Discursive prelude
I remember full well, that I left school on my thirteenth, birthday [1899], and the master told my mother, that I was a bright boy, but oh so lazy! Of course it was very fortunate that I discovered what ignorance meant as soon almost as I stepped out of the school ground. Of course one can never really make up for lost time. But then one has to remember that the old London Board School never set out to make scholars. As long as simple arithmetic and elementary spelling were assimilated, the job was done. Believe it or not though, I did not even get that far.
I remember full well, that I left school on my thirteenth, birthday [1899], and the master told my mother, that I was a bright boy, but oh so lazy! Of course it was very fortunate that I discovered what ignorance meant as soon almost as I stepped out of the school ground. Of course one can never really make up for lost time. But then one has to remember that the old London Board School never set out to make scholars. As long as simple arithmetic and elementary spelling were assimilated, the job was done. Believe it or not though, I did not even get that far.
I have
since made attempts amongst other things, to acquire a smattering of Latin, but
with no success. Fortunately I took interest in the French language, and this
gave me my chance on the continent.
From a letter sent to my father by my grandfather,
Joe. Joe started work in 1900, as a signal box clerk, and worked his way up to
become Controller of the Bricklayer’s Arms Goods Depot. Just southwest of
London Bridge, this was the biggest depot in the country, and was under
sustained attack during WW2. Joe was a committed union member, and lifelong supporter of the Labour Party. He attended union conferences in Bellinzona, and that was where his French was valuable. He also made a broadcast speech to the French nation during the war, but had to keep the content secret. What the people of France made of his cockney–accented French we shall never know!
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| Exam Hall, by Farhanif: a finely realised drawing |
[Click on drawing to see its full graphic qualities]
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The 11+ examination is in the news again, and an old controversy under discussion: are children from poorer families disadvantaged in comparison to children from richer families who can afford to pay for extra tuition? Well, children from poorer families will tend to be disadvantaged – extra tuition or not – quite simply because their parents (in many cases) will themselves not be educated to a particularly high degree – and may well not have a book in the house. It has been argued that extra tuition is not particularly helpful, given that the pattern of set questions varies every year. I have no doubt that the latter is the case. However, English and mathematics are core to the exam; sample papers can be bought; mock exams sat; and – for English and mathematics at least – good tuition can certainly be very valuable. Because – basic knowledge apart – if you have thoroughly familiarised yourself with the way in which the questions are set, then you will be very well prepared. And this makes perfect sense. (A comparison can be made here with serious crosswords: if you have no idea how the compiler sets the questions you are unlikely to get very far. Equally with computing: it is baffling in the beginning, but you learn by finding out those things that work, and that are therefore highly likely to work when you are exploring new aspects of the software. However, students who concentrate on technique – learning only so much as is essential – are cheating themselves, as opposed to educating themselves.)
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The 11+ examination is in the news again, and an old controversy under discussion: are children from poorer families disadvantaged in comparison to children from richer families who can afford to pay for extra tuition? Well, children from poorer families will tend to be disadvantaged – extra tuition or not – quite simply because their parents (in many cases) will themselves not be educated to a particularly high degree – and may well not have a book in the house. It has been argued that extra tuition is not particularly helpful, given that the pattern of set questions varies every year. I have no doubt that the latter is the case. However, English and mathematics are core to the exam; sample papers can be bought; mock exams sat; and – for English and mathematics at least – good tuition can certainly be very valuable. Because – basic knowledge apart – if you have thoroughly familiarised yourself with the way in which the questions are set, then you will be very well prepared. And this makes perfect sense. (A comparison can be made here with serious crosswords: if you have no idea how the compiler sets the questions you are unlikely to get very far. Equally with computing: it is baffling in the beginning, but you learn by finding out those things that work, and that are therefore highly likely to work when you are exploring new aspects of the software. However, students who concentrate on technique – learning only so much as is essential – are cheating themselves, as opposed to educating themselves.)
There can too be an additional problem for the ‘parentally pushed’
child: they may indeed succeed in passing the 11+, only to find that they are
in fact out of their depth at grammar school, and unsuited to academic work
(through no fault of their own). Some parents are fixated with the idea that
their children must succeed in jumping every educational hurdle that is put in
their way; and those that fail exams tend to feel that they are failures – tout court. (Even some university
students seem never to get over that fact that they didn’t get an expected
First.)
I confess that I was astounded to find – years ago – that the 11+ still
existed in some parts of the country. Scarcely, it seems to me, has any more
divisive exam ever been devised. You pass or you fail, and that’s it. There is
no middle ground. To be honest, I would have been miserable
at a grammar school: I was a late developer, and had been taught
for years by uninspiring teachers. Consequently, I found myself at a secondary
modern school, keeping company with not a few who were familiar with being kept
in remand or spending time at borstal. I have a feeling too that many of the
teachers felt that they were ‘second class’ – almost, it might be said,
‘failures’ teaching ‘failures’. Certainly the cane and the blackboard rubber
were used with a certain gusto that suggested deep frustration. Oh, wonderful
education! (However, I do affectionately remember Mr Marshall, our science
teacher: he was kind and sympathetic; and such was his personality that he was
respected even by the most disruptive pupils. He had no need of the cane, and I
doubt that he had one.)
A cartoon, which I have not included for copyright reasons, should be at
the forefront of the mind of anyone concerned with educational policy. It shows
a man sitting at a desk in the open air. In front of him are a range of
animals: a bird, a monkey, a penguin, an elephant, a fish in a bowl, a seal,
and a dog. Behind the animals there is a tree, and the examiner is explaining
that “For a fair selection everybody has to take the same exam: please climb
that tree.”That it is too costly to consider each pupil individually I have no
doubt – but just think of the waste to the individual and the nation. Moreover,
problems are stacked on problems and much misery and suffering is caused . . .
The 11+ was, in my time (1950s) somewhat
farcical. No one asked us what we thought about the idea of going to grammar
school. Many need not have sat the exam, because, remembering my fellow pupils,
it was perfectly obvious that the majority would have hated academic study, and
would have been totally unsuited to it. I could have made a very good fist of
choosing who was suitable and who was not!
And by the way, I lived for four years in a house right on the
corner of the road in Brixton where John Major grew up. Cameron, Osborne,
and others from the world of Eton and Oxford can have no idea what it
is like to live in such an area. The analogy of a seesaw is perhaps not quite
the most appropriate; even so, it might well be said that the 'govenmental
seesaw' is so heavily weighted to one side that its hinge is in some danger of
remaining rusty for a long time to come.
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Here below are some example of 11+ exam papers from the
present and the past. Some of the questions might have been set for those
intending to join the security services . . .
www.11plusdiy.co.uk/
Test Papers & Mock Exams To Challenge Eleven Plus Students. Mock Exams
Extract from the BBC NEWS Magazine
Thirty-two years after most grammar schools were
abolished the 11-plus exam which controlled entry to them still divides opinion
among parents and teachers. But how difficult was it?
Once it was the nerve-racking ritual faced by every
schoolchild in the UK, but these days the 11-plus exam is a fading memory.
The exam, which all children were required to take
in their final year of primary school, decided what sort of education a child could
go on to. Those who passed went to grammar schools, while those who failed
didn't. There are now no grammar schools in Wales or Scotland.
In Northern Ireland, this is the last academic year
to have an 11-plus style exam. In England, 164 grammar schools remain, and
pupils wishing to attend must still pass an exam. Competition in these areas is
fierce, and a BBC Radio 4 programme has found parents spend as much as £1,800
on private tuition to help their children. But without paying a penny to a
private teacher, you can have a go by trying our timed mini-version of the
test.
You have 10 minutes to answer 15 questions. Click
the "start" button below and begin.
TIMER: 10:00
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