammar School
Non Verbal Reasoning test at Primary School/Spalding Grammar
School
Year 6 Open Morning at Spalding Grammar School
Letter from Spalding Grammar School advising whether your son has
reached the required standard in the tests
Deadline for return of application forms to the LEA
Offer of places sent by LEA
Letter from grammar schools clarifying exactly where you now stand and
explaining the options available to you
Deadline for acceptance of offer of place made on 1st March 2016
Further Guidance
Full details of the School’s Admission Policy, Curriculum and Information for Parents, including Frequently
Asked Questions are available on the School’s website: www.spaldinggrammar.lincs.sch.uk. Further
information about the 11+ tests and qualification for a grammar school place, including Frequently Asked
Questions
are
available
on
the
Lincolnshire
Grammar
Schools
Consortium
website:
www.grammarschools.lincs.sch.uk . Further information about the application process for a Secondary
School place in Lincolnshire is available in the ‘Going to School in Lincolnshire’ booklet and through
www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions .

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