Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

That sounds more like it.
I am not sure how you could heavily tutor my son! He is so stubborn and if he doesn't want to do something he can be very difficult.
We just coast along really.
Luckily he seems to like Maths, but is not nearly so keen in actually putting pen to paper!
ANd I despair sometimes of his comprehension abilities as he doesn't seem to read with much care at all.
Oh well, whatever will be will be. And maybe on the day he will concentrate......
Oh, there goes a flying pig.
Fil

concentration, hmm My son also doesn't have much of that! His literacy btw is, I doubt, anywhere near a level 6!

My son started at CH last September. I don't think he is a mathematical genius by any means and we did no specialist coaching other than practicising an exam paper each week for a few weeks before the exam, mainly the 11 plus ones you can buy from Smiths etc. I remember so clearly the headmasters speech on open day when he said "children need to be reasonably bright to get into CH", i.e not geniuses. I have said this before but I really do believe the whole process examines a childs potential to flourish at CH and is not solely reliant on existing knowledge.

Just to let you know, we had parents evening the other day and my son is currently just hitting level 5 in literacy, considering he's just got in that's probably the level you need (luckily not level 6)

That's nice to know.
I have no idea what level my DS is in literacy. Lower than in Maths that's for sure.

That is most reassuring Pinkhebe. Thanks for posting.

Just curious, what are the arrangements/procedures now your DC has been offered a place?

As I said before - do not get caught up on academic only. The CH process seems to be the most roundest and fairest assessment out there and really looks at how much of a difference going to CH will make over going somewhere else.

My son who has just failed to gain a place has just completed a yr9 maths paper at the local maths specialist secondary (which we are out of catchment for by about 5 feet) and been graded at level 8a with a comment that if he were one of their year 9 pupils they would be entering him for an early GCSE next year.

Despite him not being offered a place at no point have we felt any indignation as I know that if he had been offered it would be at the expense of someone who needed it more - just bear that in mind throughout the next year and you can't go wrong.

Good to keep everything in perspective. Congrats to your son for the level 8a. And commiserations for not having got into CH. Incidentally, what did they give as a reason then? Couldn't have been 'not up to academic standard required' could it? I would be interested to know how they worded it.

They haven't yet. But one of the reasons we had him repeat yr6 at primary (having been accelerated from reception to yr 2 despite a 29th Jan birthday) was that he is just not that socially mature. In light of recent events at the school I have no argument with the school feeling that maybe he would flounder in an intense an environment as a CH boarding house and that others were a "safer" bet, plus we have a stable home life etc

Hi, my oldest child, a girl of course, jumped her Year 6, and went straight from Year 5 at primary to Year 7 at secondary. We were given the option of delaying her place a year, but decided that as she had got in to her school, and as she had obviously done enough work already to pass her entrance exam, she should go. It turned out to be a good decision for her, being a girl probably and more mature, and she went on to good results all round and uni at age 17. She's an infants teacher now.
You are extremely lucky that your son can do extension maths at a local school. I think my daughter would have been very bored in Year 6 (she had been one of four Year 5s in the Year 6 class) and would have had no opportunity for extension work.
When she was in Year 8 she did a middle tier maths GCSE paper and got a B for it then, when she should have been in Year 7 anyway.
Her little brother who is now ten, and would be in Year 5 in the UK, is home educated, so lucky in that we can move at his own pace. He has just about finished every topic in level 6 (somewhat fuelled by the fact that the CH maths teacher told me he had to be that level, which now seems not to have been true, but oh well, we did it anyway!) so we are ready to move on to level 7 now. He really enjoys maths, but has concentration problems still, so would not be so far on in an environment where there were more distractions.
We are assuming he will be working towards level 8 by this time next year.
Of course, this certainly doesn't mean that in a test of any sort he would perform to that level - I really can't tell how he would perform! He is so easily distracted by almost anything! Although I think he has the potential it is hard to harness!
I hope your son gets into a good school. Are you going for grammar or a different private school?

Maturity has a lot to do with it. We lived in the US when ours were pre-school but we had a an English neighbour who had moved there when her son (a May birthday) was 8. He was tested and put in a year ahead of his age group AND put on the 'gifted' programme. To his advantage he was also tall and athletic.

When he got to Ninth Grade (year 10 in England) his parents were called in by the English teacher who said that his English was very good but his themes were immature for a 15 year old. His parents told her he would not be 14 until May (I suppose this was February). The teacher was very surprised but left him in the gifted class and he went on to college at age 17.

Yes, my daughter was always much more mature than her brothers were at the same age. Sensible, grown up, the lot. ANd she was tall for her age, so she certainly didn't stand out as being different to her class as she went up through school.
I have three boys, and frankly, the two older ones still need to grow up a bit, at 24 and 22! They're getting there, slowly. I have a step daughter of 20 who knocks spots of them maturity wise.