Description: Qualified teacher, Richard, shares his expert opinion on how the 11+ is the ultimate opportunity for success.
Selective Schools
Selection is a part of everyday life. From the supermarket where we purchase groceries to shoes that we wear on a night out.
Selection is also present in the English education system in many forms.
For example, selective schools make choices about the pupils they educate and the ones that they turn away.
The 11+ is a grammar school entrance exam which is set by the school or Local Education Authority {LEA}.
It affords the opportunity for children who score high on the test to attend a place at a grammar school.
This, I believe, is an excellent way to raise attainment.
The Value
As students and parents strive to attain places at selective schools they pay particular attention to the education of their
children.
Grammar school adds value to a child’s education.
Parents often seek to improve chances of entering a selective school by seeking consistently high grades over a sustained period of time.
There is evidence to prove that grammar schooling benefits poorer children in our communities with competition for places.
This drives up standards in many state schools.
Results indicate that it can make progression high for these children who enter grammar schools (DfES Bulletin, 2002).
Potential and Abilities
The 11+ exam is intended to identify the brightest pupils who then begin studying at grammar schools.
Qualitative studies have found that pupils do not feel like failures if they are not the choice to be in the top group or best school.
It has also been found that middle ability pupils in grammar schools have an advantage at GCSE over their peers in other types of schools.
Many selective schools are also single-sex, and it is important to state that many single sex schools are among the highest performing in the country.
For this reason, the separation of genders remains popular in many grammar schools.
In short, pupils of a particular ability have an equal opportunity to achieve a grammar school place.
Selection
Those who attend grammar schools have higher KS2 scores, as the selection undertakes academic ability at age 11.
The selection decision is undertaken on attainment which is a plus and encourages parental influence and excellence in academic standards.
The 11+ has afforded many children the opportunity to access education at a grammar school which has given them a sound footing in their teenage years and beyond.
The 11+ is here to stay, a true vehicle of educational advancement.
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