Year six Tests

By Sam Hilston

            Year 6 was a year that everyone was going to enjoy. But one thing that everyone was dreading was the tests. Everyone knew that these tests were going to be the most important we had sat so far, as they would determine which school everyone went to for at least the next five years. Also, the SAT’s papers that we do after the 11+ would be shown to our new school.

            On my first day of year six, not much was different from my last year at school. We had kept the same classes as last year- we only changed every two years. We had a different classroom, but they are all roughly the same in our school. However, one part of my school life that was going to change dramatically was my teacher. Last year, we had a teacher that was calm and relaxed. We learned quite a bit, but we weren’t forced to be nearly perfect at everything. Our new teacher was the opposite. We were constantly being reminded that we need to learn lots in the short time before our 11+. In the first few weeks, I was pushed to the limits; some nights I felt like my head was going to explode with all the extra knowledge. I soon got used to it and started to remember more and more.

            But before the 11+, I had another test to do. There was another school that I wanted to go to, but it had a different test, as it was outside the normal three preferences that were picked. This test is for testing generally how smart you are. Everyone is put into groups depending on intelligence, and then the places are given away randomly to a certain percentage in each group. I wasn’t worried about this test because it didn’t really matter how well I did- it was luck.

            To do this test, I had to go to the school the test was for at the weekend. While I was waiting for everyone to arrive, I was put in a waiting room with other children my age. After a while, my friend came in. “Hi!” I shouted to him.

            “Hi. Do you know what time it is?” he asked.

            Looking at my watch, I said “five minutes until we go in.”

            “Are you nervous?”

            “A bit, but it doesn’t really matter how well I do- they pick randomly.”

            “I know, but I still want to get into a high group. There are nine groups- nine the best, one the worst” my friend explained.

            “I hope I’m in group nine.” We didn’t get to talk anymore before we took the test. I just went in and did my best.

            By the time Christmas came, I knew a lot more than when I started the year. Unfortunately, thinking about the tests to come made the Christmas holidays seem like it ended as soon as they began. However, my parents did find enough time to test me on a few past 11+ papers. I had to sit down at the table with all the equipment I needed whilst my mum set the timer. Then she left me to do the test. I was practicing on an English paper, as I was really good at maths and science. However, my concentration soon started to slip and I found myself looking at the decorations and the Christmas tree. When I finished and my mum added up the score, I was dismayed to realise that I had only scored just over half. It was at that moment that I realised how much more I had to learn.

            Once we went back to school, we only had a couple of weeks before the tests. These weeks flew by and, one day, I realised my 11+ tests were tomorrow. I went to bed early that night, so I would be fully awake by the morning.

            I woke up about ten minutes earlier than normal. I got out of bed, but something was wrong. I could only see out of one eye; the other was still closed. I ran downstairs to the mirror to see what was wrong. When I looked into the mirror, I saw that my left eyelid was swollen up so much that I couldn’t open it. I would have to sit the 11+ with only one eye, or wait and do it when I was better.

            I ended up going into school to see what they wanted me to do. As I felt ok, and as I could infect other children, they decided to let me sit the 11+ but go home straight after. There were a few parts to the test, so I would have to go to school the next morning too. So, I tried my best, and then went home. That night, this is what I wrote in my diary:

            I can’t believe it! The only two days in the year that I have to be in school, and I catch an infectious disease. I sat the 11+ anyway, but I had to go home afterwards. I didn’t even get a chance to ask my friends how well they think they did. I’m finishing the test tomorrow, but the same thing is going to happen again. I went to the doctor and he gave me two weeks of antibiotics.

            After I had completed the whole of the 11+, I got the rest of the week off school. In this time, I mostly read, watched television and played a few games. It reminded me of when I was younger and had chicken pox; I felt fine, but had to stay at home until I was better. By next week, I could open my left eye again and went back to school. I found it hard to concentrate because all I could think about was my results.

            In February, they came. Not for the 11+, but for the first test I took. This was important because, if I got in, I would have a good school to go to if I didn’t get into a grammar school. When I walked out of school, I got more and more nervous every step I took. When I walked into my house, I saw a big, white letter on the table. When I opened the letter, I scanned it for the information I have been waiting to know for months. I was in group eight, and I was in! Now I knew I would go to this good school, or a grammar school.

            It wasn’t long before March and the 11+ results arrived. I was in an after-school club on the day I got the letter. My mum brought it with her when she came to pick me up. She didn’t tell me she had it until halfway home. I decided that I didn’t want to wait anymore, so I opened it then. I wasn’t as nervous as before because I had already got into the other school, but I was still nervous. I looked at the letter and saw that I had passed the 11+! Not only that, but I had got into the grammar school that was first on my list.

            In May, I finally had my last lot of tests- the SAT’s. These weren’t as important as the 11+, but I still had to do well because the results would be sent to my new school, so they could give me target grades for the end of Key Stage Three. These tests were much easier as everyone took them. When I started the paper, I noticed that two things were different to the 11+. Firstly, the first question was really easy. Secondly, the atmosphere in the room was much more relaxed. In the test, I managed to attempt all of the questions with time to spare.

            Finally, with all of the tests behind me, I could relax for the rest of the year.