Tested to the limit
Cameras follow four children going through the stress of the 11-plus exam
For the first time in decades, grammar schools are making a comeback. Every year thousands of 10 and 11-year-olds take the 11-plus selection test – but only one in four will make the grade.
Fear of failing
To see how children and their parents cope with the intense pressure, this programme follows four primary school pupils in Bexley, London, as they build up to the exam and face the fear of failing.
‘I worry about if I don’t pass and all my friends do,’ says Philip, who has been practising for the test with a tutor every Monday night for more than a year. ‘It means a lot because I can have a better life and I won’t be poor.’
While all the local grammar schools have been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, the nearest comprehensive, Erith School, has been rated as ‘requires improvement’.
Pressure
It’s for that reason that Joanita’s family spend £300 a month on a tutor and she’s been studying since she was three!
‘It’s a lot of pressure,’ says Joanita. ‘The part that worries me the most is not passing and going to a comprehensive.’
As the big day dawns, the children are given last-minute pep talks. But, as the results arrive, has all the stress been worth it? Possibly not, says Beth McKenzie, head at Upland Primary School in Bexley.
‘It’s stark. They’re given that piece of paper… and they haven’t reached the pass mark,’ she says. ‘Every journey is a lesson in life. Did they need to go through it now? No.’