PLYMOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOLS
League results 2009 (Sorted in descending order)
PLYMOUTH SECONDARY SCHOOLS
League results 2009 (Sorted in descending order)
DEVON PRIMARY SCHOOLS
League results 2009 (Sorted in descending order)
DEVON SECONDARY SCHOOLS
League results 2009 (Sorted in descending order)
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Posted in School League Tables ~ 1 Comment
There is a vast amount of information about dyslexia on the web.The most useful sites are ones which provide some information about how to help children with reading difficulties to master reading http://www.kidsandreading.co.uk/.
Since dyslexia is a syndrome and not a medical condition, it cannot be diagnosed by clinical tests. Diagnosis relies upon a check list of characteristics which might point to dyslexia (see below). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Dyslexia ~ No Comments
SATs date back to 1991 when the Conservatives had a trial run of Standard Assessment Tasks for six and seven-year-olds in infant schools across England and Wales. Later these tests were formalized as written tests in English, Maths and Science to be taken at the end of Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. National testing serves to show how pupils and schools throughout Great Britain are performing in accordance with the Government’s National Curriculum.
The Government scrapped National school testing for 14-year-olds in England as part of a major shake up of testing in primary and secondary education in October 2008. Key Stage 3 National Curriculum tests are to be replaced by better and more intensive classroom assessment by teachers and more frequent reporting of pupils’ progress to parents. As part of the reforms, an annual School Report Card will be drawn up for every school in England, awarding it a grade from A-F.
While some form of objective comparison of achievement among schools and pupils is useful, there is growing discontent at the high level of stress caused to pupils (particularly at primary level) by national testing and the restrictions placed upon the school curriculum (teaching to the test in Year 6). The BBC’s Education web site (13 May 08) offers a comprehensive review of these concerns based on recent findings of The Commons schools, children and families committee.
A good source of information about the structuring of SATs within the UK is also to be found at the BBC’s Education web site. For more precise detail as to helping your child to mastering the skills required at the various Key Stages, a good source of information is brightminds.co.uk. This is essentially a commercial site, selling a wide range of educational materials for children of all ages, but it will give you an idea of the type of activities children of different ages should be able to cope with even if you do not intend to buy.
If you would like to take a closer look at curriculum content and the concepts which underpin it, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority provides comprehensive information.
Posted in SATs ~ No Comments
Since there are twice the number of girls’ grammar schools as those for boys, girls may be at an advantage when taking the 11+. In 2009 the largest contingent of 10/11 year-olds in recent years sat the examination in Plymouth, and there were more than twice the number of candidates than available places at the three grammar schools. On average any pupil entering for the 11+ examination will stand less than a 50% chance of gaining entry to a grammar school. Every year, therefore, there are many disappointments; and this does not reflect negatively on the ability of those who fail to gain a grammar school place. It rather highlights the lack of provision for academic children in Plymouth and nationally.
One need only look at the league tables for Grammar Schools in general to realize that these are outstanding schools in terms of academic achievement alone. Many Independent Schools cannot compete with the pass-rate achieved at GCSE by state-maintained Grammar Schools.
This is not to say that Comprehensive Schools do not offer enormous educational opportunities. Pupils who are bright enough to get into the top sets of their year group have similar opportunities for success as Grammar School pupils.
Parents who are considering sending their children to a Grammar School should bear in mind that in Plymouth these are single sex schools and parents should weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of a single-sex education.
If your child is exceptionally bright, you may not need to employ the services of a personal tutor. However, your child should be acquainted with the format of the 11+ examination and may respond better to a more formal learning situation.
A good place to start is with the Bond Assessment Papers in Maths and Verbal Reasoning and nferNelson 11+ Practice Papers published by Letts. These materials are available from WH Smith , who at the time of writing offer free home delivery when placing orders over £15 on line. Default delivery, however, is to your local WH Smith shop, so you will need to check that you have specified home delivery each time you order. Waterstones in Plymouth also carries a wide range of teaching materials, and another excellent on line source of materials is The Book Depository, which often sells books at below the usual retail price. The Book Depository normally dispatches within 24 hours and delivery is free worldwide.
Both parents and pupils must be fully committed to ensuring that everything is done to gain success.
Boys and girls will have to cope with work which is beyond the level of what they are doing in class at school in Year 5 or 6. The pupil must be prepared to put in whatever extra work is required to reach the necessary standard, given that the standard of the 11+ examination is equivalent to work in Year 7 at the secondary school.
At some point, children may find the demands of taking the 11+ simply too daunting, and it may then be necessary to discuss alternative routes.
Typically the 11+ examination for Plymouth Grammar Schools takes the form of a multiple-choice test in verbal reasoning (VR) and maths. Additionally there is an English paper, which may consist of a composition and comprehension question on a reading passage. Recently the pass mark on the English paper has been 50% and my information is that the result of the paper is not taken into consideration unless a pupil is on the borderline of passing the 11+. However, my experience is that pupils who score good marks in VR and Maths will not be admitted if their English is below par. I therefore attach a lot of importance to spelling, paragraphing, punctuation and structure in the term preior to the final examination in January and English homework will be set weekly in addition to papers in Mthas and/or VR.
The tests are usually sat on two consecutive weekends in January of the year of entry.
If your child has conspicuous difficulties with written expression, this can be taken as an indication that s/he is not suited to Grammar School education. Signs to look for are slow, unimaginative, untidy writing with spelling mistakes and poor punctuation. Another indication would be that your child does not know all of his/her times tables by December of Year 5 or doesn’t know the sequence of months of the year and basic facts like the number of days in each month. Typically, the 11+ requires a knowledge of topics in Maths which will not be covered until the end of Year 6 or beyond. The examination is aimed, therefore, at those pupils who have a definite flair.
It is well to remember that a large number of pupils take the 11+ examination, only about half of whom will succeed in acquiring a place at a grammar school.
Typically parents express an interest in 11+ tuition in January/February/March of the year preceding the examination. At that stage pupils have just emerged from Year 4. At the beginning of Year 5 they have not encountered all the maths required for KS2 or the 11+ examination, which contains some material that many pupils will not meet until Year 7 and beyond. A lot of catching up has to be done. It is difficult, therefore, to assess a child accurately for his/her ability to do well in the 11+ examination in the first weeks after starting tuition.
However, a picture of a child’s potential begins to emerge after I have worked with him or her for a few months, and the result of the mock examination in the September immediately preceding the 11+ examination is a useful guide as to your child’s chances in the 11+ examination in the following January. My advice would be to allow your child to continue with tutoring, if possible, until he or she has taken the mock examination and to base your decision about whether or not to continue on the result. If there is then any doubt, I would suggest that you withdraw your child, since it is better for for him or her to enter secondary education confdently, having increased his/her knowledge of maths, rather than to join a new school with a feeling of failure and having had to face other pupils and friends at primary school who have passed.
You should remember that every year about a half of all the pupils sitting the 11+ will not gain a Grammar School place, regardless of their ability, simply because the number of Grammar School places is limited.
You should contact the Grammar School of your choice in April/May of Year 5, expressing an interest in your child entering the school in the September of the following year. The school secretary should give you all the information you need and give you details of opportunities to visit the Grammar School of your choice with your child before the end of the Summer Term.
Initially your child can take a “mock” examination in September of Year 6. This costs in the region of £30, and the results will be posted to you prior to documentation from the Local Education Authority about your choice of school for the following September. This puts you in a good position regarding whether to continue looking for a Grammar School place for your child or opting for a suitable local school. If your child scores less than an average of 75% at this stage on the VR and maths papers, s/he may not pass the 11+ in January of the following year.
Theoretically pupils can opt for any school of their choice. In practice things may not be so simple. Good secondary schools may be oversubscribed, and preference usually goes to children living locally and those who already have siblings at the school of their choice.
Text Books:
Parents/students can place orders for materials directly through me at a discounted rate. For the 11+ examination the following are essential purchases:
Bond Fourth Papers in Verbal Reasoning 10-11 Years
Bond Fourth Papers in Maths 10-11 Years
11+ Practice Papers,Multiple-Choice Mathematic Pack
11+ Practice Papers,Multiple-Choice Verbal Reasoning Pack
These can also be obtained at discount prices on line from The Book Depository.
In view of the obvious advantages of your child getting into a good set at a Comprehensive School, you may wish to consider the relative merits of working towards a better grading at KS2 SATs rather than preparing your child for 11+.
If you feel that your child may not be ready to take the 11+ examination but is already performing well enough to gain a place in the top sets at a local Comprehensive School, the School League tables may guide you towards choosing a suitable school. You should bear in mind that the national average pass rate at GCSE (5 more passes at grades A-C) was 70% in 2009 according to Government statistics, though the BBC states the national average in 2009 to be 49.8% with Plymouth scoring 49.1%. Finally, if you are invited to an open day, this is a good opportunity to find out first hand about the general ethos of the school.
Plymouth LA
Ms Bronwen Lacey
Director for Children’s Services, Department for Children’s Services, City of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL1 2AA
Telephone: 01752 307400
Fax: 01752 307403
Email: secondary.admissions@plymouth.gov.uk
Website: www.plymouth.gov.uk
Daryl Wallace
Team Leader, School Admissions
School Organisation and Strategic Support Services
Department for Lifelong Learning
Plymouth City Council
Plymouth
PL1 2AA
Tel. (01752) 307470
Fax. (01752) 307403
Email: daryl.wallace@plymouth.gov.uk
www.plymouth.gov.uk
Posted in 11+ ~ No Comments
I am a teacher and linguist, specialising in French, German and English. I have a broad experience of teaching, including Millfield School in Somerset and the University of Cologne. My special areas of interest are 11+ teaching and maths at KS2 & 3.