11 Plus News
Many news articles appear in the press relating to selective entry at 11 plus and education in general.
These articles have been selected as being relevant to parents of children aged 9 to 13 who are interested in what is happening across the UK. Contributions and comments are welcome, please write to enquires@planetbofa.com.
If you would particularly like to see the News for Northern Ireland, go to 11 plus News for Northern Ireland.
If you would like to see the News for England only, go to 11 plus News for England.
School places farce hits twins
thisiskent.co.uk - Mar 7, 2010
Despite sailing through their 11-Plus exams, Isobel and Milly Money, 10, have not been given a grammar school place and have instead won places at the ...
No turns on the Sinn Fein devolution train
BBC News - Mar 6, 2010
... put it: "Is Sir Reg Empey really saying that he is threatening the political institutions because Caitriona Ruane won't reintroduce the 11 plus. ...
'No evidence' of 11-plus cheating
Ilford Recorder 24 - Mar 6, 2010
COUNCIL chiefs have ruled there is no evidence of cheating in this year's controversial 11-plus exams as schoolchildren discover whether they got their ...
Academy head says 'don't just write us off'
thisiskent.co.uk - Mar 5, 2010
THE head of The Skinners' Kent Academy this week called on parents to "open their minds" after 114 youngsters who passed the 11-plus failed to get a place ...
Catholic school plans to be released later this month
Ulster Herald - Mar 4, 2010
The all-ability schools are also aimed at removing the necessity for 11-plus tests. Late last year, a similar review for the Fermanagh area recommended the ...
Kent children and parents discover secondary school places
Kent Online - Mar 2, 2010
The eight most popular schools were all non-selective, with Homewood School in Tenterden top of the list. KCC said about 100 children who passed the 11-plus had not at this stage been offered a grammar school place.
Grammar schools are here to stay – Robinson
Belfast Newsletter - Mar 2, 2010
But although he was not being dogmatic about what method should replace the old 11-plus, he insisted that Northern Ireland needs more "elite" high achievers ...
DUP bid over Hillsborough deal branded 'bizarre'
Belfast Telegraph - Mar 2, 2010
The party has said it will not back the devolution of policing and justice powers unless substantial progress is made on resolving the 11 plus stalemate in ...
School choice –an overrated concept
The Guardian - Mar 2, 2010
Grammars can select pupils based on 11-plus exams, faith schools can choose from the relevant religious backgrounds, and specialist schools can select 10% ...
DUP leader attacks plans for Catholic schools
BBC News - Mar 1, 2010
He said the replacement of the 11-plus with involved multiple exams "hardly seemed to be an educational advancement" and that he favoured computer adaptive ...
Why 'one-size-fits-all' schools will not work
Belfast Telegraph - Mar 1, 2010
He notes that it did not surprise him when research by Professor Gardner and Dr Cowan demonstrated major reliability problems in the 11-plus. ...
Pupils in England told their secondary school places
BBC News - Feb 23, 2010
This is the first year when there is no official 11-plus entrance test, although some schools are implementing their own tests. In Wales parents give their ...
One in six pupils to lose out in school place chase
Daily Mail - Feb 26, 2010
Wallington County Grammar, in Sutton, Surrey, which attracted nearly 14 applications per place, said the 11-plus sessions had to be organised with 'military ...
Fewer re-marks in new transfer tests
BBC News - Feb 24, 2010
The figure is significantly lower than the number who applied to have the last 11-plus test re-marked. One hundred and fifteen pupils, about 1.6% of who sat ...
Education: the high fly, the rest sink. And no one acts
Times Online - Feb 23, 2010
In Britain any debate on selection is cut off at the knees before it starts: “11 plus,” “a return to old-style grammars” and “writing off as failures” is ...
Grammar is important
Telegraph.co.uk - Feb 19, 2010
... and which are usually a mixture of standard 11-plus tests (verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths) and the school's own set papers. ...
NO More State Sponsored Testing Of 10 Year Olds In Northern Ireland Says ...
eGov monitor - Feb 17, 2010
The Minister was responding to a call for the return of the State sponsored 11 plus transfer test. Minister Ruane said: “The last state sponsored 11 plus ...
Nick Seaton: Support grows for more grammar schools
Yorkshire Post - Feb 16, 2010
Two years ago, Kent had 1232 applicants from outside the county, who freely volunteered to take the 11-plus for a place in one or other of Kent's grammar ...
Parents' concern at admissions hurdles
Derry Today - Feb 16, 2010
“We have always been subscribed and it has never been the case that an A grade assures a place at Lumen Christi - even with the 11 Plus. ...
Academic selection is out of date - Daithi McKay
Ballymoney Times - Feb 16, 2010
Post primary schools on a daily basis prove why there is no justifiable requirement for the 11 plus, they provide a first class education and produce pupils ...
Ulster Unionists demand deal on 11-plus before backing power sharing
The Guardian - Feb 12, 2010
Sinn Féin minister Catriona Ruane, middle, abolished the 11-plus test in Northern Ireland but the UUP is demanding a consensus on primary school testing. ...
Education experts call for temporary transfer test
BBC News - Feb 12, 2010
... than through the education minister, Caitriona Ruane. The 11-plus ended in 2008 after the Ms Ruane introduced regulation abolishing academic selection.
Police probe 11-plus exams 'cheating'
Ilford Recorder 24 - Feb 12, 2010
The 11-plus is a selective exam enabling pupils to get into the borough's two grammar schools, Ilford County High and Woodford County High. ...
Councils to map way forward for youth development
Barbados Advocate - Feb 11, 2010
One current need is for an after school programme to aid students gearing up for the 11 Plus Examination with homework and already the Councils are seeking ...
Body releases transfer exam marks
BBC News - Feb 11, 2010
Last year, almost 6000 pupils who sat the last 11-plus exam were awarded A grades. That was about 25% of the total year group, including those who did not ...
Voters favour more grammar schools, says survey
BBC News - Feb 10, 2010
But these schools remain popular with parents, many of whom coach their children intensively to pass the 11-plus that determines whether or not they get a ...
Grammar schools 'should be expanded'
Telegraph.co.uk - Feb 9, 2010
In recent years, private tutors have also recorded a huge upsurge in demand for extra tuition to help get children through the 11-plus entrance exam. ...
Parents set to consult schools on exam results
Belfast Newsletter - Feb 8, 2010
THE parents of children who took 11-plus replacement tests will this week consult with primary schools about the next stage for their children transferring ...
Primary pupils get transfer results
U.TV - Feb 6, 2010
Schools set their own entrance tests after the 11-plus was abolished in 2008 without political consensus for an alternative. The transfer tests went ahead ...
Northern Ireland test breaks new educational ground
BBC News - Maggie Taggart - Feb 6, 2010
Although Primary 7 children have done the 11-plus exams in the past, this is the first time that independent entrance exams will determine ...
What the papers say
BBC News - Jan 31, 2010
The Irish News says primary school principals are threatening to withdraw all support for unofficial 11 plus tests over what they call "crazy demands" being ...
Inequality in Britain isn't down to class but brains
Telegraph.co.uk - Alasdair Palmer - Jan 30, 2010
I'm one of those hard-up working class kids who passed the 11 plus lo these many years ago, and after many more years of bringing up a family, I returned to ...
Deadlock in Northern Ireland
The Guardian - Jan 29, 2010
The selection procedures between primary and post-primary schools have been deregulated in the name of abolishing the standardised 11-plus examination, ...
Louth school defends proposal to scrap catchment area
Grimsby Telegraph - Jan 28, 2010
After hearing a number of parents object to the proposal, James Lascelles told Louth town councillors he wanted the top 120 scoring pupils ikn the 11-plus ...
South Belfast's newest MLA pedals into action
Belfast Telegraph - Pauline Reynolds - Jan 27, 2010
“The time has come to produce an alternative and stand for something more then simply being against the 11 plus,” he said. Turning to the work front, ...
Bruce Anderson: Education is no place for idealism or egalitarianism
Independent - Jan 25, 2010
Confronted by the life-chance dividing line of the 11-plus, millions of families underwent the same anxieties as my taxi-driver. In retrospect, the 1944 Act ...
The Northerner: Sky falls on chicken licker
The Guardian (blog) - Jan 21, 2010
Education there, this week at least, is concerned with tweaks to the 11-plus exam which for 90%-plus of the country is ancient history. ...
Editor's Viewpoint: Ruane's Reforms are not working
Belfast Telegraph - Jan 20, 2010
She has abolished the 11-plus selection test, but has been unable to get Executive or Assembly approval for her replacement policy. ...
Transfer chaos may run for a decade
Belfast Telegraph - Jan 18, 2010
... confirmed that there are currently no talks taking place between the DUP and his party on the thorny issue of agreeing on a replacement for the 11-plus. ...
Poor schools fuelling boom in private tuition
Telegraph.co.uk - Jan 17, 2010
There is now so much difference between the best grammar schools and the worst comprehensives that parents are tutoring for the 11-plus from an earlier age. ...
Anxious parents fuel boom in tutors
Times Online - Jack Grimston - Jan 16, 2010
“There is now such a difference between the best grammar schools and the worst comprehensives that parents are tutoring for the 11-plus from an earlier age. ...
More schools reach GCSE target
BBC News - Jan 13, 2010
The highest scoring school was Invicta Grammar School in Maidstone, Kent. Its pupils averaged 764.5 points apiece, compared with the 214.9 at St Peter's.
Grammar schools, selection, and tips for those private school interviews...
Times Online (blog) - Jan 6, 2010
There's a huge deficit between the 11-plus test and what contemporary neuroscience is saying about the developing brain (which they couldn't understand). ...
Why British children are pushed too hard
Times Online - Jan 4, 2010
The need to stay “on target” for that 11-plus, even in Africa, was paramount. In return, the school said that it would keep Jessie's place open for her ...
11+ pupils could face 60-mile trip to take exam
Maidenhead Advertiser - Dec 19, 2009
Children in the Royal Borough wanting to take the 11-plus may have to travel 30 miles to Aylesbury from now on because of security fears sparked by the ...
County council: Paul Carter answers your questions
thisiskent.co.uk - Dec 18, 2009
On the Kent 11-plus test we set the pass rate that enables between 23 and 26 per cent of our young people to go to grammar schools. ...
Transfer chaos: Belfast Telegraph readers' "Sort It Out" message delivered to ...
Belfast Telegraph - Dec 7, 2009
The campaign is calling on the five main political parties at Stormont to agree on the best way to replace the 11-plus after it was scrapped last year, ...
Cameron and Clarke attacks Gordon Brown over 'politics of envy' as poll show ...
Daily Mail - Dec 6, 2009
But while Mr Clarke's fees were met by the State after he passed the 11-Plus, Mr Balls's were paid by his parents. Mr Brown brought up Zac Goldsmith, left, ...
Claim that Kent County Council allowed eleven-plus pass figure to rise ...
Kent Online - Dec 4, 2009
About 20 per cent of places are allocated on the basis of whether pupils had passed the 11-plus but that figure increases after headteacher assessment ...
Transfer campaign: Public opinion seems to be causing a shift within Sinn Fein
Belfast Telegraph - Dec 4, 2009
His attendance also follows just days after fellow Sinn Fein MLA Jennifer McCann said Martin McGuinness was wrong to scrap the 11-plus tests without a ...
We should have had replacement before axing 11-Plus, says Sinn Fein MLA
Belfast Telegraph - Dec 3, 2009
A Sinn Fein MLA has broken ranks with her party and admitted the then Education Minister Martin McGuinness was wrong to axe the 11-plus ...
P6 parents should get behind the Belfast Telegraph's transfer campaign
Belfast Telegraph - Dec 2, 2009
“I think Caitriona Ruane is ridiculous getting rid of the 11-plus without a proper replacement,” she said. “The children are being used as pawns. ...
Colchester: Pupils vie for grammar school places
Essex County Standard - Nov 30, 2009
Nearly 1000 youngsters have sat the 11-plus exam in a bid to secure a top grammar school education in Colchester. The Royal Grammar School, ...
225 pupils sit selection test at Dalriada school
Ballymoney Times - Nov 17, 2009
... clear triumph for those schools who set their own entrance criteria. t non-academic selection criteria should take the place of the now defunct 11-plus. ...
Could grammar schools have a radical new role?
guardian.co.uk - Nov 16, 2009
"Some pupils are coached at seven years old to get through the 11-plus, and it stops them enjoying primary school," she says. "It's tragic. ...
Spotlight falls on selection choices
BBC News - Nov 3, 2009
Nearly every grammar school in Northern Ireland is defying Education Minister Caitriona Ruane by staging unofficial transfer tests in place of the old ...
Backlash over KCC grammar reshuffle plans
Kent News - Nov 1, 2009
“However, where we've got massive demand in west Kent and surplus places in east Kent, because there are less young people there passing the 11-plus, ...
Schools chief defends 11-plus from 'abuse' claims
Kent News - Nov 1, 2009
She told KOS Media the 11-plus exam helps parents decide how their children should best be educated, rather than being part of a “system of rejection” – as ...
Time right for action at last on education
Belfast Telegraph - Oct 29, 2009
Dominic Bradley's watery comments on the 11-Plus do not represent the vast majority of SDLP supporters. Why will the SDLP not back the Minister of Education ...
Anguish over schools turmoil
Belfast Telegraph - Oct 27, 2009
“For years primary school principals have witnessed the distortion of the curriculum caused by the 11-plus transfer system and the look of devastation on ...
Conservative council threatens to reignite Tory row over grammar schools
Telegraph.co.uk - Oct 27, 2009
Results published this month showed that 5113 children this year passed the Kent Test, the county's form of the 11-plus. However, the county's grammar ...
Anger at plan to expand grammar school system
Independent - Oct 26, 2009
The decision by the Conservative- controlled Kent County Council has reignited the controversy over selective education and the future of the 11-plus. ...
The teachers who can do no right
Times Online - Oct 26, 2009
This 39-year-old office administrator intends to sue her daughter's Portsmouth primary school for failing to get Trish through the 11-plus. ...
We must expand Kent's grammar schools
Yourcanterbury.co.uk - Oct 26, 2009
The Kent Test, or '11-plus' as it used to be called, is "pretty close to the emotional abuse of children" he says. I do not know whether or not that ...
Ed Curran: Why Robinson is right to step back from a deal he cannot sell
Belfast Telegraph - Oct 26, 2009
It has failed to date to agree on a number of important matters, most notably a resolution to the 11-plus debacle, so what confidence can we have that it ...
Record interest in grammars as parents save on school fees
Bexley's four grammar schools have seen a four per cent rise in demand this year, with 4686 children sitting the 11-plus exams. ...
Postal strike no problem for Kent Test pupils
More than 10000 emails were sent out on Monday to parents informing them if their child had passed the 11-plus, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of those ...
11 plus talks 'very productive'
All of the main political parties, with the exception of Sinn Fein, said they have established a framework for talks on a replacement for the 11 plus exam. ...
Transfers: it's the children that matter
Having axed the 11-plus examination, the Education Minister issued admissions criteria guidance to schools. However, 68 schools, divided almost equally ...
Canterbury High School head teacher Phil Karnavas attacks 11-plus system
Pupils who sit the 11-plus are placed under such pressure that the system verges on being cruel and could be described as ...
Early starts for the children desperate to pass their 11-plus
There is one aim: that next month the girl will score a mark on her 11-plus exam high enough to win her a coveted place at one of Essex's grammar schools. ...
Fury at Ruane for 'failing the kids'
Education Minister Caitriona Ruane has scrapped the 11-plus and has issued admissions guidance to schools. But this has been dismissed by 68 schools which ...
Assembly backs 'interim 11-plus'
The assembly has voted narrowly in favour of commissioning a new version of the 11-plus. However, Education Minister Caitriona Ruane said she would not ...
Assembly debate brings divisions into sharp focus
... She said: “Let me be absolutely clear and unambiguous: the 11-plus is gone, the 11-plus is not coming back in any shape or form. The new arrangements are ...
Grammar school applications soar
Recession-hit parents in clamour for scarce grammar school places
Parents pay for top prep schools to secure places in best grammars
Stressed-out parents blame Ruane for 'total mess'
Parties dither over talks to end transfer logjam
Unions don't speak for all
No compromise from Education Minister on transfer campaign
Pressure mounts on Sinn Fein as main parties back petition
Schools should be given different targets for attainment
Children set to sit unofficial transfer tests
'Similar' demand for tests as last 11-plus
Caitriona Ruane: I won't resign, I won't back down
Is the best school the right school?
New business aims to get children through 11+
The format of AQE tests
Search Search Go
Parents turn to lawyers in fight for best schools
Stormont's power-sharing flaws
Parents confusion over 11 plus future
Professor Tony Gallagher, head of the School of Education at ...
Think tank: Education poisoned by class envy
Boy told he should travel 90 miles each day to school
Viewpoint: Transfer fiasco must be resolved
Grammar schools 'to blame for Sats failures'!
The Telegraph - August 15, 2009
What we want to know is if the 11-plus selective system has an impact on the results in Slough, whether the 11-plus proves a distraction and whether it ...
Happy first birthday BOFA!
BOFA News - July 26 2009
BOFA is one year old today!
"BOFA has come a long way in its first year and I am really proud of where we are now. I would like to thank all the BOFA users and visitors for their support and feedback over the past year. We have had a few teething problems along the way, but thanks to so much feedback we have made huge improvements. To show my appreciation to you, I will be emailing all of you who have independently registered during this past year, to tell you that I have given you a BOFA Mix for FREE!!! If you don't want to use this for any reason, then you can pass it on to a friend or relative. To pass it on just:
- Ask them to register at BOFA
- Get them to tell you their username
- Email BOFA from your username email account, telling us your BOFA friend's email address
- BOFA will then transfer over your FREE BOFA mix
Onwards and upwards!"
Andy Baines
Two cheers for Alan Milburn's report
What are you going to do with the children this summer?
The Guardian - July 21 2009
Socialmobility: will anyone mentiongrammar schools?
DUP welcome priest's 11+ views
New ruling increases pressure on grammar places
If social mobility relied on grammars, it would be at a standstill
Times Educational Supplement Jul 17, 2009
Letter to the editor As the “were they or weren’t they vehicles of social mobility” grammars debate rages on, I was intrigued to read your article “Edu- vangelists cry ...
Grammars: working-class pupils' last hope
Times Educational Supplement Jul 17, 2009
Comprehensives have led to apartheid in education, where a child's chances are determined by a postcode lottery The past, wrote Gerard Kelly, editor of The TES, in an attack on grammar schools last week, is ...
School marks half-century
private schools 'face fee hike'
Finding a way in
Scramble grows for private tuition
GRAMMAR SCHOOLS 'SHOULD TARGET POOR'
Grammar schools 'should favour the poor'
Troubles ahead
Wealth drives 11+ success, latest Bucks figures show
Check on school places cheating
Council drops school fraud case against mother
Analysis: a loophole the Government has to close
Put middle-classes at the back of the queue, says top grammar ...
Put middle-classes at the back of the queue, says top grammar ...
Grammar schools 'should favour the poor'
Troubles ahead
Wealth drives 11+ success, latest Bucks figures show
Not too many happy returns from smaller parties
Grammar intakes revealed
Summer homework for grammar tests
Matthew Norman: How to get ahead in hackery...
Admission fears raised over possible changes at Bourne Grammar School
Northern Ireland grammar schools 11-plus intake revealed
Bringing back the grammar school is the only way to give poor ...
Debating selection
Parents put their faith in new entrance tests
Families fight to save Slough grammar school
One single entrance exam is the way forward for schools
Times Past 19.06.09
Out of nursery, into the rat race
UCL to introduce entrance exam
Unions call on schools to abandon transfer tests
School heads want tests abandoned
Transfer test applications begin
BBC News - May 18, 2009
By Maggie Taggart Grammar schools in Northern Ireland have opened registration for the new unregulated entrance exams to replace the 11-plus. ...
An ambitious mayor who lacks an ambition
Financial Times - May 4, 2009
...City's last highly paid bankers.The mayor has been outspoken on the subject of bringing back selective education - the 11-plus and grammar schools of old. This is a popular policy among grassroots Conservatives; but one Mr Cameron would rather sideline...
Dispatch from Buckinghamshire
Financial Times - May 8, 2009
The old 11-plus provided a route to success based on merit. The comprehensives began to be stratified on class and racial lines, with middle-class parents ...
Parents' anger at grammar school places
Buckinghamshire Advertiser - May 13, 2009
"It is completely unfair if boys from this area who have worked really hard to pass their 11 plus are missing out on places because other parents from ...
'We will suffer this loss until the day we die'
South Devon Herald Express - May 15, 2009
One daughter, Cassie, who was only 10 at the time of the stabbing, had failed to take her 11 plus exam and missed out on the chance of attending Torquay ...
Boy wins 45-mile commute appeal
BBC News - May 11, 2009
An 11-year-old boy from Kent who faced a 90-mile round trip to the grammar school offered by the council has won an appeal to go to one closer to home. ...
Details of transfer test emerge
BBC News Northern Ireland- May 14, 2009
Parents will be able to collect packs or download the forms from grammar school websites on Monday, but the forms do not have to be returned until 18 ...
'New' 11-Plus Gets Underway
Northern Ireland on the Internet - May 18, 2009
Prospective grammar school students can begin the new, unregulated entrance process for the major schools from today.
Many such grammar schools have now started to take registrations for their 'private' entrance exams to replace the contentious 11-plus selection.
Why our 11-plus puzzle would baffle Einstein
Belfast Telegraph - May 1, 2009
Anyway, one thing that will surely be beyond the little prodigy — the 11-plus alternative test paper in Northern Ireland. And that's just the exam we're ...
