Next Gen News

It's a huge step â€" so how do children feel about going to 'big school'? Janet Murray talks to year 6 pupils in Kent who have faced the 11-plus and are on the brink of change

Going to "big school" is a daunting prospect for all 11-year-olds. But for children in the 36 areas that still have selective education, there is also the 11-plus examination to contend with, and the division between those who will go on to grammar school and those who will not. Here, year 6 children who are just leaving St Saviour's primary in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, and their parents talk about their hopes and fears.

Gabriel

Gabriel, 11, Dane is going to court gymnasium Broadstairs

Over the summer holidays, my mum made me do 40 practice papers for the 11-plus exam. It was torture, but I'm glad I did it, as otherwise I wouldn't have had a clue what to do. Plus my parents bought me a mobile phone for doing them.

I did feel a bit of pressu
re from my family to pass the 11-plus. My mum and dad both went to grammar schools and my dad went to Dane Court. I didn't want to let them down. I'd got it into my head I wouldn't pass, so I tried to get enthusiastic about my second-choice school, King Ethelbert, just in case.

It took me ages could not sleep the night before the exam. The next day, I felt ill and was dizzy head, and I was afraid I would not 't be able to concentrate. My mom cried when she learned that I 'D passed. I received many congratulations and my bedroom was full again as a reward.

I was nervous about starting in September, but I spent a day at the school recently and met a boy called Tim from Upton school who is going to be in my class. We got along well, so I'm not so worried now. The school does lots of musical theatre, and has a climbing wall, so I'm quite excited really.

What I am a bit worried about is homework. In my induction booklet, it says you get a detention if you don't finish your homework. I get distracted easily, and never seem to finish anything, so I'm going to have to work on that. If I get a detention, my parents will kill me.

Alex Hampton-Sen, Father Gabriel '

Things have definitely changed since my wife Rachel and I did the 11-plus. I certainly don't remember doing much preparation. I just sat the test and thought no more of it until the letter arrived saying I'd passed.

These days, because many parents pay for private tuition, it is quite high-pressured. We've been mindful not to put too much pressure on Gabriel, but we did pay for a tutor and got him to do a little bit of work every day in the summer holidays.

While we 've both done so, we believe that if' d apply themselves in school, we could be more successful earlier in our careers. We just want to give Gabriel all opportunities to achieve success.

Ellie

Ellie, 11 is going to King Ethelbert high school, in Birchington

When you see secondary schools on TV programmes, there is always bullying, people taking other people's lunch money, teachers shouting and lots of chaos. I'm hoping it won't be like that.

I don't feel too nervous though, because I've been to King Ethelbert lots of times now. In the term before you go up to secondary school, they run a sort of after-school club every week for new pupils, where you can do different activities and get to know the school. I did cooking and badge-making, but you could do lots of things, including sport.

I took the 11-plus, but I didn't get it. Most of our year group took it, but only 11 passed. We didn't really get much help from the school to prepare, but some people had extra tuition outside school.

My parents would have been proud if I had passed, but I didn't feel under any pressure. If I'd passed by just a few marks, I probably wouldn't have gone there anyway, because I find difficult work quite confusing. I'd rather be top of King Ethelbert than bottom of a grammar school.

My parents are not 't buy me to go through 11-plus, but some parents. One man has offered £ 150.

Angela Perry-Taylor, Ellie's mother

We looked at five local schools for Ellie, but we just got a good gut feeling about King Ethelbert. As older parents, in our late forties, we wanted a school that felt like school as we remembered it. King Ethelbert school felt like home.

We weren't really guided on which children were likely to pass the 11-plus, so we were open-minded. Ellie gave it a go, but we made it clear beforehand that she was under no pressure from us.

So far, I'm really impressed with Ellie's new school. We were invited along to after-school taster sessions over a six-week period, which has given Ellie the chance to get used to her new surroundings, teachers and classmates. Parents could join in with the activities, but there were also information sessions on helping your child settle into the new school. That was very reassuring.

Of course you can't help but worry about things like bullying. I know it happens at every school. The important thing is how it is dealt with.

Cameron

Cameron, 11, goes to school King Ethelbert

I'm feeling quite nervous, because it's quite a big step to move to a much bigger school where I'll have at least seven teachers for different subjects. I'm worried about moving around the school for different lessons and whether I'll remember to put the right books in my bag on the right days.

I made a 11-plus, but I Wasn 't upset when I did not shy away ", because I think it is a great King Ethelbert School, and I am happy there. I' ve got two younger brothers, so I 'm the first to go to secondary school, which makes me feel very proud.

The boy, whom I know, in the year 1911 told me that this is a ghost in the school, in the toilet, but I 't think I believe him. I do not t 'really believe in ghosts.

Barry Millen, Cameron's father

Cameron has always struggled with social skills and we've recently found out he may have traits of autism, so we're quite apprehensive on his behalf. He likes routine and can get quite anxious if he doesn't know what is coming up next. The whole concept of moving classes every hour or so will be a big change for him.

So there will definitely be a few sleepless nights for us, but we hope that after the first weeks, he will start to adjust.

Tayla

Tayla, 11, is going to Dane Court grammar school

In the week leading up to the 11-plus exam, I was quite stressed and had a funny feeling in my tummy all the time. We had to take three or four exams over a whole week. I had a tutor who came to my house every Saturday and did practice papers with me for about a year. I don't think I'd have passed without that, because the tests weren't like anything we did in class. They were more like intelligence tests, finding the link between different shapes, things like that.

One of my biggest worries is having to start again, going from being at the top of the school to being at the bottom. There are over 300 children here, so it is a big junior school, but there are over 1,500 pupils are Dane Court, so I am worried I might get lost.

When I went for a visit a few weeks ago, we met our form teachers and found out who was going to be in our class. My teacher seemed really friendly and I found out I was with Millie, one of my friends from this school, which I'm really pleased about.

As we were walking round the school, the older pupils kept looking at us, saying we looked really sweet, so I'm not too worried about being picked on. Children in the older years come and look after the year 7s in the first few weeks, so if you're worried about something, and don't want to see a teacher, you can go and see one of the sixth-formers.

Nicola Gaspa, Tayla's mother

I think I was more stressed about the 11-plus than Tayla was. She seemed so young to be taking such a big, important exam. She is ever so bright, so I would have been really disappointed if she hadn't passed. Although there are some good schools in the area, I don't think any of them could have brought out her full potential. She is a quiet, studious sort, so I guess I'd also have worried that another school might have been too rough.

Theil is very happy since Dane Court, but nervous too. She 's never traveled by bus from her, so I LL' take it in practice during the school holidays. I 'm also planned to release it into the shopping center on his own with his friends for a few hours. It 's growing, and I need to start to let her go.

Lewis

Lewis, 11, is going to King Ethelbert school

I didn't take the 11-plus because I thought it would be too hard for me, but some of my friends are going to grammar school. Luckily quite a few are going to King Ethelbert, including one of my closest friends, Josh, who I've known since I was in year 1, but I don't think we'll be in the same class.

My biggest worry is bullying, because you hear lots of stories, like if you talk back to one of the older kids, you might get punched. But I've got an older sister who went to the school and she says it's fine.

It's about half an hour's walk to my new school, so my mum is going to get me a bus pass, but I'm a bit scared, because I've never been on a bus on my own. I might get off at the wrong stop or the older kids might say bad things or swear.

The school is really cool, because they've just made some new buildings and the head, Mrs Greig, seems quite nice and fun. I went to an open evening for new pupils and she said they keep getting "outstanding" from the inspectors, so I guess it must be a good school.

Joe Baker, the mother of Lewis '

I've got four children, so I've got some experience in sending children up to secondary school, but it's still a worry. I used to be a believer in throwing children in at the deep end, but having attended the taster sessions with Lewis at King Ethelbert, I can see how breaking them in gently really works. Now, rather than being worried about starting secondary school, Lewis is really excited.

Lewis is more of a "hands-on" sort and sometimes struggles with academic work, so we didn't put him in for the 11-plus. Although he might have done OK, we thought he would be crushed if he didn't pass.

We looked round a few schools, but we chose King Ethelbert because Lewis was comfortable there. His older sister has just left the school, so everything was quite familiar to him. When my daughter, who is now 16, started, it was just about satisfactory, but under the new headteacher, Mrs Greig, the school is almost unrecognisable. I can't think of a bad word to say about it.