AMERICAN Adult Takes England's 11+ Exam for KIDS?!

[@Roy-gi5ul]

I failed the 11 plus but passed at 13 plus, which was much better for me because we late developers were also able to opt for technical school or art school. I then spent 10 years in Industry, including aviation, electricity supply and the rail industry, before deciding to retrain to teach in the great teacher shortage in the '60s. Specialising in Art, my industrial experience was of huge benefit to me and I eventually retired as Head of Department and an Area Moderator for GCSE. Being a late starter made me more empathic towards a wider range of abilities, with the result I was able to materially support all those children who may otherwise have fallen through the net. I have never regretted being a late starter!

[@bookwormer9130]

Verbal Reasoning: COWS (NOW) WIND Take the OW from COWS Take the N from WIND NOW SEAM (_____) PITY Take the EA from SEAM Take the T from PITY TEA

[@wyterabitt2149]

I can see why the section would trip people up, given that the term "verbal reasoning" will likely have little to nothing to do with that process when most people just hear it for the first time. You just won't be looking for anything coded, you will be evaluating the words as they are. Regardless of the official definition, that is how most people will think of that term. And how you approach something will absolutely impact how you can solve it.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

It is for passing kids who have been extensively coached.

[@Oakleaf700]

@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 Absolutely! the tutoring for passing the 11 plus is extensive- One needs to learn how to approach the questions. Maths and English are easy, the 'puzzle' shape ones less so for me, yet my son finds those the easiest!

[@gertvanderstraaten6352]

Yeah, that works with PEA too, hence my confusion.

[@craiggodard6419]

@gertvanderstraaten6352 No it doesn't - the first letter of the word in brackets can only come from the third letter of the second word given the NOW example. (There is no N in the first word)

[@ethelmini]

22:00 TEA - the answer's always tea, you're in England.

[@gaynormainwaring1853]

@@ethelmini Not just England - don't forget the other nations in the UK.

[@GirlOfTheTardis]

You can do that barbers shop question in your head in less than 30 seconds, young children here in the UK are taught how to do that

[@davidhamm7909]

In the words of John Otway regarding taking the 11+ “If at first you don’t succeed, you’ve already been a failure once”.

[@TheDagda1000]

I took the 11+ exam in 1957 - and failed the Arithmetic (Maths) part. Ten years later, I entered an apprenticeship in the Royal Navy. Guess what: I could handle Calculus, Trigonometry, Simultaneous Equations, etc. Just a late developer, I guess! Note: Must be very late. I got a BSc.(Hons) degree in Engineering at the age of 51, and went on to do an M.A. when I was 62. So you see, it's never TOO late. (Bloody hard work for an old brain, though!)

[@frogandspanner]

Well done!

[@p4our587]

Hell yeah! It's probably more to do with interest? Congrats… either way!

[@dannygjk]

@@stevetheduck1425 "Better and easier methods". Do you mean ones that require filling out 5x as much paper as the old school methods?

[@mickmcnich]

I also took the 11+ but in 1963. I failed Maths. In 1975 I passed my Higher National in Electrical Engineering, Took an Electrical Engineering course in 1982 with the IEE and passed as a CEng. Took post-grad diplomas in Maths and engineering management, and at the Age of 72 I am working up to a BSc in renewable energy. As you say, do not be put off by this ridiculous exam you will get there and as the post says it is never too late.

[@colinlambert882]

You may just have been unlucky with your teacher. My school. had a terrible reputation, with only 5-7 pupils out of 60

[@stvbee7479]

Verbal Reasoning - It took me a minute or so to see the pattern in Question 1 - OW are the middle letters in COWS. N is third letter in WIND, which then is placed first to make NOW. Using that pattern, EA is middle letters in SEAM. T is third letter of PITY. Put the T first followed by EA, giving TEA as the answer. Having worked that out I realised it is not about the words but the pattern their letters make. Making the others easier to work out! Question 2 - EA are middle letters in MEAN. R is third letter in EARL. This time the R is in third position not 1st. AR is middle letters in CARE. T is third in GATE. ART is answer. Question 3 - O is first letter and A is third letter in OPAL. R is third letter in PORE. Giving D as first letter and A as third letter in DEAL and M as third letter in LAME. DAM is answer. And so on!!!!

[@dosmundos3830]

once you understand it you can do them instantly just by looking at them

[@MartinArscott1]

I got that almost instantly, but then lateral thinking was always one of my stronger areas

[@CuriousFocker]

@@MartinArscott1 Me too

[@eileencritchley4630]

Yes I got that one almost straight away

[@ungrim97]

If you know what it is that they are looking for here then yes they are easy. But if you go purely on the question as presented with no prior knowledge then it is trivial to make a bunch of well reasoned arguments as to why any given answer is correct. There aren't enough examples presented to guarantee one correct answer without understanding about how the test itself works

[@phedrob3735]

Throughout primary school we recited our multiplication tables on a daily basis. We had a daily test of ten questions which incorporated English and the various areas of mathematics. Our reading and writing abilities were monitored constantly. Spelling and grammar errors were corrected. All this was carried out in a very matter of fact way. There were tests at every half term and end of term. This not only highlighted areas where individuals might need additional help and encouragement but also reflected upon the effectiveness of individual Teachers. The 11+ was generally viewed by the pupils as an exciting challenge and not as a stressful experience.

[@erictoni6327]

I failed my 11plus as did 75% of all schoolchildren did and was condemned to a Secondary Modern education designed to churn out factory workers and secretaries. It was a grossly unjust system to classify 11 year olds as failures. Despite this I went to Medical School in London and am successful Doctor

[@MrJohnyysmith]

I passed 11+ and did not go on to become a doctor, but I did ok. The moral of this story then is that the system worked🙃

[@haroldpearson6025]

Secondary school did not automatically condemn a kid as you say. I had two mates, one became a captain in the merchant navy, the other a forensic photographer in the police whilst I worked in 7 developing countries as an engineer for 50 years with 17 years in the United Nations.

[@lindsaymckeown513]

Scotland didn't have this system, I was shocked to learn of it when I moved to England as a teenager! It also created a social class divide.

[@maudeboggins9834]

Good for you for being brave enough to do this with an audience.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Thank you for watching!

[@dosmundos3830]

she gave up 1/2 way through the test because it was too hard lol

[@elizabethsellors9046]

@@dosmundos3830 I thought she had a degree 🤔

[@dosmundos3830]

@@elizabethsellors9046 maybe I a degree in something like Japanese flower arranging

[@FC-PeakVersatility]

@@elizabethsellors9046 it's not educational, it's experience that counts. a degree in bioengineering or rocket science isn't going to train anyone to pass the 11 plus, neither would whatever degree she has 🙄 however the curriculum that 4th year juniors study should.

[@Lizallinos]

The Verbal Reasoning has nothing to do with the meaning of the words, but the positioning of the letters. So in the first COWS (NOW) WIND, you take the penultimate letter from WIND, the second letter from COWS and the penultimate letter from COWS to get NOW. So by applying the same formula to the other words take the penultimate letter from PITY = T, the second letter from SEAM = E and the penultimate letter from SEAM = A. So the answer is b. TEA. Clear as mud!

[@davidhyams2769]

I am old enough to be of a generation when all children had to take the 11 Plus examination. Despite it being such a long time ago, I do recall that neither my school nor my parents made a big deal of it. We were just given the tests in the same way we would have had any other tests, so we had no pressure as we had no idea that the results would impact on our future education.

[@Andy_U]

Hiya. Ditto! What pressure? I, too, was never put under any by anybody and I passed. I guess, to paraphrase a modern acronym - If You Don't Know You Don't Know. Stay safe. All the best to you.

[@ryaniswhoiam5695]

The whole of my year 6 was focused on the 11+ lol, we did crazy amounts of work for it then literally did nothing until we got our results at the end of the year it was so good

[@seanmorgan2257]

We knew what would happen if we passed or failed, our previous headmaster trained people for the local comp so only 1 or 2 passed, in my year we had a record number of passes and went to Tech

[@iallso1]

I took this when I was 10, I had already decided that I was going to the high school rather than the grammer school irrespective of the result, so I felt no pressure to achieve.

[@joanmackie1735]

Same here. In fact, as far as I remember, I didn’t even know it was going to happen until we were bussed to the nearest town. I certainly don’t remember any specific coaching or advice, we all just went along, did as we were told, and went home again. I remember childhood as a pretty stress-free time.

[@davidmcc8727]

I took the 11+ in 1962 and failed. I was sent to a secondary modern school instead of the grammar school. I ended up with a PhD in Chemistry and an international career. Testing children at age 11 is ridiculous

[@mikesmith3704]

Had you gone to a grammar school, your PhD might have been in Physics 🤣🤣🤣

[@charleshayes2528]

@davidmcc8727 I went to a Comprehensive and still had to do an equivalent test! The school was "streamed" and people went into 1 of 3 streams based on results of that exam. As an infant, I was held back a year, based on supposed poor reading, but was sent to senior school at age 11 - based entirely on my reading ability, I think. This meant I missed the 4th year of Juniors, including an introduction to algebra and a few other topics. I also missed out on any preparation for 11+ or equivalent and so this test came as a complete surprise. I just scraped into the bottom end of the upper stream - due to poor maths and very poor handwriting. The only good aspect was that unlike the "real" 11+ my results had no impact on which school I went to. It was possible for pupils to move streams within the school, both up and down, without any stigma or particular kudos and without any additional costs to the parents. On the other hand, those who failed 11+ had a really hard time moving across to a Grammar school and sometimes kids who barely scrapped into a Grammar had an awful time trying to keep up. I was a fairly middle-of the-road pupil, came first or second in the more booky subjects and struggled with maths and practical stuff. (I only found out relatively late that my maths problems were due to disability and not my being thick or lazy.) Like a lot of people on this page, I was a late bloomer. I found my niche in my 20s and graduated with a degree at 27. I wish I had gone further academically, but I spent the latter part of my career teaching adults (further education) and supporting and mentoring both undergraduates and people doing Masters level work. While secondary education did give me knowledge and some skills, most of my love of learning came from my Primary years and teachers who made subjects come alive as something interesting for its own sake and not solely something for an exam. Too much pressure on exams, too early, just makes kids stressed and unhappy.

[@flybeeson7950]

You are quite right it is ridiculous to separate out children at 11. I left a grammar school for a bi-lateral (type of comprehensive) where the teaching was much better and it also allowed the students to progress more naturally at their own pace.

[@ColinMill1]

Interesting to hear that. I failed the 11 plus in 1965 and, thanks to tech college, night school and two universities obtained my Ph D in physics in 1980. You must have been amongst the very first people to achieve this.

[@sharonanderson5794]

I also failed eleven plus exam .. as a child I travelled abroad a lot and on returning to England was at an age to take the 11 + .. failed but on leaving school went into a nursing career studied at degree level and became a senior nurse running my own clinic .. I wonder what purpose the 11+ was for me!

[@Crusty_Camper]

I sat the 11+ in 1966 and failed it. My older brother passed it, went to the grammar school and became a snob overnight. I went to a secondary modern school and loved it. Everything was taught in as practical a way as possible. Did it correctly show which children were the most academic? Absolutely not. My classmates went on to have jobs such as an airline pilot, an oil company geologist, a rocket scientist (yes, really!) and in my case a science teacher and university lecturer. Pete S. BSc (hons), PGCE, Cert. Ed.

[@PhilHarmonicus]

My son failed his 11+ in Buckinghamshire. He's now a PhD with a high powered consultancy job.

[@philipm06]

A late developer?

[@PhilHarmonicus]

Dyslexic

[@PhilHarmonicus]

Dyslexic

[@philjones45]

but is he still stupid??

[@individualmember]

@@PhilHarmonicus good for him :-)

[@rufdymond]

I went to school in the days when pretty much everyone did the 11+ It’s a pretty pointless exam which I did fail. I ended up going to a comprehensive school, gained a 1st at university, and went on to do a masters and subsequently have had a very successful career as a software engineer. You can still do very well in life without passing a 11+…..

[@Diablo_Himself]

I failed on purpose, as our best school for me would be an all boys school. That wasnt the only reason though.

[@individualmember]

I’m just old enough to have done it. I walked it and was sent to Grammar School. It turned out that I wasn’t well suited to Grammar School, didn’t go to university and eventually found my way into creative work that does suit me. The reason I think I found the 11+ easy is that when I was 9 and 10 we could get books of maths puzzles and language puzzles, which I did for fun, whiling away boring weekends and long car journeys. Not much for pre-teens to do in those days. So the 11+ was testing things I had been doing for fun, which is why I found it fairly easy. Edit to add: I think most “intelligence tests” aren’t particularly meaningful because familiarity with the kind of questions makes a really big difference to how well a person does.

[@robgraham9234]

Not if they are properly designed, very few are though. Most that you find on line are trivia quizzes.

[@dylanmeyer6614]

Exactly. Creativity is not really tested as the answers are subjective. Any deductive reasoning or puzzle ability is entirely dependent on if you have done similar before.

[@rastacrucian1814]

I, along with four of my US Air Force dependent friends, all had to take the 11+ test in 64-65 in Whitby, and we all didn't pass and ended up going to Whitby West, a "secondary school" which my father sarcastically called the 'cooks and bakers school.' We were all the sons of Air Force officers stationed at Fylingdales radar station in the Yorkshire Moors, and not passing the test was a HUGE deal for our fathers who assumed we would easily pass because we were sons of officers and supposed to be smart enough to not fail the test, thus bringing shame and dishonor to the families. Granted, none of the RAF officer's sons and daughters passed either so I didn't feel so bad about it.

[@jacquelinekelly5261]

Took 11 plus many moons ago, passed it to get into grammer school. Thing is we were given lots of tests at school, don't think we realised this one was any different from the others.

[@pschlute]

Grammer !!!!!!!

[@SaneAsylum]

@gigi v Ordinarily I would agree with you, but she was rather condescending with the delivery, so had it very much coming. That said I am from the Samuel Clemens school of thought which says "I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way." Which is good because otherwise he could never have praised Joel Harris for the "Uncle Remus" books (a phenomenal example of improper spelling used to great effect).

[@pschlute]

@gigi v use an apostrophe if you are going to shorten "because", like so..... 'cos

[@hispoiema]

@mary carver 😆

[@Diablo_Himself]

You passed the test, but can't spell grammar?

[@DavidJCane]

Verbal reasoning test means you have to build the missing word from the components of the others. For the first one: COWS (NOW) WIND - the first letter of NOW is the third letter from WIND and the OW are the second and third from COWS, so in the other option, following the same pattern, it is TEA - T as the third letter of PITY and EA as the second and third of SEAM. The W in NOW cannot come from the first letter of WIND because that would make the second missing word TEP, which is not an option.

[@gwahli9620]

I guessed right then. But that also means this test has nothing to do with "verbal" reasoning. You could replace all letters with other random symbols and it would work the same. Kinda like you can replace the numbers in a sudoku with other symbols - there is no meaning to them being numbers.

[@ulyssesthirteen7031]

I did the 11 plus in 1979 whilst at junior school (working class, northern area) and went on to a grammar school. My school at the time didn't even tell us we were doing the exam until the day before. It just didn't seem a bit deal at the time.

[@bernardhughes8598]

I don`t remember getting as much notice as that. All us 4th year juniors were sent to the main hall on the day and told not to worry.

[@plantbasedhealthkitchen522]

I am an 11+ tutor. State primary schools offer little specialised teaching for the verbal and nonverbal elements. It is left to parents, workbooks and tutors to help. This, of course, means that grammar schools are often full of more affluent children. It is such a horrid system, but when you live in a selective authority then you have to play the game.

[@sooskevington6144]

Lmao! That barber shop question at least would have been a MENTAL arithmetic question in my day! No paper & pencil allowed

[@archie6945]

How would they have enforced the "no pencil" during the 11+... seem to recall it was done at one session.

[@sooskevington6144]

@@archie6945 I never said it was an 11+ question, just one that required you to work out the answer in your head. When I did my 11+ exam in 1967, it was in 2 parts a (I think) 2 hour English exam in the morning, a break for lunch then a 2 hour maths exam in the afternoon.

[@Kyrelel]

@@archie6945 They could just look to see if anyone was using a pencil :/

[@CraggRock]

I grew up in N.Wales, there were no grammar schools. Both my children took the 11+ (in Kent), my daughter passed, my son did not, exactly as predicted, my daughter is academic, my son not so much then. My daughter went on to university, now she is an office manager, my son joined the armed forces, left as an SNCO, now he is a surveying engineer. Horses for courses.

[@crackpot148]

I guess your son was in REME? I have a couple of friends who were and they have done very well for themselves and their families in civilian life. They're both very intelligent men.

[@gwynwilliams4222]

Wrexham' had a grammar school

[@gwynwilliams4222]

All of Britain had 11+ until they finished for comprehensive schools then started about 1967 ish

[@michaeltajfel]

From the end of the second world war until the 1960s the 11+ exam was everywhere in England. If you 'failed' the exam you went to a 'secondary modern school'. In those days most of their pupils left school at 15. I believe only Buckinghamshire and Kent have the 11+ now.

[@allenwilliams1306]

Calderdale also has grammar schools, for which they devise their own tests.

[@allenwilliams1306]

@AhmedTheLeftHanded No they aren't. Just clever. The two grammar schools are state schools.

[@ScriptureUnbroken]

The 11+ was no big deal. It basically put you into the stream for starting senior school. The streams were flexible and you could be moved up and down each year (or even term) if it was apparent you struggled to either keep up, or if the pace was too slow for you.

[@TukikoTroy]

Yes, in the comprehensive system, but where I lived we also had a Technical School and a Grammar School so the higher scoring 11+ candidates first streamed into these two choices.

[@keithwarrington2430]

in the 50's and sixties the 11+ was a massive deal, it dictated the kind of education you had from that point on, how long you got it for and what kind of schoolmates you were in classes with. and therefore how well your teachers were able to teach. There was almost no chance of moving up to the Grammar school once you''d failed the 11+ and started at a technical or secondary school( in theory it was possible but due to th previous points it was extremely difficullt ) and almost all state educated pupils that became univerity students got degrees and went on to professional careers came from grammar schools.

[@suewhite4821]

I took it and passed and loved my school. I didn't go on to university right away but went when I was older. I appreciate the grounding they gave me for uni.

[@gaynormainwaring1853]

The 11+ exam was taken in the last year of primary school. It was common place all over the UK and would determine which senior school you went to when you left Year 6 (as it is now). We now have comprehensive schools in most places so the 11+ was phased out. I took the 11+ many years ago and has as already been said, parents were not involved.

[@trampertravels]

I took it 60 years ago and failed much to the disappointment of my highly intelligent parents who wanted me to go into business - I served in the army, owned a couple of businesses and in later life I was a carer and now I am an artist. Life has been enjoyable. I have spent most of my life caring for others.

[@lilacfiddler1]

The 11+ was an intelligence test, and as such was culturally biased, it was possible to practice verbal reasoning and shape tests. Only about 15% of pupils passed it and went on to grammar schools.

[@afpwebworks]

I remember being 11 years old in New Zealand when our teacher told us about the 11 Plus exam. I was APPALLED at the whole idea of having an exam that could dictate what kind of life you had for the rest of your teenage years. I stil feel the same.

[@crackpot148]

Not just your teenage years. For far too many it dictated the course of the whole of their adult lives. Just imagine the immediate effect on self worth at being written off as a dunce at the age of 11. Then imagine the lifelong damage to self confidence it could and did inflict on generations of people. It was a wickedly morale crushing and socially divisive thing. I passed the 11+ and I scored high but thankfully I had strict but loving parents who ensured that I would not think of myself as a cut above those who did not do well. Unfortunately there were some in my social group who thought that way and of those of us still alive there are some who still do so to this day.

[@stevieduggan1763]

Hi Gal. What the sequence is: Mean (ear) Earl. You take the ' ea ' from Mean, and the ' r ' from Earl to make 'ear ' Ergo. Care ( _ ) Gate = Art. ' Ar' from Care, and ' t ' from Gate. 💜🖖🇬🇧🇺🇸🤔

[@garymatthews4323]

Wow that makes much more sense than how I did it , but I still got them all correct, I never learned that at school just hours and hours in a boring job and a giant book of logic puzzles.

[@stevieduggan1763]

@@garymatthews4323 It doesn't matter how, Gary. Well done, mate. 👍🖖

[@alanalderson1427]

I passed in 1973 and went to a Grammar School. It was an accurate assessment of kids abilities back then, since only the top kids in the class during the year actually passed. The thickies went to Secondary School. The verbal assessment tests were simple, not taught or studied. I cannot believe you could not see the patterns in the questions which were glaringly obvious even to an 11 year old.

[@Richard_Ashton]

I took this back in 1963. I went to \ Grammar School. It catered for all the children in 4 or so towns (Stalybridge, Hyde Mossley, Dukinfield and Ashton). 'Grammar' was short for 'Latin Grammar' and I learned Latin for three years before swapping out with other subjects to a smaller group for examinations at age 15 (Ordinary 'O' Level). Ordinary kids but a bit brighter and more motivated than some.

[@laurainelindley9190]

Originally if you passed your 11+ you went to grammar school, better educated than a secondary school 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@stephendisraeli1143]

I took the 11-plus in 1962. Over about three days, I think. I do know that the maths test would have had no geometry (not on the primary school curriculum) but would certainly have included "mental arithmetic" (i.e. completing simple additions, multiplications etc. without writing down the intermediate steps).

[@stephendisraeli1143]

P.S. I think also the English test would have been hot on grammar; I remember being well-drilled on the correct usage of "lie" and "lay" in the different possible meanings.

[@spacemonkey986]

COW (NOW) WIND (N) is the 3rd Letter of WIND, (O) is the 2nd letter of COW, (W) is the 3rd Letter of COW and 1st Letter of Wind So SEAM ( ) PITY using the above code to break Enigma 3rd letter of PITY is T 2nd Letter of SEAM is E 3rd Letter SEAM is A or the 1st letter of Pity This would Spell either TEA or TEP so the word is "TEA" as TEP isn't an option.

[@brianbeag]

I got all correct, as far as was shown in the video. I also passed my 11+ in 1955. Yes, we were specifically coached in methodology and to begin with, the 11+ class was preselected. There were 48 kids in my class and 47 passed the exam. Back then the reasoning tests were called ‘intelligence’ tests. Make of that what you will!

[@blacktronlego]

You're not expected to be able to work all of these things out in your head, you would have paper and pens. In the Verbal reasoning, in the example some of the letters from the middle word are in the first word and some from the last word, in the answer you need to choose the letters in the same positions from the two other words to get the middle word. It took me a little while to work this out, students would probably have done some questions like this in preparation for this test, in fact they may well have done previous years tests as preparation. We had books of sample tests.

[@hubertmicallef7699]

It is probably even easier than that - if I reasoned it out correctly (which I am not sure since the answers for that particular test were not shown), the words follow a specific pattern eg 3 letter VCV (V=vowel/C=consonant). It is just a matter of finding the same pattern equivalent in the answer list (only one of the words should qualify).

[@andrewmcewan8081]

you would have been expected to do that in your head when i was that age . there were very few grammer schools in scotland by then , i'd have been the ade for the 11plus around 1980, but we were given streeming exams to see if you which grade of o level class you went into . if they didn't think you could pass o levels you were put into the first year of standard grade classes as they were changing to that system because exams were supposed to be too difficult and made some kids too stressed . this just ment that a different group of kids would be favoured by the continuous assesments of standard grades that replaced the exams.

[@GeoffRiley]

There was a time in the dim and distant past when you could purchase books of Verbal and Non-verbal reasoning tests… I enjoyed them so much that I used to just work through them for fun. I never did have to take the 11+ for real, but I would have easily passed it long before the age of 11 because I was a real smart Alec! 🤣

[@grahvis]

There was a chap who spent some time recovering from an illness. To pass the time he did IQ tests and found his score increased over time as he practiced them.

[@ScriptureUnbroken]

@@grahvis That was me. I was off school for 3 months with glandular fever.

[@Psylaine64]

I loved those too

[@Lily-Bravo]

Very brave to do this in front of an audience. I just love doing this type of puzzle, but if you don't it is very daunting.

[@sarahjf69]

When I was young the 11+ was compulsory. I was expected to pass and go to grammar school, but missed a pass by 1 mark. So I went to a secondary modern instead, feeling like a huge failure and a disappointment to my parents. My little brother did go to grammar school which just rubbed it in!! When my kids were that age I would not let them take the 11+ at all, because I did not want them to feel the way I did. It's not compulsory now. They went to a comprehensive school, and did just as well. No child should be put through that stress.

[@gemoftheocean]

@@MsVanorak how unkind and unfair. See if you can find a social worker to help.

[@strawberrykisses8138]

it is not mandatory

[@lesleynelson7708]

I was the first year in my area that didn't take it (1977) At that time, a pass meant you went to 'High School' and did O'levels, and a fail meant you went to 'Secondary Modern' and did CSEs which were a lower level

[@jovianr900]

My secondary school used internal streaming: sets 1 through 5, 1 being for the most academically inclined, 5 being for the least so inclined - typically those who had failed to attain the minimum expected level of achievement at the end of primary school. The set to which we were assigned on entry in the 1st year was determined by tests like these taken at the very end of primary school. The big difference between this system and the older grammar school system was that the initial set assignment was provisional. Kids moved up and down especially during the 1st two years depending on continuous assessment and end of year exams. One boy was initially placed in set 5 and finished in set 1 by his fifth year with 9 O levels. He went on to take A levels and go to university. People in set 2 and below were not expected to go to university, rather become unskilled or semi-skilled workers or enter some form of vocational training such as an apprenticeship or join the armed forces, police or fire service on leaving. This was in the days when maybe only 10% to 15% of people would go to university.

[@bigreddraggin4443]

for verbal reasoning the trick is to make a word out of the 2 words beside it so in cows [now] wind, now uses the middle 2 letters of cows and the 3rd letter of wind the middle 2 letters take the place of the last 2 letters of the answer and the third letter takes the place of the first letter so the answer for seam [ ] pity would use the ea of seam as the last 2 letters and the t as the first letter so answer = tea you just have to work out which of the letters are used in which position.

[@lottie2525]

For verbal reasoning you just have to spot where in the word the same letters occur so e.g. COWS and NOW 'OW' is the same and they are the second and third letters of the word COWS, then the N of NOW is the third letter of the second word WIND. Therefore pick the second and third letters of SEAM = EA and add the third letter of PITY = T to the front of EA so the answer is TEA. And now have a cup of tea and relax :)

[@daviddogsbody]

Took mine in the 60’s. The school streamed the pupils over the 3 prior years. The top 2 classes were tutored to pass the exam the other classes were not. Everybody in the top class passed, most in the next class passed and virtually no one in the other classes passed. I failed and went to secondary school. Ended up with a degree in Engineering and a Masters in computer science.

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

When I was at school in the UK, the 11+ was uniformly taken across the country. Depending on the examinations board, between 20 and 30 percent of pupils passed the exam and went on to the local grammar school. However, there was a chance for about 10 percent of those who "failed" to be promoted to grammar school after a year if they excelled at their secondary modern school.

[@davidfaraday7963]

Likwise. I passed the 11+ after a good deal of coaching from my Dad, but my younger brother didn't. So I went to the Grammar school while he went to the Secondary Modern. I spent my career working for a large company and retired with a reasonable pension. My brother set up his own business, made pots of cash and now has a far higher standard of living than me. Go figure!

[@MrBulky992]

At my grammar school, after 2 years, 2 boys out of 150 were involuntarily "relegated" to the secondary modern school on grounds of not being able to keep up. There was a 13+ exam for a further intake from the secondary moderns of another 30 boys who were offered a restricted curriculum which, most likely, covered woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing, maybe art too but no latin or modern languages.

[@TheEulerID]

When I did my 11+, in Bucks, it was long enough ago that we had to deal with pounds, shillings and pence. Nothing like a bit of multi-radix arithmetic to spice things up.

[@zak3744]

16:20 "However, a helmet could save your life if you [WERE] an accident." I'm going to argue that this should be an alternative correct answer. Bike helmets are equally effective at preventing injury whether or not your parents planned to have you. 😂

[@zebj16]

10 out of 10 for English but minus several 100 for biology 🤪👍

[@Meganstoy]

I'd give it to you. It all depends on the context of the discussion.

[@paulmidsussex3409]

I am reasonably sure if your father went around in a cycle helmet he would never have offspring.

[@rayjennings3637]

The children were stressed out about the exam because of the pressure being put on them by their parents. I passed my 11Plus back in 1958 with no pressure at all from my parents and to me, it was just another series of tests. Of course, I knew what it was all about but to be honest, although I now appreciate my education at Grammar School and it has stood me in good stead, over the years, I would have preferred to have gone to a tech school. I left school at the end of my 4th year, having taken no GCEs and after a little less than two years, I joined the Army and trained to be a Vehicle Mechanic. Totally agree with the reasoning tests. I find it amazing that I became a successful training manager, running my own company and now, at 73 years of age I marvel at how I could have got through life without knowing about verbal reasoning!

[@phoenix-xu9xj]

I took it in 1964. Pressure. Had 2 sister who had passed before me .

[@rayjennings3637]

@@phoenix-xu9xj At least I had one of the few benefits of being an only child!

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

It's taken at age 10 years old in Junior/Primary school, before moving to Secondary/Grammar school, I took the 11 Plus exam.

[@DianneDuggan-sn5si]

I took this exam in 1956 and passed it

[@notvalidcharacters]

The nonverbal test especially is bogus, as there are multiple answers that work. In #1 for example the answer is, or could be (e) on the basis that, while the two figures on the left are both blank inside AND contain small squares, the upper right is shaded and contains no small square, therefore the missing quadrant should also be blank inside and contain no small square.

[@daftirishmarej1827]

Those who took the exam (myself included) will have had the lessons to prepare for it so don't beat yourself up about it. Also, there was a choice of going to Grammar school. There were fewer and fewer as time went on, so it became an exam to see which class level you would be placed in.

[@Catoperatheater]

I totally disagree. We never had lessons to prepare for the exam and I don't remember anyone choosing to attend a comprehensive (new) school or secondary modern over a grammar school. ALL classes (no pun intended) were students in my grammar school and the students were NOT snobs they were just clever enough to pass the exam and god knows we need educated people to run our country.

[@kingoftadpoles]

Passed my 11+ and had the choice of local excellent state schools, including one of great renown. I took the nearer one because it was within walking distance... to save my parents the bus fare...

[@franciscook5819]

Brave performance from you - amusing, too. I loved your candour. Regarding the efficacy of the test, it is designed to stream kids into academic and "less academic" or "vocational" paths. There is a (or used to be) a 13plus exam to give kids wrongly streamed a path into the correct stream. Also, kids can simply be recommended for a move by the teaching staff where there has clearly been some sort of mistake (e.g. the student had a bad test but performs brilliantly academically in their school). Most UK counties are now comprehensive (so grammar and secondary schools are a thing of the past) so no need for the test. Also, it ultimately doesn't mean much because it is perfectly possible to have a brilliant academic career having failed the 11plus - if you have the talent it will come out. For an obviously intelligent and very articulate young adult, I was surprised by your difficulties - but then you were doing it live, and recording it, which would have thrown me for a loop. The maths should have taken an adult about 2 - 5 seconds each (simple mental arithmetic). The English no more than about ten seconds. The verbal reasoning (which I can accept stumped you because you had never seen anything like it) about ten seconds. The trickiest is the non-verbal reasoning and it greatly depends upon the ability to see abstract patterns. I'd guess an adult should take less than 30 seconds for each and usually about ten seconds. Anyway, well done to you for braving the test.

[@thefiestaguy8831]

3 was actually very easy... you don't need pen and paper if you ask me... it's quite straightforward. 10 buzz at 5.50 = 55 5 flat tops at 9.00 = 45 Total of £100. He's earnt £144. The difference is £44. Now we know he's done 4 mohawks.... so £44/4 = £11. E

[@martinstent5339]

As far as I recall, (it was the 1960s) nobody had any preparation. We took it cold, and we passed or not depending. My parents had promised me a new bicycle if I passed, so I was motivated to do my best.

[@lizvickers7156]

My mum took the 11+ and passed to get into grammar school. The only problem was my nan wouldn't let her go as she said it would be too expensive so she ended up going to the mainstream school. My brother passed the 11+ too and did go to grammar school. My mum and brother two of the cleverest people I know.

[@pixiepetal-jennie2038]

I am almost 60 and at 11 was too scared to take the 11+ exam, we had a choice. I knew only 2 children from my school would be allocated a place at grammar school if they wanted it and also knew the son of a maths teacher and all round clever kid would be one so didn’t see the point going through it. I think I would have passed though

[@WorldbreakerHulk1390]

You were bumbling around a bit so I was pretty impressed you got 9/10. In all fairness, the one you got wrong is contentious. Rounding is more about convention rather than something essential to mathematics itself. Mathematicians and statisticians have slightly different preferences because it makes their particular kind of work more convenient. I think the question was really testing whether the child is able to follow the taught preference rather than whether the child understands rounding itself. Interesting video. Thanks.

[@neilmorrison7356]

I just missed the 11 plus. However the school I went to was second level, the system in Scotland was slightly different. The school Dux my first year there who had failed his 11 plus was going to Oxford to study maths on a scholarship and later became a professor of Mathematics so it was a flawed system.

[@zuzax1656]

I'm from the US too but have had to take these tests before. Except for the 'fill in the word to make the sentence correct' and the punctuation questions, these are all about pattern recognition. With the ones you had to choose which word goes between them, the pattern was each word uses 2 letters from the one before. So, the middle word would have 2 from the first, and the last had 2 from the middle word. With the grid-style 'find the missing one' it is about the positions of the shapes, both horizontally and vertically. Once you figure the pattern out, it is then just a process of elimination.

[@suewalksthebluffs]

I passed the 11 Plus in 1962. I don’t recall any kids getting stressed about it. Most in my class said they didn’t want to pass. They wanted to be with their friends in secondary school, finish school a year sooner than grammar school, and go on to a trade school or job. Most girls just wanted to work a few years until they got married. Four out of 60 kids passed (I was one of two girls) - it was no surprise, everyone could have picked out the four ‘brainy’ kids without a test. I loved grammar school. I made new friends and was academically about mid-range. Sadly, my family left England when I was almost 15. No more grammar school, my education crashed…along with me 💔😢😭😢

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

I honestly found your reactions in this video to be the most amusing I have seen on your channel. Btw " " are inverted commas. You guys call them quotation marks. (But they're not only used for quotations. They're used in cases such as to denote titles within prose, and in cases such as....the word "found" in my first sentence is a verb).

[@amyw6808]

You wouldn’t write “found”. You would write ‘found’. Same with titles: you’d write, Jane Austin wrote ‘Emma’.

[@ScriptureUnbroken]

@@amyw6808 Exactly, those are inverted commas. What TAK did was use quotation marks, lol.

[@GillianBergh]

The 11 plus was the scariest exam. In my family - failing was as disgraceful as becoming an unwed mother. I was grateful that my family moved to a town where they had comprehensive schools when I was in my last year of primary school (year 6).

[@alexfairley3063]

I am 66 years old Scotsman and did Al questions in my head, in plenty time. Geez! You struggled lol😂

[@PaintedBothways]

I'm 36 and got all the ones we saw in this video right. I also got 100% as a kid in my real 11+ exams (except the non fiction essay... I wrote a really gory story about vampires and it got super weird and they didn't like it or find it appropriate so marked me down for that section of the exam, hahahaha). I used to really love non verbal reasoning puzzles and would do them for fun at home too. I'm definitely a big old nerd though, lol.

[@ethelmini]

Could it have had something to do with vampires being fictional?

[@Nowhereman1953]

Oh yes I remember it well & when my teacher found out I was taking it they virtually laughed in my face. I failed it so guess they were right.

[@raystewart3648]

There was no working it out in my school way back when, we just had to figure it out in our heads. Did not past the first time, but did the second time. 11+ Began in 1944, did you know that.

[@NickLea]

As others have said, this isn't very common any more. It used to be national but was largely given up in most areas of the UK in the 1970s and 1980s. (Where I live, the last 11+ exam was held in 1975). A small number of grammar schools remain (about 4% or 1 in 25 schools) and these are mostly around Kent, Surrey, Birmingham and Lincolnshire although there are also grammar schools in other areas as well.

[@cloverite]

The school I worked at tested kids in year 7 to determine their levels. This was because Ofstead will fail a school if students don’t improve during a school year, and Junior schools were inaccurately scoring students so kids were coming to the school with a higher grade than they should have making it look like they made no progress when they were tested in year 8.

[@Golightly354]

I took and passed mine 55 years ago aged 10. I then had to sit entrance exams to a selection of Grammar schools over a few Saturday mornings before getting into the school that my mother preferred. I was the only girl in my school who passed the 11 plus and I had a really bad final term at my primary school because my friends were all going to the secondary modern school.

[@derningtona]

My grandmother paid for me to go to three different private schools before I was 11 but there was no private school for boys in the town and I would have had to travel to a nearby town if I didn't go to the grammar school. I was entered for the exam but had to sit it in a state primary school. When I got home I was asked how it went and I told my family that the school had posters on the walls and pet animals (my private school had a few busts of philosophers) and they were sure I had spent the time looking at the posters. I fortunately passed and went to the grammar school.

[@jovianr900]

The main problem with those verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests is not being used to taking them. This results in fluster which reduces your score below what you actually are capable of. This kind of one shot testing is designed to maintain class distinctions by ensuring that children from people already towards the upper end of the social scale are more likely to pass because their parents will have arranged lots of practice and supplementary tuition whereas parents in the lower social classes probably won't have the resources to do that. A fairer approach is to have flexible internal streaming rather than one shot only selection.

[@NigelWest1950]

You can also have mixed ability teaching. Research shows this to be more successful than streaming

[@jovianr900]

@@NigelWest1950 Really? Can you provide a link or reference to this research? Your assertion goes against the views of the teachers I know, but of course, a body of credible independent peer reviewed academic research would carry more weight. In any case, its hard to see how you could combine in a single class the fundamentally different academic and vocational programmes in a single class involved in my example. Also, even in streaming the classes are mixed ability (unless you had the impractical extreme of one pupil per stream) as all children are different. In practice, its a matter of the degree of mixed abilities in the class.

[@dougaltolan3017]

My parents were skint, I passed 11+,did OK at O level, stormed A Level, and dropped out of university.

[@dougaltolan3017]

​@@NigelWest1950pish! The thickos seriously damaged my O level chances.

[@cragraven8949]

In my day, my working-class parents didn't arrange any extra tuition, they just gave me their time and sat with me to work out these kind of questions. There's no financial or class distinction involved, just parenting.

[@stevebeardsmore3303]

I took the 11 plus in 1967 and passed about 1 in 5 kids did. However at the time I felt it was wrong to tell my classmates who did not pass that they had failed and age 11 they were more or less told that they were failures. Those of us who passed were called up onto the stage in frount of the whole scholle and applauded by those who had not. The whole of idea of the Junior school as they were called at the time was to get as many kids to pass the 11 plus as possible. Thank God my town got rid of it in the mid 1970s.

[@Andy_U]

Hiya. Regarding the verbal reasoning, basically, the letters in the middle word relate to their positions within the words on either side. In the first example, the 'N' in WIND and the 'OW' in COWS give you the word NOW. So, if I remember correctly, the middle word you're looking for in the other set is TEA. Hope my explanation is OK. Stay safe. All the best to you.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Ahhhh, that makes sense! Will have to try again knowing what I'm doing. My mind was going in a ton of different directions on what I could possibly be looking for in the pattern!

[@davidhyams2769]

@@GirlGoneLondonofficial But that's the whole point! You're meant to spot the pattern and you didn't. Having it pointed out to you defeats the purpose of the test.

[@lindsaymckeown513]

We did an IQ test in Scotland, I loved puzzles, reading, and would count things and look for patterns when bored on a car or bus journey. I got a stupidly high score which did not reflect my ability to do life!!

[@iallso1]

The 11+ exam offers those children who are better at this type of test the opportunity to attend a Grammer school, although even a child passing the exam can choose to go to a High school. Those kids that went to the High school (in my school anyway) were put into streams based an their perceived academic ability. Over the first 3 years of high school this streaming was adjusted for different subjects based on performance, and this guided which exams you studied for during the 4th and 5th years, O levels or CSE, (it all changed shortly after I left in '85). The streaming was designed to enable those of greater ability to progress more rapidly without being delayed by the less academic or the more disruptive elements. However the outcome of exam results are not determined by the results of the 11+ exam or which stream is selected for you but by the work put in by the student and how that relates to the (again in 1985) how well you retain and regurgitated information in a way that matched the exam style of the day. Hopefully these days there is more appreciation of different learning styles and a more balanced approach to assessment of a child's understanding of what has been learned.

[@58jennypenny]

We all did this, my dad did this in 1938 too, it's the time thing that got lots of us to be honest, not long enough.

[@peterjackson4763]

I took the 11+ in 1969 and passed it. It was on the way out so only part of the class took it depending on where we lived. We had done a similar test the year before and weren't told the consequences so weren't worried. Everyone got into the grammar school but that was determined by an entrance exam. Passing the 11+ meant the council paid rather than my parent's having to.

[@wonhung]

I never took it (Various reasons) I've worked as an Electronics Engineer (SONAR/RADAR construction & repair), Software Engineer (Advertising software), In Local Council, In TV Film Making (Directing, editing & camera operator) and Music among other things.

[@robertmatthews6532]

A lack of knowledge is not ignorance, an unwillingness to learn is. Most 11 yrs olds went into that exam cold, however those parents who could afford it privately educated their children, cramming for two years or so for this exam, some of those who failed were sent to private schools. DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS.

[@meezursrule]

You don't have to take the exam here in Yorkshire. You have the option to go to a comprehensive school for all academic abilities. But if you want to go to a grammar school where the emphasis is on high academic achievement, you need to take the 11+.

[@flybeeson7950]

That was very funny! I took the 11 plus in 1962 I think (It was a long time ago). I passed but I’m not sure I could pass this one without some after hours tuition! The verbal reasoning was OK, but the non verbal was so stressful, and I had a career in engineering ( embarrassing) - obviously the years have taken a toll that I hadn’t appreciated up to now!

[@kenslater7354]

I am 66 years old. I scored 92% and could have gone to grammar school but my parents put me in the local comprehensive school where (because of my 11+ score) I started in the top stream (of 6). This comprehensive school actually had a better record for students going on to university than the grammar school.

[@WillowFae]

With the verbal reasoning one the word in the middle was made of of letters taken from the words on either side. You needed to work out what the position of each of those letters were in the example and do the same thing. COWS (NOW) WIND This took the N from position 3 in Wind, the O from position 2 in Cow, and the W could be either position 3 in Cows or postion 1 in Wind. Your words were as follows: SEAM (?) PITY So your word would have either been TEA or TEP. TEP wasn't on the list so we have to assume that they were taking the last letter from position 3 in Cows making the answer TEA

[@MadnessQuotient]

Close but not quite there on the rule being applied. The rule gives a specific answer so your TEA or TEP guess step can be eliminated Take the middle 2 letters of cOWs to make the last 2 letters of nOW and the 3rd of wiNd to make the first of Now = NOW Following the same rule we take the middle 2 letters of sEAm and the 3rd of piTy to make TEA MEAN (EAR) EARL -> CARE (___) GATE Take the middle 2 letters of mEAn to make the first 2 letters of EAr and the 3rd of eaRl to make the last of eaR = EAR so cARe -> AR_ . gaTe -> __T = ART .'. CARE (ART) GATE OPAL (OAR) PORE -> DEAL (___) LAME OpAl (OAR) poRe -> DeAl (DAM) LaMe (1st, 3rd, 3rd) Presumably similar rules could have been extracted for the following questions which were skipped

[@johnlbirch]

I took the 11+ in Lancashire in 1972, and I passed. We did practice papers every morning for weeks beforehand, so you recognised the type of question. It is very unusual as it is designed to fail most children that take it. Only 3 out of 30 children in my class passed.

[@bermudagirl50]

I sat the eleven plus in Scotland in 1969. I remember being given a book of practice questions before hand by my parents. Can't remember much about the test but I did pass so got a choice of two senior secondary schools in Aberdeen. I do remember the headmaster telling us not to worry about the test as he dished out the papers! If I remember it also decided which stream you went into at secondary school, but I'm not sure about that.

[@keithorbell8946]

I live in the Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, this is only one of the 10 authorities in GM still to have Grammar Schools. My eldest took the 11+, my youngest didn’t want to. Coming from Tring in Hertfordshire my sister and I could have taken the 11+ for Bucks to go to Aylesbury, but my parents weren’t aware of that, so we didn’t.

[@1chish]

I took my 11+ exam in 1958 and did well enough to go to Grammar School. Its not a 'lah di dah' thing its just that Grammars were more academic and Comprehensives were more practical. It was just a first assessment, it instilled a sense of purpose and kids weren't afraid of being told they should do better. I had friends that moved to Comprehensives and we had kids join from them. I stuck my school out because I found music and singing. I still did 'OKish' when i took my GCE 'O' Level exams at 15 or 16 but I was never going to university. Ended up doing computers after a music career.

[@deannaylor2576]

Wow I remember doing this over 40 years ago. Well done for giving it a whirl.👍

[@brucewilliams4152]

We got rid of the 11+ in Coventry in1972. I still read classics at Warwick uni

[@1TazDanny3]

looks like fun tbh, had a similar test when i was 11-12 to test what direction i could go in in middle school

[@richieixtar5849]

I failed the 11 plus in 62 but my very ambitious parents had me sit two very long IQ tests during childhood... the first I passed with 128 The second with 132 With the mean average being around 95 I think I did pretty well on the intelligence level but not so well in the classroom where I obviously wasn't paying enough attention. Perhaps out of boredom? .. Before retirement I had a very successful career as a backline technician working with most mainstream acts from Madonna through George Michael to Cilla Black and Andrew Lloyd Webber So I had a lot of fun and didnt need most of what I just saw in your test. So worry not... success in life is about personality and common sense as much as academic qualifications.

[@sacredgeometry]

Maths 1: 12/12 (1:45 to spare) English: 13/14 (mis-clicked one of the answers) Verbal Reasoning: 16/16 Non Verbal: 14/14 It's basically an IQ test bundled with a basic maths and english test. The verbal reasoning test is pretty straight forward. Lets look at the one you bailed on: COWS (NOW) WIND So your first task would be finding the letters from the target word (now) in the other words (cows and wind) and assigning indexes for their positions. First Word C(OW)S: So the O here is the only instance of a O found in either word so we can safely say that the second letter i.e. N(O)W relates to the second letter in the first word. The W is ambiguous as there is a w in wind as well as cows. Second Word (W)I(N)D: So the N here is the only instance so we can safely say that the fist letter is the 3rd character of the second word. W is ambiguous as pointed out above. So we have a word that starts with the 3rd letter from the second word which is T, the second letter is the second letter of the first word or E, Seeing as there is only word that starts TE we don't need to worry about the W but just to check, is there a W that aligns with A? Yeah it's the third letter of the first word ... so the answer is TEA. To be fair I just work up and have not had breakfast and 10 minutes was a very tight timer to figure some of these out. I think the test should be done 3 times and the average taken because all sorts of things could make your brain just not want to do this sort of stuff. If you still cant do it after 3 then its pretty fair to say that maybe you arent cut out for complex tasks (or they could just relax the timer a little bit).

[@skeller61]

23:20 The verbal reasoning part you had no clue about looks to me like it can be solved by where the letters in the middle come from in the outside words. The “EA” could either be the middle two letters of the first word, or the first two of the third word. The “R” comes from the third letter of the third word. So, given the choices, take the “AR” from CARE and the “T” from GATE, and you get d. ART (since GAT isn’t a choice).

[@roylee763]

You’re so funny😂! That was an amusing watch and I got nervous for you too.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Thanks so much for watching me fail the 11+, Roy, haha! Glad you enjoyed. ;)

[@GirlOfTheTardis]

Verbal reasoning it was just a letter pattern, so the middle word was for example: the middle two letters of the first word, with the third letter of the third word at the end, no different from a number pattern