11+ ADMISSIONS
Application process
How do we apply for the 11+?
Your son’s junior school will give you the application pack which will contain all the instructions you require.
Return the main application form to your Local Authority (or use the online facility), and they will pass the details of your KEGS application via Essex County Council to the school.
Do we fill in a supplementary application form?
Applicants to KEGS must complete and return a supplementary information form, which is used for the administration of the entrance tests. The supplementary information form can be obtained from the CSSE Office (www.csse.org.uk), where all the administration of the tests and applicants details are processed.
In what order should I list the schools on the application form?
Put the schools in the order of preference you wish your son to attend – there is no advantage in ranking schools on any other basis. Decide which school you would most like your son to attend and place that 1st. (There is now no school in Essex or Southend where application depends on the order in which you place them.)
If you do not get your first choice school, then your subsequent choices are considered in turn on an equal footing with all those who had applied to that school irrespective of the rankings used.
You cannot change your order of preference after the offers have been made. You will be offered a place at just one school and must either take the first school offered to you, or make alternative provision.
Who gets the places at KEGS?
Your son’s results are placed in a ranked order of all applicants to KEGS, and places are awarded to the first 112 from that list (unless the applicant has already secured a place at a higher preference school). Once the results are received by the Local Authority from the CSSE, they send the offer letters out.
What circumstances constitute an appeal?
Where a pupil has been performing highly and a very serious family problem/personal problem has hampered this performance on the day then an appeal against non-admission may be worthwhile.
Preparation for the tests
It is recommended that parents speak to their son’s class teacher at junior school to gain their opinion of his suitability for grammar school.
Preparation should be undertaken in small doses, beginning prior to the summer holiday.
Is it true that the school runs a waiting list for those boys who are not offered a place?
Yes, parents are asked to complete a post 11+ application form to place their son on a waiting list. If a vacancy does become available, everyone on the waiting list is tested and the school will select the best performing student.
Once a boy is placed on the waiting list his name will remain there until the end of Year 11.
Application to the Sixth Form is a separate procedure.
Visiting the school
When can we visit the school?
For parents of children starting secondary school in September 2011 - We are holding a Headteacher's Introductory Presentation (for parents only) on Thursday 23 September at 18.30, and then tours of the school for parent(s) and child during week commencing Monday 27 September. Tours are held either morning or afternoon all week (although not on the Wednesday or Friday afternoon). Attendance at the Headteacher's Presentation is compulsory for parents - you will not be able to attend a tour without first attending the presentation. Presentation and tour has to be pre-booked - please call Main Reception on 01245 353510 to book.
The 11+ examination
What is the date of the exam?
Saturday 20 November 2010, with a alternative date of Wednesday 1 December for those unwell on 20 November, or those who for religious or exceptional reasons are not able to sit the exam on a Saturday.
How many boys take the exam?
Approximately 550 boys sit the examination papers at KEGS for 112 places. In addition there are pupils who sit the examination elsewhere who have KEGS as one of their preferences.
Are practice exam papers available?
Yes, from the CSSE (www.csse.org.uk).
What are the boys actually tested in?
Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning. The papers are challenging, as they are designed to discriminate between the most able candidates; but the content of the papers is in line with the National Curriculum expectations in Years 5 & 6.
The Verbal Reasoning paper counts for 50 per cent of the final total score, and the Maths and English 25 per cent each.
What percentages should boys be getting?
Places are awarded at the school by rank order, so the required score fluctuates from year to year. There is no ‘pass mark’. Prior experience suggests that boys will need to secure 70 per cent or higher on each paper to be sure of a place at KEGS.
What order do they sit the papers?
Maths, English and then Verbal Reasoning, with a refreshment break after Maths and English.
How are the tests marked?
By a team of independent professional markers and each paper is double marked and checked. The results are all combined with Maths and English worth 25 per cent each and Verbal Reasoning worth 50 per cent.
There is some standardisation of scores to allow for the fact that there is a second test date with different papers. Results are rank ordered for each individual school by the CSSE and sent to the Local Authority who in turn make the offers.
On the exam day are special circumstances available for candidates if necessary?
You need to send the relevant information to the CSSE and they will pass it on to the school. There is no extra time allotted on any occasion. In previous years we have accommodated special requests for enlarged papers, and for assistance in writing.
Quiet rooms are provided for candidates who may require special attention, including those who may need to eat during the tests due to diabetes, those with hearing impairment, or those with undue nerves.
About the school
How does the pastoral system work?
First step is for the new pupils to attend the Induction Day in July at KEGS: an opportunity to meet with Tutors, Head of Year and Headteacher and make friends with other boys.
Then on the first day of the Autumn Term, KEGS is open only for Years 7 and 12: another day where new pupils are encouraged to get to know the school better.
Parents are encouraged to contact school staff at the earliest indication of any concern:
Form Tutor - consulted on small day to day issues
Head of Year - more important issues are referred
Head of Lower School - complex issues and ensuring that transition between year groups is smooth
How does the House system work?
Boys are put into the 4 form groups : Holland, Mildmay, Strutt and Tindal. Boys remain in these groups from Years 7-9. Then in Years 10 – 11 and in the Sixth Form they remain in the same House but different form groups are compiled.
Houses are used to allow boys to mix across the year groups and older pupils will take the responsibility for organising events e.g. House Music, House Drama and Sports.
What kind of groups are they taught in?
In Year 7 they are taught all subjects in the same form group in classes of 28 (except for Art, Music and Technology). In Year 8 the only change is that the process of streaming begins for Maths. Year 9 remains as for Year 8.
Year 10 are in options groups for GCSE subjects and class sizes tend to be smaller than 28.
How many students go to Oxbridge each year?
Each year between 20 and 25 students secure Oxbridge places, and in addition many others proceed to equally prestigious universities according to their choice of undergraduate studies.
Transport
Are there any school buses?
These are organised through the Consortium Office. Visit www.csse.org.uk
