It's been on the cards for quite a while, and now I hear that it will be a reality wef the 2015 Torbay 11+. Farewell GL Assessment plus English and Maths - welcome CEM (see "CEM 11 Plus" elsewhere on this website).

You have my deep sympathy. Pop along to the Redbridge forum to see what a mess they made of it this year. Students sitting the same paper 17 days after thousands of other students as Durham claim the paper is "robust" and can't be remembered in any way. I should start putting in formal requests now that the backup date must be a different paper. DG

No experience of any other, but had twins do the CEM and not sure why the horror about it? Other than dismay at not being able to prepare quite as thoroughly (it's rubbish that it's tutor prof, if only because it still includes verbal, not verbal, long maths, shapes etc etc so you will never lose by practising all those), I cannot see that as a measure of your child's ability to cope at GS it's any worse than any previous exam. What's so bad? It's been like that here for a few years now and seems to me that the right children are in the he right schools, from my limited knowledge ok, but nonetheless, don't think the CEM is the horror it's sold to be.

Are we in reality heading towards, one day, one test for all state selectives? Different grades required for different schools but all sitting the same test?

Plenty of areas have the sane paper for subsequent sittings not just Redbridge, not just one subsequent sitting either but several. Missed tests in Bucks for in county kids are sat in their own primary school as soon as possible after they get well enough,they could theoretically chat about it to their chums in morning registration and then sit the test, the same paper is used again for ooc or new resident sitters in November and then several dates until July.

I wonder if Devon will stand alone or join the reading,Gloucester,Essex group?

Devon currently has GL-based variations on a theme, with the 3 Plymouth, 3 Torbay (plus one "bilateral") and the single East Devon grammar schools flexing the format as they each require it. At this stage, I don't know whether the others all now intend to take the same route as Torbay and use CEM, either from 2015 or from some later date.

Personally, I'm in favour of the change, if it means that the selection process will be that much more fair, although I'm sure that the GL-based process did a good job.

BTW for The Moderators: I see that the "Devon 11 Plus" section of this website shows 120 Year 7 places for Torquay Girls Grammar School. The link which follows confirms that this figure should now be shown as 128. http://www.tggs.torbay.sch.uk/sites/all ... 7-2015.pdf.

Our local grammar school has details of the proposed new selection testing arrangements at this link http://www.churstongrammar.com/about/11-plus/

SB3, some would disagree.

As you were

In that case, I'll be seeking asylum