Did you fail your 11+ exam?

I went to a mixed Grammar School in the mid 1950’s. Was in the top class of three at junior school. Didn’t realise everyone at grammar school would be as bright if not brighter than me. When the penny dropped I gave up trying and wasted what could have been an excellent education.

Grammar not grammars!

Didn’t have 11+ at comprehensive schools.

I went to a primary school where the secondary level school was one of the first ever places to merge the local (prestigious) grammar school with the secondary modern to become a comprehensive school and so took no eleven plus.

Shortly before I was due to move up to the new comprehensive my mother left my father and took me to different parts of the country so I attended no less than seven secondary schools, some good, some less so.

I probably had something of an indifferent education but I read a lot and often got subject and class prizes for doing well in exams. I scraped enough 'O' and 'A' levels to become a teacher and married an extremely clever, well informed and well read chap who didn't pass the eleven plus either.

When we had children we were very much more au fait with the education system than were our poor parents and both of them passed the local eleven plus. One passed with the top marks and was told she could choose between nine grammars schools and go where she wanted. Both went to excellent, academic schools and we were very pleased with their education.

On the other hand, I taught with quite a few colleagues who were eleven plus 'failures' and saw at first hand how embittered they had become because they had not passed. It made them anti grammar, anti elitist and anti academic education. I don't think I would have felt quite the same but I was quite glad I hadn't had to jump the hoop and blame myself for failure. However, I do think I would have benefitted from a steady, fast track, academic education in one (not seven) schools.

I think that, despite drawbacks, a disciplined, focussed, academic education should be offered to all children who could benefit from it.

I didn’t pass my 11+ I went to a junior high school for those deemed less clever than those who went to the other local high school. It gave me great pleasure to see a girl who passed her 11+ on the till at the supermarket whereas I went on to further education and eventually got myself a BA degree in social sciences and felt so proud of my educational achievements and I really enjoyed working towards the degree. The secondary school I felt let me down terribly never let me hear anyone say I’m too old to go back to school I achieved my degree at the ripe old age of 58

Yes, I passed, but as there weren't enough places for those who passed we had to be interviewed, first by the Senior Mistress and Master, and then by the Headmaster of the local grammar school. I must have done all right as next thing I knew DM was buying the uniform.

I also failed despite being in the top class throughout school. There were simply not enough grammar school places and boys were favoured.

GranySomerset Your boyfriend's story is similar to that of our eldest daughter.
11+ was over so she went to the local Comp, messed about and only got 3 O levels.
We had big family problems at the time.
So she left the Comp. and did a ?2 yr BTech then accepted at Leedsfor a degree course in biochemistry. followed by a PHD. from Guy's hospital.
To me that shows that there's not just one way to progression in education.

My long term teenage boyfriend failed the 11+, went at 13 to the secondary technical school, on to a degree and then a doctorate because the stepping stones were there and using them didn’t entail having money, just brains and application.

I went to the local girls’ grammar school, left after my mother’s sudden death to do a secretarial course, did a BEd as the mother of two young children, and an MBA at 50 because I wanted to.

There are still lots of routes to academic and professional success and that has to be a good thing.

There was no pressure, Mum just said she wanted us to do our best and would not be cross with us if we failed but she would be annoyed if we didn't try. She'd passed but couldn't go to grammar school as they couldn't afford the uniform and it was thought not worth educating a girl.

None of our immediate family passed so we all went to secondary school. I remember the test had questions the like of which I'd never seen during lessons, using phrases which I found mysterious. There was even a puzzle using a code which I only managed to work out when it was time to put pens down.

We were therefore at a disadvantage. Surely a test should reflect the curriculum? I think the children who had ambitious and well-heeled parents were given extra tuition.

I too failed the 11+ in 1959 - I went to the local Girls Secondary Modern and left at 15 , no O levels obtained.
10 years later after I had my children, I went back to further education, going to University and getting a
a 2.1 degree in Law and now still work as a solicitor.
Some children are late developers and just should not to be written off at such a young age.

I passed, even though we had to take a Welsh paper, as l was in a primary school in Wales. How l passed that l do not know, l had moved from England and started learning Welsh at school only that year!
I went to an independent girls’ school afterwards, had to take an entrance exam to be accepted for there too.
Most of my friends had gone to the local grammar school, l wasn’t best pleased not to go either.

i passed my 11+ in 1957 and went to thr girls' grammar school.
i was in the "lower" section of my year and found some lessons difficult.
my english teacher told me i had "a snowball's chance in hell" of passing my english lit and lang but surprised her when i passed both!
school washed thair hands of me when i announced (together with a friend) that i wanted to go to the technical college to learn shorthand and typing.
i did very well at college and started work at 17 as a secretary.
towards the end of the 90s after getting married and having two children i enrolled at my local university and studied for my BA in business studies. i graduated in 1997 (i think) although unfortunately i didn't do my honours year.
but i'm very proud of my degree!!

I passed mine when I was 9, then 10, then finally 11 which is when they allowed me to go to grammar school.

I was a 'borderline' pass and was given an interview which resulted in my being accepted at grammar school. My sister, two years younger, failed hers, went to a secondary modern, and later went to a girls' grammar to take her A levels. So the system worked! At this point it seems I must add that we lived in a council house.
I remember also that quite a few new faces appeared at my school after GCE O levels, and surprise, surprise, they all came from the local secondary modern because their results indicated that they too could further improve by taking A levels. So despite the negative comments about 11+ it did seem to me, and to quite a few others, that these youngsters weren't written off, they had the opportunity to progress.

I failed my 11+ but went to Uni at 55. Later taught in Adult Ed.

Unfair not unfare!!!! Auto correct corrected second time!

Oops- unfair not unfair! So much for grammar school education!

I failed but was still able to go to grammar school as a fee paying pupil - this was in N.ireland where they still have grammar schools and do something called a transfer test instead of 11+. It's a very unfare system and children in final year in primary school are under a lot of pressure.

My great uncle failed his 11 plus. But his parents were able to pay the grammar school to take him. I really dont know how that worked. He died 20 years ago.

I too failed the 11+. Dreadful shock for parents as my dad was a teacher. However, went on to obtain a BSc through the Open University.

Yes, I passed, but my best friend failed. However, she took it again the following year and passed, so we were back together again.
I was never aware of boys passing at a lower mark than girls. That seems very unfair.

Went to a Scottish private school, so we did the preparation papers for the 11+ as classwork, but sat the old qualifying exam in all school subjects instead of the 11+

It determined whether you took Latin or cookery in Senior school. Never was lower than third in the class so the thought of an exam didn't bother me.

Leaving school with a string of O -levels and Highers I was quite sad at the thought of not having more exams to sit!

Was in the Latin class and had a dreadful job convincing my mother to teach me to cook. She maintained I would be awful at it, and was not best pleased when I turned into a good cook.

I realised later that my mother had an inferiority complex never having been good at school, so the things she was good at, cooking, swimming, riding a bike or driving a car, she found tons of excuses and reasons for my not learning.

I passed mine, but decided to go to our local High School instead of the Grammar because I think I would of struggled there. I stayed in the top form, "A" stream, the whole of my school years and I know if I'd of gone to the Grammar I'd of stayed in the lowest classes and would of been unhappy. I'm also thankful that my parents let me decide for myself what to do for the best.

I never sat it. It would have been in the academic year 64-65, but the town I lived in must have been one of the first to go ‘comprehensive’. We never lost out, though, because if you wanted to stay on after 15 to do ‘O’ levels, you went to what had been the Grammar School.