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.
Futures College boss: Talents are overshadowed by class
Essex Echo - 6 July 2010
Mr Baker said Westcliff High is working with Southend primary schools to try to encourage more disadvantaged children to take the 11-plus by letting them ...
Caitriona Ruane rejects any suggestion she should quit
Belfast Telegraph - 3 July 2010
Despite 67 schools setting their own entrance exams this year and already planning for similar tests next year, the minister also insisted that “the 11-plus ...
Heads defend entry policies
thisiskent.co.uk - 2 July 2010
She added her school offered the vast majority of its Year Seven places to grammar-assessed students living within the 11-plus area of Kent, ...
When failure is not an option
Telegraph.co.uk - 2 July 2010
Given the amount of effort required to lick your child into shape for the ferociously competitive entrance exams, usually at 11-plus, action, and plenty of ...
Schools interested in academy status named
Teachers TV - 25 Jun 2010
Of the 1500 schools on the list, 92 are grammar schools, which select on the basis of academic ability demonstrated in the 11-plus exam. ...
Mika and Destini score top places
Barbados Advocate - 8 Jun 2010
Twenty-six students from Hill Top set the “Eleven-Plus” this year, of which Destini and her friends Rachael Lewis and Shay Martin are the only three who ...
Revealed: experts' verdict on selection impasse
Belfast Telegraph - Jun 4, 2010
... SDLP and Alliance Party — who have been meeting weekly since last October to try to agree on what should replace the 11-plus exam. ...
Coalition pledge on 'slimmed down' national curriculum
Telegraph.co.uk - May 25, 2010
... become academies – retaining their right to select by ability – although the new government insisted there would be no further expansion of the 11-plus. ...
MLAs get 11-plus stalemate plan
BBC News - May 20, 2010
A report on how to resolve the impasse over the 11-plus has been received by a cross-party group of assembly members. The MLAs commissioned a number of ...
Grammar schools boom under Labour despite party's opposition
Daily Mail - May 14, 2010
And they will pile pressure on David Cameron who ruled out a return to the 11-plus in 2007, declaring that he was determined to 'move on from a sterile ...
Agonising wait for 11-plus results will soon be over
Guernsey Press and Star - May 14, 2010
Year 6 pupils begin the 11-plus process in the autumn and finish it in February but have to wait until May for the results. ABOUT 500 11-year-olds will find ...
group to hold more entrance exams
BBC News - May 12, 2010
The 11-plus transfer test ended in 2008 after Education Minister Caitriona Ruane introduced regulation abolishing academic selection. ...
Gerry Adams on Talkback
BBC News - May 4, 2010
1233 Stephen calls to raise the 11-plus. he says SF removes choice through the abolition of the 11-plus. Mr Adams says NI was the only part of western ...
Election candidates answer the big questions
Manchester Evening News - May 4, 2010
On education I would encourage the creation of new grammar schools but make the 11-plus vocational as well as academic. "The issue of whether you have ...
Conservative Wycombe candidate Steve Baker apologises over leaflet claim
Bucks Free Press - May 3, 2010
Candidate Andrew Lomas has said he wants the system scrapped but the party's manifesto while ruling out a 'return to the 11-plus' does not pledge to close ...
Northern Ireland parties inch towards an agreed transfer solution
Belfast Telegraph - May 3, 2010
... political leaders to sort out the school transfer crisis amid a long-running stalemate over the best replacement for the now abolished 11-Plus. ...
General Election 2010: Eton head calls for assisted places revival
Telegraph.co.uk - Julie Henry - May 2, 2010
... he abandoned the Conservative Party's traditional support for more grammar schools and the Tories have tried to avoid any mention of the 11-plus since. ...
Our Gothic towers inspire state school pupils, says Eton head
This is London - Apr 30, 2010
Many pupils at state comprehensives in the area have a low opinion of their own abilities after failing the 11-plus entrance exam for local grammar schools. ...
Schools and housing spark election debate
thisiskent.co.uk - Apr 30, 2010
But Labour candidate Gareth Siddorn, who is not in favour of the 11 plus system, said the question over the rights and wrongs of the selection process was a ...
Labour's Daniel Griffiths Responds to Ten Questions Posed by Tonbridge People ...
Tonbridge People - Apr 24, 2010
?CAN YOU GUARANTEE A GRAMMAR SCHOOL PLACE FOR EVERY CHILD WHO PASSES THE 11 PLUS? First, the day-to-day running of the local education system is matter for ...
Six questions to put to the Sinn Fein and SDLP
Belfast Telegraph - Apr 23, 2010
... on Westminster but Margaret Ritchie is planning to be an MP and MLA. 6 Is the SDLP for or against Caitriona Ruane's policy on abolishing the 11-plus?
Constituency profile: South Down
Belfast Telegraph - Apr 23, 2010
Also, Ruane is not well liked within the Catholic middle classes because of her stance and handling on the 11-plus and she needs such voters on her side,” ...
UKIP's Victor Webb answers your questions
Tunbridge Wells People - Apr 22, 2010
VW: UKIP will not return to a pass/fail 11 plus test but will introduce a comprehensive test to assess merit across a wide range of academic and non ...
General Election 2010: the Tories have a fortnight to save themselves from ...
Telegraph.co.uk - Apr 22, 2010
Bring back Grammar schools,and the 11 plus. As non of these will be implemented by Cameroon, my vote goes to the English Democrates. ...
Party fails memory test on selection
Belfast Telegraph - Apr 21, 2010
What is the SDLP's position on the issue of selection of primary school pupils at 11-Plus? The SDLP used to be counted among those who are opposed to ...
Schools fail to agree joint transfer exam
Belfast Telegraph - Apr 21, 2010
These papers were more in the style of the old 11-plus exams. There was a fee for the AQE tests while the PPTC tests were free. A joint statement was issued ...
Lib Dem Liz Simpson Responds to Ten Questions Posed By Tonbridge People - what ...
Tonbridge People - Apr 21, 2010
Can you guarantee a grammar school place close to home for every child who passes the 11 plus? I assume that this question relates to the difficulty some ...
What do Tonbridge People want to ask the candidates: Replies from Steve Dawe ...
Tonbridge People - Apr 14, 2010
? Q Can you guarantee a grammar school place for every child who passes the 11 plus? 1. Grammar school places: No. The Green Party supports the full ...
Decision time looms for grammar entrance test
Belfast Telegraph - Apr 14, 2010
These papers were more in the style of the old 11-plus exams. There was a fee for the AQE tests while the tests on offer within the Catholic school sector ...
Cameron wants a nation of volunteers. I'm not convinced
The Guardian (blog) - Apr 12, 2010
... electing county health boards; putting matron in charge on the ward; including non-academic skills in the 11-plus; cutting out red tape, especially EU ...
UKIP launches manifesto
ePolitix - Apr 13, 2010
New grammar schools would be built, but the "stigma of failure" attached to 11 plus tests would be removed by including non academic exams as well as ...
No narrowing of the great education divide
The Guardian - Apr 12, 2010
? But read the report through and it is clear that schools which use the 11-plus test are still the worst offenders (after the private schools, which aren't ...
Top comprehensives 'more exclusive than grammar schools'
Telegraph.co.uk - Apr 12, 2010
The study suggested that grammars – which select pupils on the basis of the 11-plus entrance exam – were more transparent as they identified pupils “with ...
Northern Ireland Education Minister Pledges To Work With Unions To Ensure Best ...
eGov monitor - Apr 9, 2010
“Education professionals and teaching unions have for many years called for the ending of academic selection and the 11 plus. ...
Ten Questions From Tonbridge People to our Election Candidates: Watch this ...
Tonbridge People - Apr 9, 2010
Can you guarantee a grammar school place close to home for every child who passes the 11 plus? 2. What will you do to improve our hospitals? 3. ...
Northern Ireland vote could shape election outcome
The Guardian - Apr 7, 2010
Although Ruane has a high profile, she has alienated many middle-class Catholics over her abolition of the 11-plus transfer test. ...
Teachers fear 'selection at 14'
BBC News - Angela Harrison - ?Apr 4, 2010? "Those who failed the 11-plus scrambled for a place at technical schools to avoid being shipped off to secondary moderns. "Comprehensive schools offer a ...
Dagenham school pupils are top of the class
Barking and Dagenham Post - Mar 24, 2010
Irene Irpogho and Danielle Wilson won places at Brentwood School after acing their 11 plus exams and were then awarded their scholarships. ...
Wirral's grammar school leaders call for entry test results to be released ...
Liverpool Daily Post - ?Mar 23, 2010?
If there is no risk in taking the 11-plus test, then you may widen the choice of those looking to reach the standard.” Mike Twist, deputy headteacher at ...
Why Live In Tunbridge Wells?
Tunbridge Wells People - Mar 21, 2010
Many people also choose Tunbridge Wells for the eleven plus and its selection of grammar schools. But how many of us are happy once we've made the ...
'Failing' grammar school is out of special measures
Manchester Evening News - ?Mar 17, 2010?
Grammar schools traditionally score high marks as they select the brightest pupils, with 11-plus exams determining entry. Parent Charlie Rodger said he was ...
School crisis 'down to the government'
thisiskent.co.uk - ?Mar 17, 2010?
This year's nightmare has seen 114 Kent pupils left without a grammar school place despite passing the 11-plus. The full extent of how many are from ...
Class war making parents feel guilty about private schooling, say heads
This is London - ?Mar 16, 2010?
Many parents pay for prep schools to help train their children to pass the 11-plus exam and win places in state grammars. There were fears that government ...
Caitriona Ruane attacks private transfer test tutoring
BBC News - Mar 12, 2010
Under direct rule the government took the decision to end the 11-plus test in Northern Ireland, however political bargaining led to a deal which did not ban ...
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
This is London - ?Oct 23, 2009?
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
More children have been entered for the 11-plus – the grammar school entrance exam – this year compared with 2008. ...
Recession-hit parents in clamour for scarce grammar school places
The National Grammar Schools Association has revealed a rise in the number of youngsters taking the 11-plus this autumn. In Kent, which has 32 grammar ...
Parents pay for top prep schools to secure places in best grammars
Applications to take the 11-plus have increased in 70 per cent of grammar schools, according to a separate survey conducted by The Times. ...
Stressed-out parents blame Ruane for 'total mess'
They should have had everything in place before getting rid of the 11-plus, it's all been a complete nightmare. I cannot believe Caitriona Ruane is still in ...
Parties dither over talks to end transfer logjam
... Ford last week which called on each party to nominate representatives for talks in a bid to resolve the logjam over what should replace the 11-plus. ...
Unions don't speak for all
...claim that they were now all singing from the same hymn sheet and that Caitriona Ruane was their choirmaster as far as the post-11-plus debate was concerned ...
No compromise from Education Minister on transfer campaign
Parties who now present themselves as reasonable and as seeking accommodation are actually seeking the return of the 11-plus, as can be witnessed in their ...
Pressure mounts on Sinn Fein as main parties back petition
>... parties have thrown their weight behind our petition which calls on all of the parties to find a resolution to what should replace the 11-plus. ...
Schools should be given different targets for attainment
I heard tell last week of a teacher from a secondary modern who, on being introduced to a 10-year-old about to go through the 11-plus exam, was asked by the ...
Children set to sit unofficial transfer tests
This means that a slightly lower number of children will be sitting the unofficial tests as sat the last 11-plus, 15400 children ...
'Similar' demand for tests as last 11-plus
... tests for grammar schools this year is expected to be "similar" to the number who sat the last year of the 11-plus, according to a leading principal. ...
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
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- BOFA will then transfer over your FREE BOFA mix
Onwards and upwards!"
Andy Baines
Two cheers for Alan Milburn's report
By talent-scouting through the eleven plus exam (which was an IQ test designed to identify potential), the state education system was able to pull able ...
What are you going to do with the children this summer?
The Guardian - July 21 2009
The summer holidays are a difficult time for parents. Keeping children amused for six weeks or more, both at home and away, can be difficult to organise, exhausting and expensive. But it doesn't have to be that way . . . Actually, it probably does have to be that way, but as a parent there are always corners to be cut, liberties to be taken and small duplicities to employ. (...)
Socialmobility: will anyone mentiongrammar schools?
The grammars were largely abolishedbecause it was felt that the children who did not pass their 11 plus were then left with sub-standard schooling in ...
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 ...
