Eleven plus

Cumbrianmale56 It sounds a terrible sysytem. At least the 11 plus means whetehr you went to grammar school depended clearly on exam results.

Once you put it into the hands of teachers to decide on the baisi of school reports, it becomes biassed by teachers preferences, chidren can have one or two bad reports because of family problems, illness not registered at school and teachers who write bad reports for some children they do not like, it also works agains the maverick child who does not conform.

I had one or two teachers who took against me. I do not know why, and consistently marked my written work down and wrote bad reports. I can rememeber one teacher who really rubbished me. Come O levels I actually got the highest mark in my year in her subect.

I have always opposed the 11 plus, but better a straight forward exam than teachers choice with all its flaws.

M0nica

Cumbrianmale56 It sounds a terrible sysytem. At least the 11 plus means whetehr you went to grammar school depended clearly on exam results.

Once you put it into the hands of teachers to decide on the baisi of school reports, it becomes biassed by teachers preferences, chidren can have one or two bad reports because of family problems, illness not registered at school and teachers who write bad reports for some children they do not like, it also works agains the maverick child who does not conform.

I had one or two teachers who took against me. I do not know why, and consistently marked my written work down and wrote bad reports. I can rememeber one teacher who really rubbished me. Come O levels I actually got the highest mark in my year in her subect.

I have always opposed the 11 plus, but better a straight forward exam than teachers choice with all its flaws.

It was an odd set up that nowhere else used and some kind of compromise berween a fully comprehensive and fully selective system. I think its main beneifts were for children who were so called borderline, where they had a choice and if they were good at sciences and maths, but poor at other subjects, the grammar school was better set up to teach these subjects. However, I do remember some middle class parents pushing housemasters to allow their children to go to the grammar school, even though they weren't academically inclined, as all the neighbours were sending their children to the school.
That said, I do know pupils from both schools who did really well and others that didn't. One who went to the grammar school from one of the poorest council estates in the town worked very hard and is now a very successful IT consultant in Australia. Another was " secondary", managed to get 6 CSEs, studied hard after school and obtained an MSC in electrical engineering. For those who were more humanities and languages based, it was more of a struggle, I work in a fairly poor job in the public sector as I couldn't find anything else and someone else in my school year ended up as a pruon officer as his degree had few openings.

and many children did not get to grammar school who would have done if the system was fair because the teachers took against them. This would have happened to many children we now recognise as neurally diverse, who faced with an exam paper would have got a grammar school place.

I don't remember a thing about that actual exam. Bizarre ??!
I do remember clearly the( preparatory ??)terminal tests in arithmetic , english and "intelligence" that we used to do.
The 11 plus itself-nothing.
I passed and went to the same Grammar School as my elder sister. I remember the "O" and "A" levels better.
I know nothing about the current UK system so couldn't comment about how it compares with the system that I went through.

I had never even heard of the 11 plus, I was just pulled out of class to the 'Moray House', which up to that point I had also never heard of. (Moray House is an institute of education in Edinburgh who set 11 plus equivalent tests recognised by UK educational establishment and sat by children not in the normal education system, in my case, just starting at an army school in Singapore).

The advantage is there is no time for nerves, it is not made to feel that it is life and death. just another of those tests education seems to be littered with, so, generally, you will be performing at your best

Labradora Only a few counties now retain grammar schools and children in those areas can choose whether or not to take the 11 plus. I think there are only 150 grammar schools left.

I don’t remember taking my 11 plus either. I was a border line case and do remember having an interview at the technical school. Failed that but was top stream at the sec modern. My secondary education ended at 15 and I picked it up again twenty years later. Thank you Access Course.

Bristol Grammar is actually a fee paying school..

and someone else in my school year ended up as a pruon officer as his degree had few openings.
ended up
Goodness, that sounds judgemental Cumbrianmale. Prison officers play a vital role in society.

Prison officers can rise through the ranks to become governors, others join having succeeded in other professions such as teaching, yet others having spent time in the Forces, some have degrees and higher degrees.

Being a prison officer must be an incredibly hard, and dangerous, job. I would hazard a guess that few would be able, or even want, to do it.

Allira

^and someone else in my school year ended up as a pruon officer as his degree had few openings^.
ended up
Goodness, that sounds judgemental Cumbrianmale. Prison officers play a vital role in society.

Prison officers can rise through the ranks to become governors, others join having succeeded in other professions such as teaching, yet others having spent time in the Forces, some have degrees and higher degrees.

One of my friends did a Social Science degree - we met doing A levels at night school in the early 70’s , both had small children. I looked after hers in the school hols so she could do her degree
She joined the prison service on its governor grade for graduates scheme. She was 25, with 3 children. She had a very successful career which benefitted the prisons she governed. Some of the best governors she worked alongside had joined as prison officers-

I remember taking the !! plus. I don't remember anything about the exams but I know thw big worry was whether my English would be good enough to make up for my poor maths. Apparently it was because I passed. The results were sent in a letter, as were my O Level and A Level results. I've since had to go and collect GCSE results for my grandson and thought it was awful with everyone wanting to know what everyone else had got.

My oldest grandson went to one of our comprehensives and was doing well until lockdown which really screwed the rest of his time there. His younger brother was heading to the same school, but he found a boy who was taking the 11 Plus and he had a look at some of the specimen questions. He thought they looked quite easy and asked if he could have a go. The result was that he is now at one of the top grammar schools in the country (One that children endure years of coaching to get into) and seems to be having a great time. Part of me feels that this sort of education should be available to all and part of me just thinks he is so lucky to have the opportunities that are being offered to him. The thing he really likes is being in a class of boys who all want to learn and just sit down and get on with the work.

I was classed as border line. I wasn’t 11 when I took the ll plus.The reason being that Iwas a July birthday. So us border line children went to what was a Central School which I loved. We sat GCEs, learnt shorthand, typing and first stage accounts.

Allira

^and someone else in my school year ended up as a pruon officer as his degree had few openings^.
ended up
Goodness, that sounds judgemental Cumbrianmale. Prison officers play a vital role in society.

Prison officers can rise through the ranks to become governors, others join having succeeded in other professions such as teaching, yet others having spent time in the Forces, some have degrees and higher degrees.

He had a degree in graphic art, ended up in dead end jobs, before he became a prison officer. However, it is a very stressful job, and even in Haverigg, an open prison, it's still not easy as there are some very nasty prisoners. I wasn't being judgemental as he's one of my oldest friends, just his dreams of working in graphic design or as an art lecturer never came to anything.

Cumbrianmale56 - many people have dreams that "come to nothing".
Surely his art education is not lost?

NotSpaghetti

Cumbrianmale56 - many people have dreams that "come to nothing".
Surely his art education is not lost?

Exactly this. Prison officers can make a positive difference , it’s stressful but so are many rewarding jobs.
Being skilled in and enjoying Art, any of the arts, is a life long blessing. Most artists need a paying job as well, that isn’t dreams coming to nothing, it’s real life

I took my 11 plus a year early and Mr Beech, our class teacher, was so excited that I’d passed that he sent me home to tell my father (who had a shop nearby) straight away. I’ve no recollection of a letter but I suppose there must have been one.

I have a lot to thank Mr Beech for and am still in touch with his family.