After attending primary school, which I liked, I wanted to go to a Grammar School. But to do that, you had to pass a test called the ‘Eleven Plus’. So on a certain day I went on the bus, by myself, to King Edward’s Grammar School to take the test. King Edward’s was a Grammar School just like the ‘Red Circle School’ in the Rover boy’s comic. Pupils wore blazers with gold badges on their pockets. I think that’s why I wanted to go to a Grammar School, to get a gold badge. There were lots of other boys there to take the test, but I didn’t see anyone from my school. The King Edward’s boys and teachers didn’t seem to think much of us boys from council schools, and mostly ignored us.
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| King Edward's Grammar School, Aston |
I remember there was a statue of ‘King Edward the something’ in the playground. They called it a quadrangle; I’m not sure why - it looked just like a playground. Some boys called Prefects, who wore blazers with a coloured edging on the lapels, lined us up to go inside. We were told that at ‘lunchtime’ we could go to the ‘Tuck Shop’. I knew what lunch meant because I had read about it in the Rover and that’s what Auntie Jess called it. But I knew it was really dinnertime, and Mom had given me two bob to spend.
The classroom was very old and the desks were all carved with boys’ initials of other times. The desks had ink pots and steel nib pens just like at our school. Biros were not allowed, a Master said; it didn’t matter because I hadn’t got one anyway. The Master - they didn’t have teachers - with a big moustache like a walrus, said passing this test was the chance for any boy with a modicum of intelligence, whatever that was, to get into a first class Grammar School. He told us confidentially that it was just basic English, Maths, and so on, some Civic Affairs and some common sense.
He said we must not start the exam until he said so, and if we turned
over the exam paper before that, we would face dire consequences. Then
after a pause, he wished us good luck, and said ‘Begin!’ The Maths questions involved things that I had never heard of, but the English ones were easy, except nobody had told me what an adjective was. The Civic Affairs questions were about who was the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, what was the name of the Prime Minister, who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and things like that. These were things that any normal pupil would know, the Master had said, things that we would have gleaned from any newspaper that one would see at home, or during conversation around the dining table. But contrary to his assumptions, I didn’t know the answers to the Civic Affairs questions. We didn’t have a dining room table at home, nor did we have conversation at dinnertime. And the only newspapers we ever had at home were the ‘Sports Argus’ and the ‘Sporting Buff’. There were lots of questions that I had no idea about. I failed my eleven plus.
SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE ELEVEN PLUS
Arithmetic
1 A man left home at 11.30 a.m. and cycled 5 miles to a railway station at the rate of 12 miles an hour. He waited 10 minutes at the station and then travelled by train a distance of 36 miles at the rate of 24 miles an hour. At what time did he reach his destination?
2 There were 9,975 spectators at a football match. This is 5 per cent more than were present at the preceding match. How many attended the previous match?
General English
1 Write out the following passage again, including only the one correct word from each bracket: The boy (who, whom, what) we met at the baths and (who, whom, what) spoke to (you, I, me) and (you, I, me) is Harry Baines; he (use, used) to live near me and he often (come, came, went) to my house to play with me. He had a good stamp collection; the total number of his stamps (are, was, were) more than three thousand. (He, Him, Me) and (I, him, me) (was, am, were) great friends.
2 Make adjectives from these nouns: beauty, slope, glass, friend, doubt, expense, delight, sleep, danger, sport.
Comprehension
Read the following story from Aesop's Fables, and then answer the questions:
Belling the Cat A large family of merry mice lived happily together in the cellar of a lofty house. Their only enemy was a fierce, black cat, who kept the mice in constant fear of a sudden and cruel death. Even in the dead of night it was not safe for them to stir far from their holes in search of food, and they found much difficulty in getting enough to eat. One day the mice met together to try and find a way out of their plight. 'I will tell you what to do,' said a young mouse. 'Let us tie a bell round the wretched cat's neck, then we can always hear her coming.' On hearing this suggestion all the mice began to squeak with delight, except one old grey whiskered mouse who said, ' The advice is very good, but who will bell the cat?'
Where did the mice live? What feelings had they towards the cat? What did the young mouse suggest should be done to the cat?
General Intelligence/Knowledge
The leader of a Guide patrol is named Mary Jenkins; so her surname is Jenkins, her Christian name is Mary, and her initials are M.J. There are 6 other girls in her patrol; each has 2 initials. Surnames: Brown, Smith, Evans, Clark, Jones. Christian names: Molly, Celia, Gwen, Ruth, Sally. Two girls have surname and Christian names beginning with the same letter; two others are named Ruth. One of the twins has the same initials as the leader, and the other has the same Christian name as Evans. Write down each girl's full name.
ANSWERS
Arithmetic
1. 1.35 p.m. 2. 9,500 spectators
General English
1. The boy whom we met at the baths and who spoke to you and me is Harry Baines; he used to live near me and he often came to my house to play with me. He had a good stamp collection; the total number of his stamps was more than three thousand. He and I were great friends.
2. beautiful, sloping, glassy, friendly, doubting, expensive, delightful, sleeping, dangerous, sporting/sporty
Comprehension
The mice lived in the cellar of a lofty house. The mice had feelings of enmity and fear towards the cat. The young mouse suggested that the cat have a bell tied round its neck so they could hear it coming.
General Intelligence/Knowledge
1. Celia Clark Sally Smith Molly Jones Ruth Jones Ruth Evans Gwen Brown
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