Posted on: March 22nd 2019
Here at Norfolk House, we prepare pupils in a number of ways for the 11+ examination process and for their senior school of choice. Form 6 pupil Holly P, has been reflecting on the process:
The children in this year’s Form 6 have fulfilled many achievements in the 11+, but behind these victories there have been enormous amounts of support from teachers, parents and friends alike. Teachers have given up their breaks and more to get us to where we are. The amount of progress made from Form 5, the beginning of the process, to now, is incredible; this is not only owed to the pupils, but the teachers and their incredible determination, motivating us whenever it was needed.
Parents have been working with our teachers to help us in the best way possible by going through things at home, and getting the resources such as textbooks to complete at home for extra help.
We were encouraged to be ambitious, given work that challenged us, and were assured that mistakes are just new ways of learning. Our teachers were always willing to sit with us separately and go over something that we were struggling with.
Also, thinking back to younger years, it proves how much our past years at Norfolk House have immensely helped us in our exams - Reception and Year 1, teaching us basic maths and reading; Years 2 and 3, teaching us written methods in maths and more advanced reading and writing; Year 4, developing our creative writing and grammar; and finally Years 5 and 6, the exam process that determines the next seven years of our lives.
Although discipline in Years 5 and 6 was definitely firmer than that in previous years, it was necessary to ensure we used all lesson time effectively to prepare for our future schools. Teachers were always sympathetic towards us due to the fact that we were under pressure, and were in and out of school with exams and interviews. On top of the prep process, school life has continued and we have been given countless brilliant opportunities: we have been doing fixtures, putting this school on the map by doubling our matches against other schools; going on trips such as our outstanding French trip and stunning trip to the RAF museum; countless charity and community events such as the Festive Fair and our trips to the local retirement home; and musical performances like the Harvest festival and Carols by Churchlight.
We have also been participating in workshops like our Matilda one, projects like Young Enterprise and the Production, and events such as World Book Day, where we met with our buddies and helped them with a project they were doing, and some of us went and read to the two year olds in the Infant Community, which builds our connection with the younger years, another part of our Norfolk House legacy.
Friends and fellow pupils were hugely supportive as well, distracting us from the nerves of exams and interviews, and reminding us of our qualities and strengths when we didn’t get a school, and that it didn’t reflect at all on us. As William Wordsworth said, “The herb that flourisheth most is that that is trodden upon”. This quote is true, as failure, disappointing though it is, has defined us and made us more mature.
Our school ethos has been represented in my peers throughout the process, selflessly caring and supporting each other. Every pupil leaves a legacy behind, be it great achievements, a fantastic attitude, or even causing a change in the school. I know, without a doubt, that every single pupil in Form 6 will leave behind a lasting legacy.
Holly P (Form 6)
