Children are worrying about SATs tests

I don't remember that particular question when I took the 11+ (twice)
However, most of it looks familiar from the seemingly ceaseless round of two years of test papers.

Does anyone remember a book called 'First Aid in English'?

Yes!

I think "a fellow" in the context of that sentence should have been acceptable.

I think "Fellows" if you are thinking in academic circles would certainly have been referred to as such in Oxbridge circles in the 1950s.
I suppose a very bright and daring child could have justified that one.

I think I have completely forgotten how to do fractions.

The trouble is I am now 56 yrs on from the 11plus, a bit wiser and I have gained a lot more knowledge than I had then, so I now have no idea if I would have manged many of those or not. I managed to pass it somehow.

You did well nellie, as did I and many other female Gransnetters, because at the start of the 11+ there had been an expectation that roughly equal numbers of girls and boys would pass - in fact many more girls were passing, so they raised the pass mark for girls!! Outrageous!

Apparently the O level pass mark was raised for girls in the 50s and 60s too! It's unbelievable, isn't it? (almost)

Yes it is Ana (almost)
Another unfair thing about the 11 + was the discrepancy about how many children were allowed to pass in different areas.

Apparently the O level pass mark was raised for girls in the 50s and 60s too! It's unbelievable, isn't it?

I am even more brilliant than I thought then

Me too - if only we'd known at the time!

Yes, we were always being told we had 'brains like sieves'.

Nowadays I would answer that, yes, my brain retains what is important to me and lets the rest flow away .....
amo amas amat and much more

I must admit I always thought some of the boys from the local Grammar School weren't as clever as they thought they were...

Not that I met many, as I was at the Girls' Grammar, which was nowhere near the boys' school

We used to meet after school; they weren't that far apart.

One or two of my friends even married boys from the Grammar School (later on in their 20s of course when the boys had matured a bit)

Yes, I discovered a couple of girls in my year had married boys from the Grammar and had lived in the same area ever since, when I checked on Friends Reunited.

Children who do not reach a satisfactory level in primary school SATs will have to resit in secondary school. A Tory manifesto promise. Lucky kids.

My BF did; he is very nice though!

In France they have to stay down a year (or they did anyway, not sure if they still do), so get left behind when their friends move on.

The discrepancy of fixing the 11 plus pass rate figures to suit the number of places available in grammar schools is why comprehensive schools are a much fairer option.

Exam grades are always 'fixed' though, aren't they?

I loved First Aid in English. The one we had was blue with a big red cross on the front. I found it useful as a teacher too. I have just looked it up on Amazon and it still exists! I wonder if 'Spell Well Wordbooks' are still around. My DS wants me to tackle English with my 10-year-old GS when I'm on granny duty this summer. Once a teacher...

One of the problems with SATs is that there are some very pushy parents out there who push their offspring, even paying for extra tuition if they feel it is needed. They put pressure on teachers and complain vigorously if they think their child is not being given enough practice SATs papers. Caught between them and the targets they need to meet teachers have no choice but to teach to SATs, this means they introduce things which they know will up the children's marks. One of these techniques is "Wow words" giving a list of words which can bring extra marks if a child can fit some in to the writing test. The child doesn't have any real understanding of the vocabulary they are using, they use them in the SATs and then forget about them.

I think I still have a copy somewhere - more junk which needs clearing out!

The KS1 SATS are much more laid back than the KS2 SATS. The formal nature of the KS2 SATS and the full year of preparation lead to the children's stress. A full year of exam preparation is also a terrible waste of learning time.

I still have my First Aid in English.