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11 Plus News for England

 

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All comments appreciated!

 

Many news articles appear in the press relating to selective entry to schools at 11 plus and education in general. 

These articles have been selected as being relevant to parents of children aged 9 to 13 who are interested in what is happening across England.

Contributions and comments are welcome, please write to enquires@planetbofa.com


11-plus exam may be held two months early‎

Echo - 28 Jan 2012
THE 11-plus exams could be brought forward two months so parents can pick their favourite schools after children have sat the tests.


Competitive parents 'taking joy out of childhood'

‎Telegraph.co.uk - 28 Jan 2012
Tutoring is increasingly popular in preparation for the 11-plus and Common Entrance – the traditional entry exams for grammar schools and private senior ...


Grammar schools' admissions policy under review

‎Chelmsford Weekly News - 19 Jan 2012
KEGS also plans to open up to ten per cent of places to Year 7 students who, in addition to scoring highly on the 11-plus test, demonstrate they have ...


Finding a tutor: it's a cut-throat world‎

Telegraph.co.uk - 19 Jan 2012
January is peak season for private tutors, with children facing a barrage of exams and revision: retakes, 11-plus, common entrance exams and GSCE and ...


Backing grammar schools: Labour need to be educated on what is ...

‎Daily Mail - 18 Jan 2012
I didn't go to a grammar school - I failed my 11 plus – but I wish I had done. To me, a system where a child is taught on their ability makes perfect sense ...


Poor children's GCSE grades 'unacceptable'‎

Kent Online - 18 Jan 2012
... schools to achieve in 2012, saying 40% of pupils should get five or more good GCSEs. By 2015, it says that should rise to 50%. Pupils taking the 11 - plus


Labour seeks Lib Dem support to fight grammar school plans

‎The Guardian - 16 Jan 2012
Before the election, Cameron said there would be "no return to the 11-plus". In government, the coalition has made it easier for grammars to expand.


A Canterbury grammar school criticised for 11-plus score increase‎

BBC News - 12 Jan 2012
A grammar school in Canterbury has been criticised for proposing to raise the pass mark of the 11-plus exam. Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys is ...


Chelmsford grammar schools consider catchment change

BBC News - 23 Dec 2011
The schools currently take children based on their 11-plus rankings. In a letter to parents, Kegs said about 40% of its current intake lived further afield ...


11-plus crackdown on rich kids' coaching 'advantage'

Aylesbury Today - 17 Dec 2011
CHANGES to the 11-plus system could soon be made in a bid to prevent wealthier families from giving their children at unfair advantage. ...


THE TORIES SIMPLY GOT IT ALL WRONG ON GRAMMAR SCHOOLS?

Express.co.uk - 11 Jan 2012
The 11-plus, with its “pass” or “fail”, was unnecessarily harsh and the secondary modern schools to which failed 11-plus candidates were consigned were ...


The creeping return of the grammar school?

The Guardian - 10 Jan 2012
There is also a shift away from arguing for the 11 plus – increasingly hard to justify in a more sensitive, child-aware culture – towards the introduction ...


Grammar schools get go-ahead to expand‎

Telegraph.co.uk - 12 Dec 2011
In recent years, the number of pupils sitting the 11-plus entrance exam in areas such as Kent, Birmingham, Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire, which have the ...


Half of children who pass 11-plus exam are turned away from ...

Daily Mail - 27 Nov 2011
New figures show that of the 29500 children who took the 11-plus, 13800 passed, but 6100 of those youngsters were not offered places. ...


15000 pupils pass the 11-plus but fail to get a grammar school place

Telegraph.co.uk - 27 Nov 2011
Wallington High School for Girls, in Sutton, received 1400 applications for 180 places and had to turn away more than 300 pupils who passed the 11 plus. ...


ESSEX children taking the 11-plus exam should not be intensively tutored ...

This is Total Essex - ‎Mar 27, 2011

The 11-plus English and maths papers are written by Essex grammar school staff and checked by colleagues. The verbal reasoning paper is set by an outside company. "We believe the papers should be rigorous enough to select the children who can manage ...


Want to get your little poppet into a decent school? Prepare for war

Daily Mail - ‎‎Feb 17, 2011

The great 11-plus showdown is entering its denouement. From today, letters go out from grammar and private schools to say whose progeny has won the race for the most prestigious places. There's no doubt that in the multiple choice of life, ...


A COUPLE who adopted a Russian orphan were told she had brain damage.

This is Total Essex - 13 Mar 2011

But she has defied their expectations, passed 11-plus exams and secured a ... When she took 11-plus exams this year, she passed with flying colours and was ...


More pupils than ever get their first-choice secondary schools

Kent News - 5 Mar 2011

There are a number of boys living in Pembury and parts of Sevenoaks who have passed their 11-plus but have not been offered a grammar place this year. ...


Top comprehensives surrounded by 'privileged little circles'

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎Feb 4, 2011‎

The study suggested that grammars – which select pupils on the basis of the 11-plus entrance exam – were more transparent as they identified pupils “with talent, irrespective of their backgrounds”. Mr Onac is former head of Fortismere School, ...


The 11-plus has taken over my life

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎Jan 17, 2011‎

For it is at this time of year that, in our county – Buckinghamshire – the 11-plus appeals are heard. In this one meeting, a panel of well-chosen people ...


Pushy parents putting 11-plus tuition on infants' curriculum

Yourcanterbury.co.uk - ‎Jan 15, 2011‎

Parents of children as young as five are trying to hire private tutors for 11-plus coaching as the demand for grammar school places rockets. ...


Pupils 'will be able to leave school at 14 to learn trade'

Coventry Telegraph - ‎Jan 10, 2011

They claim it could be a return to separation of children at too young an age – abolished with 11-plus exams in the 1960s – and could deprive less ...


Parents demand 11-plus coaching for two-year-olds

This is London - ‎Jan 5, 2011

One London firm said the number seeking tuition for the 11-plus has almost doubled in the past year as pressure on places increases. ...


More children tutored to get into grammar schools

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎Jan 5, 2011‎

Children as young as four are being tutored to pass the 11-plus examination amid rising competition to get into grammar schools. Young children are being ...


Now that's pressure: Children of FOUR being tutored for 11-plus examinations

Daily Mail - ‎Jan 5, 2011

Deidre Donegan, of Gabitas Educational Consultants, said that many parents began tutoring their children two years before the 11-plus exams due to rising ...


Parents vent their anger over 11-Plus test 'scam'

Daily Mail - Martin Delgado - ‎Jan 1, 2011‎

The alleged scam came to light when a large number of 11-Plus candidates asked to take the exam on a Sunday, one day after the majority of pupils. ...


Grammar schools are the only hope for our failing education system

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎Nov 10, 2010‎

And they say the 11-Plus was unfair! Watch my lips: no more selection by academic ability. But plenty of selection by house price or overnight conversion to ...


Don't be scared to give kids a push..

Mirror.co.uk - ‎Nov 8, 2010‎

... take me down to the local bookshop to buy the latest exercise books, which tested verbal reasoning, maths and logic in preparation for the 11-plus exam


Grammar schools: Old school wisdom

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎Nov 5, 2010‎

Competition is so great that parents either pay for their children to be coached for the 11-plus, or send them to fee-paying prep schools. ...


Grammar schools will be allowed to expand

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎Oct 31, 2010

In a ruling last week, the schools adjudicator backed three "super-selective" grammars which admit only those children with the very highest 11 Plus scores,


Race for school places: Trafford

Manchester Evening News - ‎Oct 26, 2010

The way I see it is that usually your first choice is going to be a grammar school but what if you don't pass their entrance exam or the 11 plus - you ..


Battle continues to end super selection policy

Kent News - ‎Oct 23, 2010‎

The Judd School in Tonbridge, The Skinners School in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge Grammar School select children getting the highest marks in the 11 plus ..


11-plus pupils face grammar schools blow

thisiskent.co.uk - ‎Oct 22, 2010‎

HARD-WORKING pupils who received their 11-plus exam results this week are set for disappointment. ..


School places system to stay

thisiskent.co.uk - ‎Oct 22, 2010‎

At present, the schools all accept pupils who achieve the highest scores in the 11-plus, regardless of whether they live in the county or not. ...


11 plus Results Go Out To Tunbridge Wells' Children. But What Next?

Tunbridge Wells People - ‎Oct 20, 2010

By AGidney | Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 11:21 With the 11 plus results out yesterday and Monday if you were registered on line to receive them, ..


Kent grammar schools appeal fails

BBC News - ‎Oct 19, 2010‎

The schools adjudicator Dr Bryan Slater ruled they could keep their admissions criteria - based on 11 plus results rather than where children live. ...


Campaigners lose bid to end 'super selection'

Kent News - ‎Oct 19, 2010‎

Kent County Council and parents complained that the schools' policy of selecting children based solely on their 11 plus results meant that grammar places ...


School applications from outside Kent rise

Kent Online - ‎Oct 19, 2010

Kent County Council said that of the 5295 children who passed the 11-plus this year, 1156 do not live in the county - compared to 993 the previous year. ...


Making grammar schools less elitist

thisiskent.co.uk - ‎Oct 8, 2010

As primary school children nervously prepare to receive their 11-plus exam results, which will determine their eligibility to enter selective education, ...


Pupils report back on their first month in a new school

The Guardian - ‎‎Oct 4, 2010

After passing the gruelling 11-plus exam, Gabriel and Tayla are at Dane Court, a mixed grammar school with more than 1500 pupils, in Broadstairs. ...


Anger as children's exam papers are collected too soon

Kent Online - ‎‎Oct 1, 2010

Youngsters taking the test, formerly known as the 11-plus, were told they had five minutes left to complete their maths paper even though there were still ...


Prep schools know how to inspire boys

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎‎Sep 29, 2010

Many of the brighter boys, my older brother included, won 11-plus places at the nearby grammar. A few years after I left, the headmaster retired and a ..


Pupils 'want consulted on exams'

BBC News - ‎‎Sep 27, 2010

In 2009, two sets of unregulated tests filled the vacuum left by the ending of the 11-plus transfer tests. In the aftermath, almost 1000 primary seven ..


School selection in the spotlight

thisiskent.co.uk - ‎‎Sep 24, 2010

At present, the schools operate a merit-based selection system, in which children with the highest scores in the 11-plus are offered a grammar school place, ...


Teaching unions attack pressures of the Kent Test

Kent News - ‎Aug 28, 2010

Previously known as the 11-plus, the exam selects what type of secondary education children go into. But the system, which has been scrapped in most other ...


Summer cramming for Kent 11 plus criticised by NUT

BBC News - ‎Aug 16, 2010

Last-minute coaching for children to get them through the 11 plus in Kent is being criticised by a teaching union. Thousands of children across the county ...


Exam success for Coventry 11 year-olds

Coventry Telegraph - ‎Aug 5, 2010

Figures released by Coventry City Council Key reveal key stage 2 pupils across the city have improved in their 11 plus exam results this year and made ...


Futures College boss: Talents are overshadowed by class

Essex Echo - 6 July 2010

Mr Baker said Westcliff High is working with Southend primary schools to try to encourage more disadvantaged children to take the 11-plus by letting them ...


Heads defend entry policies

thisiskent.co.uk - 2 July 2010

She added her school offered the vast majority of its Year Seven places to grammar-assessed students living within the 11-plus area of Kent, ...


When failure is not an option

Telegraph.co.uk - 2 July 2010

Given the amount of effort required to lick your child into shape for the ferociously competitive entrance exams, usually at 11-plus, action, and plenty of ...


Schools interested in academy status named

Teachers TV - 25 Jun 2010

Of the 1500 schools on the list, 92 are grammar schools, which select on the basis of academic ability demonstrated in the 11-plus exam. ...


Coalition pledge on 'slimmed down' national curriculum

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎May 25, 2010‎
... become academies – retaining their right to select by ability – although the new government insisted there would be no further expansion of the 11-plus. ...


Grammar schools boom under Labour despite party's opposition

Daily Mail - ‎May 14, 2010‎
And they will pile pressure on David Cameron who ruled out a return to the 11-plus in 2007, declaring that he was determined to 'move on from a sterile ...


Election candidates answer the big questions

Manchester Evening News - May 4, 2010
On education I would encourage the creation of new grammar schools but make the 11-plus vocational as well as academic. "The issue of whether you have ...


Conservative Wycombe candidate Steve Baker apologises over leaflet claim

Bucks Free Press - May 3, 2010
Candidate Andrew Lomas has said he wants the system scrapped but the party's manifesto while ruling out a 'return to the 11-plus' does not pledge to close ...


General Election 2010: Eton head calls for assisted places revival

Telegraph.co.uk - Julie Henry - May 2, 2010
‎ ... he abandoned the Conservative Party's traditional support for more grammar schools and the Tories have tried to avoid any mention of the 11-plus since. ...


Our Gothic towers inspire state school pupils, says Eton head

This is London - Apr 30, 2010
Many pupils at state comprehensives in the area have a low opinion of their own abilities after failing the 11-plus entrance exam for local grammar schools. ...


Schools and housing spark election debate

thisiskent.co.uk - Apr 30, 2010
But Labour candidate Gareth Siddorn, who is not in favour of the 11 plus system, said the question over the rights and wrongs of the selection process was a ...


Labour's Daniel Griffiths Responds to Ten Questions Posed by Tonbridge People ...

Tonbridge People - Apr 24, 2010
‎CAN YOU GUARANTEE A GRAMMAR SCHOOL PLACE FOR EVERY CHILD WHO PASSES THE 11 PLUS? First, the day-to-day running of the local education system is matter for ...


UKIP's Victor Webb answers your questions

Tunbridge Wells People - Apr 22, 2010
VW: UKIP will not return to a pass/fail 11 plus test but will introduce a comprehensive test to assess merit across a wide range of academic and non ...


General Election 2010: the Tories have a fortnight to save themselves from ...

Telegraph.co.uk - Apr 22, 2010
Bring back Grammar schools,and the 11 plus. As non of these will be implemented by Cameroon, my vote goes to the English Democrates. ...


Lib Dem Liz Simpson Responds to Ten Questions Posed By Tonbridge People - what ...

Tonbridge People - Apr 21, 2010
Can you guarantee a grammar school place close to home for every child who passes the 11 plus? I assume that this question relates to the difficulty some ...


What do Tonbridge People want to ask the candidates: Replies from Steve Dawe ...

Tonbridge People - Apr 14, 2010
Q Can you guarantee a grammar school place for every child who passes the 11 plus? 1. Grammar school places: No. The Green Party supports the full ...


Cameron wants a nation of volunteers. I'm not convinced

The Guardian (blog) - ‎Apr 12, 2010
‎ ... electing county health boards; putting matron in charge on the ward; including non-academic skills in the 11-plus; cutting out red tape, especially EU ...


UKIP launches manifesto

ePolitix - ‎Apr 13, 2010
‎ New grammar schools would be built, but the "stigma of failure" attached to 11 plus tests would be removed by including non academic exams as well as ...


No narrowing of the great education divide

The Guardian - ‎Apr 12, 2010
‎ But read the report through and it is clear that schools which use the 11-plus test are still the worst offenders (after the private schools, which aren't ...


Top comprehensives 'more exclusive than grammar schools'

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎Apr 12, 2010
‎ The study suggested that grammars – which select pupils on the basis of the 11-plus entrance exam – were more transparent as they identified pupils “with ...


Ten Questions From Tonbridge People to our Election Candidates: Watch this ...

Tonbridge People - ‎Apr 9, 2010
‎ Can you guarantee a grammar school place close to home for every child who passes the 11 plus? 2. What will you do to improve our hospitals? 3. ...


Teachers fear 'selection at 14'

BBC News - ‎Apr 4, 2010‎ "Those who failed the 11-plus scrambled for a place at technical schools to avoid being shipped off to secondary moderns. "Comprehensive schools offer a ...


Dagenham school pupils are top of the class

Barking and Dagenham Post - ‎Mar 24, 2010‎
Irene Irpogho and Danielle Wilson won places at Brentwood School after acing their 11 plus exams and were then awarded their scholarships. ...


Wirral's grammar school leaders call for entry test results to be released ...

Liverpool Daily Post - ‎Mar 23, 2010‎
If there is no risk in taking the 11-plus test, then you may widen the choice of those looking to reach the standard.” Mike Twist, deputy headteacher at ...


Why Live In Tunbridge Wells?

Tunbridge Wells People - ‎Mar 21, 2010‎
Many people also choose Tunbridge Wells for the eleven plus and its selection of grammar schools. But how many of us are happy once we've made the ...


'Failing' grammar school is out of special measures

Manchester Evening News - ‎Mar 17, 2010‎
Grammar schools traditionally score high marks as they select the brightest pupils, with 11-plus exams determining entry. Parent Charlie Rodger said he was ...


School crisis 'down to the government'

thisiskent.co.uk - ‎Mar 17, 2010‎
This year's nightmare has seen 114 Kent pupils left without a grammar school place despite passing the 11-plus. The full extent of how many are from ...


Class war making parents feel guilty about private schooling, say heads

This is London - ‎Mar 16, 2010‎
Many parents pay for prep schools to help train their children to pass the 11-plus exam and win places in state grammars. There were fears that government ...


School places farce hits twins

thisiskent.co.uk - ‎Mar 7, 2010‎
Despite sailing through their 11-Plus exams, Isobel and Milly Money, 10, have not been given a grammar school place and have instead won places at the ...


'No evidence' of 11-plus cheating

Ilford Recorder 24 - ‎Mar 6, 2010
‎ COUNCIL chiefs have ruled there is no evidence of cheating in this year's controversial 11-plus exams as schoolchildren discover whether they got their ...


Academy head says 'don't just write us off'

thisiskent.co.uk - ‎Mar 5, 2010‎
THE head of The Skinners' Kent Academy this week called on parents to "open their minds" after 114 youngsters who passed the 11-plus failed to get a place ...


School choice –an overrated concept

The Guardian - Mar 2, 2010
‎ Grammars can select pupils based on 11-plus exams, faith schools can choose from the relevant religious backgrounds, and specialist schools can select 10% ...


Kent children and parents discover secondary school places

Kent Online - Mar 1, 2010
‎ KCC said about 100 children who passed the 11-plus had not at this stage been offered a grammar school place. It follows concerns raised last year when some ...


Pupils in England told their secondary school places

BBC News - ‎Feb 23, 2010
‎ This is the first year when there is no official 11-plus entrance test, although some schools are implementing their own tests. In Wales parents give their ...


One in six pupils to lose out in school place chase

Daily Mail - ‎Feb 26, 2010
‎ Wallington County Grammar, in Sutton, Surrey, which attracted nearly 14 applications per place, said the 11-plus sessions had to be organised with 'military ...


Education: the high fly, the rest sink. And no one acts

Times Online - ‎Feb 23, 2010
‎ In Britain any debate on selection is cut off at the knees before it starts: “11 plus,” “a return to old-style grammars” and “writing off as failures” is ...


Grammar is important

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎Feb 19, 2010
‎ ... and which are usually a mixture of standard 11-plus tests (verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths) and the school's own set papers. ...


Nick Seaton: Support grows for more grammar schools

Yorkshire Post - ‎Feb 16, 2010
‎ Two years ago, Kent had 1232 applicants from outside the county, who freely volunteered to take the 11-plus for a place in one or other of Kent's grammar ...


Police probe 11-plus exams 'cheating'

Ilford Recorder 24 - ‎Feb 12, 2010
‎ The 11-plus is a selective exam enabling pupils to get into the borough's two grammar schools, Ilford County High and Woodford County High. ...


Voters favour more grammar schools, says survey

BBC News - ‎Feb 10, 2010‎
But these schools remain popular with parents, many of whom coach their children intensively to pass the 11-plus that determines whether or not they get a ...


Grammar schools 'should be expanded'

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎Feb 9, 2010‎
In recent years, private tutors have also recorded a huge upsurge in demand for extra tuition to help get children through the 11-plus entrance exam. ...


Inequality in Britain isn't down to class but brains

Telegraph.co.uk - Alasdair Palmer - ‎Jan 30, 2010
‎ I'm one of those hard-up working class kids who passed the 11 plus lo these many years ago, and after many more years of bringing up a family, I returned to ...


Louth school defends proposal to scrap catchment area

Grimsby Telegraph - ‎Jan 28, 2010
‎ After hearing a number of parents object to the proposal, James Lascelles told Louth town councillors he wanted the top 120 scoring pupils ikn the 11-plus ...


Bruce Anderson: Education is no place for idealism or egalitarianism

Independent - ‎Jan 25, 2010‎
Confronted by the life-chance dividing line of the 11-plus, millions of families underwent the same anxieties as my taxi-driver. In retrospect, the 1944 Act ...


The Northerner: Sky falls on chicken licker

The Guardian (blog) - ‎Jan 21, 2010‎
Education there, this week at least, is concerned with tweaks to the 11-plus exam which for 90%-plus of the country is ancient history. ...


Poor schools fuelling boom in private tuition

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎Jan 17, 2010‎
There is now so much difference between the best grammar schools and the worst comprehensives that parents are tutoring for the 11-plus from an earlier age. ...


Anxious parents fuel boom in tutors

Times Online - Jack Grimston - ‎Jan 16, 2010
‎ “There is now such a difference between the best grammar schools and the worst comprehensives that parents are tutoring for the 11-plus from an earlier age. ...


More schools reach GCSE target

BBC News - ‎‎Jan 13, 2010
‎ The highest scoring school was Invicta Grammar School in Maidstone, Kent. Its pupils averaged 764.5 points apiece, compared with the 214.9 at St Peter's.


Grammar schools, selection, and tips for those private school interviews...

Times Online (blog) - ‎Jan 6, 2010‎
There's a huge deficit between the 11-plus test and what contemporary neuroscience is saying about the developing brain (which they couldn't understand). ...


Why British children are pushed too hard

Times Online - ‎Jan 4, 2010
‎ The need to stay “on target” for that 11-plus, even in Africa, was paramount. In return, the school said that it would keep Jessie's place open for her ...


11+ pupils could face 60-mile trip to take exam

Maidenhead Advertiser - ‎Dec 19, 2009‎
Children in the Royal Borough wanting to take the 11-plus may have to travel 30 miles to Aylesbury from now on because of security fears sparked by the ...


County council: Paul Carter answers your questions

thisiskent.co.uk - ‎Dec 18, 2009‎
On the Kent 11-plus test we set the pass rate that enables between 23 and 26 per cent of our young people to go to grammar schools. ...


Cameron and Clarke attacks Gordon Brown over 'politics of envy' as poll show ...

Daily Mail - ‎Dec 6, 2009
‎ But while Mr Clarke's fees were met by the State after he passed the 11-Plus, Mr Balls's were paid by his parents. Mr Brown brought up Zac Goldsmith, left, ...


Claim that Kent County Council allowed eleven-plus pass figure to rise ...

Kent Online - ‎Dec 4, 2009
‎ About 20 per cent of places are allocated on the basis of whether pupils had passed the 11-plus but that figure increases after headteacher assessment ...


Colchester: Pupils vie for grammar school places

Essex County Standard - ‎Nov 30, 2009‎
Nearly 1000 youngsters have sat the 11-plus exam in a bid to secure a top grammar school education in Colchester. The Royal Grammar School, ...


Could grammar schools have a radical new role?

guardian.co.uk - ‎Nov 16, 2009‎
"Some pupils are coached at seven years old to get through the 11-plus, and it stops them enjoying primary school," she says. "It's tragic. ...


Opening the school debate

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎?Nov 10, 2009‎
? If you reckon your child is brighter than average and could pass the 11-plus, or other relevant entrance exam, the latter option is clearly tempting. ...


Backlash over KCC grammar reshuffle plans

Kent News - ‎Nov 1, 2009‎

However, where we've got massive demand in west Kent and surplus places in east Kent, because there are less young people there passing the 11-plus, ...


Schools chief defends 11-plus from 'abuse' claims

Kent News - ‎Nov 1, 2009‎

She told KOS Media the 11-plus exam helps parents decide how their children should best be educated, rather than being part of a “system of rejection” – as ...


Conservative council threatens to reignite Tory row over grammar schools

Telegraph.co.uk  - ‎Oct 27, 2009‎

Results published this month showed that 5113 children this year passed the Kent Test, the county's form of the 11-plus. However, the county's grammar ...


Anger at plan to expand grammar school system

Independent  - ‎Oct 26, 2009‎

The decision by the Conservative- controlled Kent County Council has reignited the controversy over selective education and the future of the 11-plus. ...


The teachers who can do no right

Times Online - ‎Oct 26, 2009‎

This 39-year-old office administrator intends to sue her daughter's Portsmouth primary school for failing to get Trish through the 11-plus. ...


We must expand Kent's grammar schools

Yourcanterbury.co.uk - ‎Oct 26, 2009‎

The Kent Test, or '11-plus' as it used to be called, is "pretty close to the emotional abuse of children" he says. I do not know whether or not that ...


Record interest in grammars as parents save on school fees

This is London - ‎Oct 23, 2009‎

Bexley's four grammar schools have seen a four per cent rise in demand this year, with 4686 children sitting the 11-plus exams. ...


Postal strike no problem for Kent Test pupils

Kent Online - Oct 21,2009‎

More than 10000 emails were sent out on Monday to parents informing them if their child had passed the 11-plus, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of those ...


Canterbury High School head teacher Phil Karnavas attacks 11-plus system

Kent Online  - ‎ Oct 12, 2009‎‎

Pupils who sit the 11-plus are placed under such pressure that the system verges on being cruel and could be described as ...


Early starts for the children desperate to pass their 11-plus

guardian.co.uk  - ‎ Oct 10, 2009‎‎

There is one aim: that next month the girl will score a mark on her 11-plus exam high enough to win her a coveted place at one of Essex's grammar schools. ...


Grammar school applications soar

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎ Oct 3, 2009‎

More children have been entered for the 11-plus – the grammar school entrance exam – this year compared with 2008. ...


Recession-hit parents in clamour for scarce grammar school places

Daily Mail - ‎ Oct 3, 2009‎

The National Grammar Schools Association has revealed a rise in the number of youngsters taking the 11-plus this autumn. In Kent, which has 32 grammar ...


Parents pay for top prep schools to secure places in best grammars

Times Online - ‎ Oct 3, 2009‎

Applications to take the 11-plus have increased in 70 per cent of grammar schools, according to a separate survey conducted by The Times. ...


Schools should be given different targets for attainment

Guardian.co.uk - ‎Sep 28, 2009‎

I heard tell last week of a teacher from a secondary modern who, on being introduced to a 10-year-old about to go through the 11-plus exam, was asked by the ...


Is the best school the right school?

Financial Times - ‎Sep 13, 2009‎
Drawing up a shortlist when a child is 9 or 10 also allows for a year of coaching for 11-plus exams for selective state and private schools. ...

New business aims to get children through 11+

Aylesbury Today - ‎Sep 7, 2009‎
11 Plus Champions promises to gear youngsters up for the county-wide entrance examination, over 29 weekly lessons each costing £30 and lasting an hour and a ...

Parents turn to lawyers in fight for best schools

Kent News - ‎Sep 6, 2009‎
Pupils are currently preparing to take the county's 11-plus exam, the Kent Test, on September 15 and 16. Students that live outside the county will take the ...

Think tank: Education poisoned by class envy

Times Online - August 31, 2009
When I told one of the parents at our school that we were tutoring our 10-year-old so he could sit the 11-plus grammar exams, she became decidedly icy. ...

Grammar schools 'to blame for Sats failures'!

The Telegraph - August 15, 2009

What we want to know is if the 11-plus selective system has an impact on the results in Slough, whether the 11-plus proves a distraction and whether it ...


Two cheers for Alan Milburn's report 

The Telegraph - ‎July 21 2009‎
By talent-scouting through the eleven plus exam (which was an IQ test designed to identify potential), the state education system was able to pull able ... 

New ruling increases pressure on grammar places

Kent News - ‎Jul 19, 2009‎
Eight Kent grammar schools also turned away more than 40 first-choice children who had passed their 11-plus tests, compared to just three last year. ...

Grammars: working-class pupils' last hope

Times Educational Supplement  ‎Jul 17, 2009‎

Comprehensives have led to apartheid in education, where a child's chances are determined by a postcode lottery The past, wrote Gerard Kelly, editor of The TES, in an attack on grammar schools last week, is ...


School marks half-century

Bath Chronicle - ‎Jul 14, 2009‎
Staff and children learned rock and roll dance techniques while pupils also took a mock 11-plus exam, designed an anniversary emblem for the school and ...

private schools 'face fee hike'

Telegraph.co.uk  - ‎Jul 14, 2009
It included Manchester Grammar School, which spends almost £1.7ma year on bursaries, representing 14 per cent of its overall income. ...

Finding a way in

Times Educational Supplement  - ‎Jul 10, 2009‎
Only they can afford houses near a popular school, a private primary that is focused on helping pupils pass the 11-plus entrance exam, or private tutors. ...

GRAMMAR SCHOOLS 'SHOULD TARGET POOR'

UK Express  - ‎Jul 4, 2009‎
Mr Fenton, the head of Pate's Grammar School in Cheltenham, has suggested the 11-plus exam should be revised to prevent better-off parents paying to have ...

Grammar schools 'should favour the poor'

Telegraph.co.uk  - ‎Jul 3, 2009‎
The 11-plus entrance examination should be reformed to stop middle-class parents gaining advantage by sending their ...

 Troubles ahead

Times Educational Supplement - ‎Jul 3, 2009‎
Stalemate in Stormont and the abolition of the 11-plus have seen grammar schools across Northern Ireland setting their own entrance tests, ...

Wealth drives 11+ success, latest Bucks figures show

Bucks Free Press  - ‎Jul 3, 2009‎
Janet Sparrow, Buckinghamshire County Council's Access and Inclusion Manager, said: "Pupils' achievement at the 11-plus mirrors children's achievement at ...

Check on school places cheating

BBC News - ‎July 2, 2009‎
Schools Secretary Ed Balls has asked for a report on the problem of parents cheating to get school places. England's Schools Adjudicator will look at the scale of the problem and whether there are enough powers to tackle cheats - and if they are being ...

Council drops school fraud case against mother

guardian.co.uk  - ‎‎July 2, 2009
A London council has dropped a test prosecution against a mother accused of lying about her address to secure a place for her son at a primary school, it emerged today. Harrow council had taken Mrinal Patel to court for allegedly applying for a place ...

Analysis: a loophole the Government has to close

Times Online  -‎July 2, 2009‎
Parents are desperate to get their children into a good state school and - increasingly it appears - will go to any lengths. Pushing against this are the councils, which are under pressure to stop middle-class parents from monopolising the best schools ...

Put middle-classes at the back of the queue, says top grammar ...

Daily Mail  - ‎July 2, 2009‎
He also revealed that the 11-plus exam could be overhauled to ensure it does not favour middle-class children. Mr Fenton, chairman of the newly-formed ...

Put middle-classes at the back of the queue, says top grammar ...

Daily Mail  - ‎July 2, 2009‎
He also revealed that the 11-plus exam could be overhauled to ensure it does not favour middle-class children. Mr Fenton, chairman of the newly-formed ...

Grammar schools 'should favour the poor'

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎July 2, 2009‎
The 11-plus entrance examination should be reformed to stop middle-class parents gaining advantage by sending their ...

Wealth drives 11+ success, latest Bucks figures show

Bucks Free Press  - ‎July 2, 2009‎
A leading critic of the grammar school system said the figures showed how cash influenced results, as parents paid for private coaching, restricted in state ...

Matthew Norman: How to get ahead in hackery...

Independent  - ‎Jun 28, 2009‎
Most touching was his confession to failing the 11-plus, despite which he supports the grammar school system. The pernicious thing about the 11-plus, ...

Admission fears raised over possible changes at Bourne Grammar School

Rutland and Stamford Mercury - ‎Jun 26, 2009‎
To get into the school, prospective pupils have to sit the 11-plus exam. There are 150 places available. If more pupils than that pass the exam, ...

Bringing back the grammar school is the only way to give poor ...

Daily Mail  - ‎Jun 24, 2009‎
Two old school friends and I are planning a very special party. It's a school reunion for the class of 1956 - 110 people selected to study at ...

Debating selection

Spectator.co.uk  - ‎Jun 23, 2009‎
It never fails. Assemble a group of highly intelligent people (the more, the merrier), invite them to debate the merits of selective schools, ...

Families fight to save Slough grammar school

Telegraph.co.uk -  ‎Jun 20, 2009‎
"Families fill in secondary school forms in the autumn and children sit the 11-plus in November," he said. "But no-one knows what to do now. ... 

Out of nursery, into the rat race

guardian.co.uk - ‎Jun 19, 2009‎
The children getting places at a nearby school were all scoring 100% in the entrance exam, and her daughter, a bright girl, would have needed 18 months' ...

UCL to introduce entrance exam

SFS Group - ‎Jun 8, 2009‎
Private school pupils hoping to attend University College London (UCL) may soon find they have to sit an entrance exam, after the institution declared it ...

REDBRIDGE: Tutor jailed for sex attacks on pupils

Guardian Series - ‎ May 18, 2009‎‎

At a hearing earlier this week, Sivathasan was convicted of sexually touching a 10-year-old girl in 2003 while coaching her for 11 plus exams. ...


An ambitious mayor who lacks an ambition

Financial Times - ‎May 4, 2009‎

...City's last highly paid bankers.The mayor has been outspoken on the subject of bringing back selective education - the 11-plus and grammar schools of old. This is a popular policy among grassroots Conservatives; but one Mr Cameron would rather sideline...


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