Hi, You stayed at the school you were attending until you was 15 when you left. Trade schools were popular. It was a way of separating people into work skill areas to some extent. Those who were not considered clever enough to pass their 11 + were blue collar workers, tradespeople, unskilled workers and those who went onto a higher education were expected to become professionals or white collar workers. Of course it didn't work out that way. We spent several weeks attending after school lessons by a dedicated teacher anxious to coach us in the style of the 11+. It was similar in many ways to the quiz books one can buy. It wasn't a true test of ones ability but rather suited those who could master these tests easily. It wasn't a good thing at all as it segregated and left some (often boys) feeling they weren't good enough. My husband didn't pass his 11+ yet he had the top model of his Apprenticeship year at Leeds and he passed his Trade certificate. I left school on my 15th Birthday (which happened to be just before Christmas) because I decided I wanted to work in an Office and I couldn't learn Shorthand and Typing at the school I was in and I didn't feel my parents could afford a non worker anyway.. After coming to Australia in 1966, married with 2 children I applied for a position at our trade school teaching typing and office skills and from that I was encouraged to do my Bachelor of Education and I have a High School Teaching Certificate with a major in English and History. (and I never went teaching again once I had the paper qualifications because life circumstances sent me in a different direction). My husband is a capable speaker and he is a very intelligent man particularly gifted in anything practical and he is also computer literate. The scars from those early school days are very real in many men in particular who did not enjoy school and were only too happy to move on.. Here in Australia we have school for all moving from entry to Year 12 and then on to Uni or college and these days you can't even leave school until you are 16 and they are trying to raise this to 17 yet nothing has been done to make school appear any more relevant to many of the students who don't want to go to Uni and we scream out that we have a skill shortage as there is nothing done to train. Hopefully this is changing. As I started off saying my grandchildren have no idea that what seems normal to them was a privilege to us and my parents. Jean in S. Australia. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andy Micklethwaite" <jna74m@dsl.pipex.com> To: <west-riding@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 4:14 PM Subject: Re: [WRY] Royds School > At 05:30 19/06/2007, Jean wrote: >>We lived at Linthwaite when I took the 11+ (as we called it), > > So if you'd failed the 11+, which school would you have gone to? > > Best Wishes, Andy. > From the Holme Valley a decade later. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WEST-RIDING-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >