Format of SGS Selective Eligibility Tests

[crystalgandt]

Hi. My first time on Mumsnet so please handle with (a little) care ...

DS aged 10 due to sit SGS Selective Eligibility Test in Sept with hope of ultimately getting into Wilson's. I have recently bought a couple of GL 11+ multiple choice practice books in maths and English, and the format of the answer sheets is completely unfamiliar to DS - the child draws a line through a small oblong box corresponding to what they think the answer is. Does anyone know whether this is the format of the Selective Eligibility Test for the Sutton Grammar Schools? Thanks.

[CLL65]

Hi Crystal, have you contacted the local authority who will administer the test? I think it is Sutton Council. They will be able to advise you of the format?

Also have you registered for your DS to take the rest? I know that there is usually a registration period and judging for the lateness of presenting the familiarisation test to your DS, you may not have been aware of this.

Once you know what format and the question types, go to WHSmith and purchase the relevant materials. Also Chukra is a free and excellent source for practising tests.

Good luck

[CLL65]

Sorry Crystal, I should have mentioned that Chukra is an online website for children sitting the 11+

[Ladymuck]

Welcome to mumsnet. There has been a recent(ish) thread about the SET so worth searching for it, but yes, this is the format of the first round tests (ie multiple choice). The English paper was different from the standard GL one (there was cloze, and 2 v short comprehensions plus lots of grammar, spelling and vocab). The 2nd round tests for each school have long form answer maths and creative writing (plus comprehension for WCGS).

[crystalgandt]

Thanks CLL - really useful advice. Trying to take a very laid-back, it'll-be-alright-on-the-night type approach, with just familiarisation with the format of the test, but such an approach is not easy to maintain. Thanks for this Ladymuck - Sorry, but what is "cloze"? Not sure if this is MN shorthand or typo . Thanks

[Ladymuck]

Cloze is where you have a passage with missing words and you have to chose which word out of 5 is the best fit.

Did your son sit the Sutton mocks in May or June?

[Ladymuck]

Out of interest, are you adopting the laidback approach because you think it is a longshot, or because your son is otherwise well prepared?

[crystalgandt]

Hi. Ah, cloze. Now I know, thanks. No, he didn't sit mocks. I am really struggling with this whole school application maelstrom and the pressure children are put under at such a young age so am trying to keep it as normal and unpressurised as possible. (Having said which, he is also applying to Trinity and Alleyns ...) He is a bright boy (I think), and did well in end of year exams, and I believe he has the knowledge to do ok if he knows what to expect and doesn't go to pieces. I may look back on my laid-back approach this time next year and sob, but hopefully not.

[Ladymuck]

Well you get the SET results within 7-10 days so you'll certainly have time to review the strategy before January if independent school is an option. With Sutton he will be up against many boys who don't have that option, hence the amount of prep that some undertake.

[Ladymuck]

Oh, and GL is definitely the way to go for the Alleyns reasoning test.

[crystalgandt]

Thanks. You sound as though you have been through all the options. Hope it all worked out/is all working out for you and yours.

Off the top of your head, do you happen to know which, if any, practice papers would be closest to the English part of the SET if not the GL ones?

[Ladymuck]

It would be hard to get something of exactly the same format and content tbh as the Sutton schools write their own, but it is definitely worth looking over the level 6 SPaG SATS papers as a number of last year's SET questions were similar in content to these (though the SATS papers aren't multiple choice). Style-wise, I guess if you have the GL papers then they'll do, Bond might be closer, but both of these tend to have a long comprehension section, unlike the SET. Most boys will have been drilled to fill in all answers and not leave any unanswered, but I'd guess over half of those sitting didn't manage to finish the English paper (based on a relatively small sample of the 2,200-odd sitting!). The format may of course change a bit this year, especially as the girls schools are now also included. And Wilsons in particular like to keep the content and even length of their second round tests as a surprise.

[Yep, been there, done that, facing another year of it...]

[crystalgandt]

Many thanks for all your level-headed advice/comments. Fingers crossed for all of our children in these, literally, testing times