1963 - St Patricks - 11 Plus Exam

[pyramid60 10]

My recollection as a pupil of St Pats, Sheffield Lane Top is that I did not take the 11+ exam in 1963 but instead went to Ecclesfield Grammar School for a day on what now seems like an extended IQ test. I managed to tick the boxes as I was accepted to Notre Dame in Sheffield.

 

In a recent discussion with friends from those Notre Dame days it seems they did take the 11+ exam but they were from the Birley side of Sheffield. I wonder was I just in a different Education Authority that was trying a new approach - to move away from a formal exam...... or is my memory playing tricks.

 

Can anyone help?

[Andyman 10]

I left St Pat's in 1962 and definitely took an 11+ to go on to De La Salle.

My sister left in 1964 and also took the 11+, went to Notre Dame.

 

Would seem odd if nothing in '63

 

Andy

It's All Too Beautiful

[rosemary19 10]

Wasn't it the case that only selected pupils sat the 11 plus exam at that time?

[pyramid60 10]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I agree ...if there was an exam in 1962 and 1964 - it seems odd if there wasn't in 1963. Perhaps I just don't remember taking it or maybe I did but on that 'away day' to Ecclesfield Junior and Infants - not the grammar as mentioned before.

 

Thanks again

[maryjane 11]

left in 65 and also took 11 plus, however, the entire class had yellow jaundice, not at the same time, but it went through us all and 4 of us missed i the exam and had to take it later.

[Agatha 10]

Does anyone remember which exam board was responsible for the 11 plus exam? If you passed the 11+ did you get a letter or a certificate? Does it say on the document?

[jstarr 10]

Does anyone remember which exam board was responsible for the 11 plus exam? If you passed the 11+ did you get a letter or a certificate? Does it say on the document?

 

You were sent a letter on a specified day - I'm sure mine arrived on a Saturday,and on the following Monday everybody in my class at Primary School was talking about it(49 of us in J4A at Abbey Lane ,and we all passed -imagine having 49 in a class now!)

Anyway, I have a clear memory of the postman waiting at the door as my Dad opened the envelope ,to see if I'd passed - luckily I had!

[TORONTONY 10]

You were sent a letter on a specified day - I'm sure mine arrived on a Saturday,and on the following Monday everybody in my class at Primary School was talking about it(49 of us in J4A at Abbey Lane ,and we all passed -imagine having 49 in a class now!)

Anyway, I have a clear memory of the postman waiting at the door as my Dad opened the envelope ,to see if I'd passed - luckily I had!

 

I00% pass rate is pretty amazing, In my year(1956), I think there were 5 out of about 35.

[Agatha 10]

Do you know where the letter came from? Do you know which exam board it was?

[jstarr 10]

I00% pass rate is pretty amazing, In my year(1956), I think there were 5 out of about 35.

 

All we did for the whole of that year was work towards the 11+ .We had three books - I think they were brown, green and blue ,one for Maths(we called it arithmetic!) one for English and one for Aptitude. There were also more difficult versions of the same books with small white spots on the covers.Parents had to buy them (from Andrews behind the City Hall),school didn't supply. We had homework from these and every Friday were tested on them. Tedious, but you could say it paid off! When the 11+ days actually arrived(I'm sure there were two exams) the questions all looked and felt familiar.

[soft ayperth 11]

You were sent a letter on a specified day - I'm sure mine arrived on a Saturday,and on the following Monday everybody in my class at Primary School was talking about it(49 of us in J4A at Abbey Lane ,and we all passed -imagine having 49 in a class now!)

Anyway, I have a clear memory of the postman waiting at the door as my Dad opened the envelope ,to see if I'd passed - luckily I had!

 

You didn't need to open the envelope to know whether you'd passed or not. A large brown envelope meant "yes," a small white one "no." Inside the brown envelope was a letter stating which grammar school you had been assigned to. In my case it was High Storrs.