Eleven Plus Drudgery

Back in 1928 Sir John Adams wrote about children in `Modern Developments in Education Practice.' He wrote:

"The good-old-grinders have on their side the undoubted fact that drudgery has to be faced in this world, and it does not seem an unreasonable contention that our pupils should be made to face drudgery as soon as possible."

Could he have been talking about elements of the eleven plus? It is not hard to wonder just how many bright children have been made to work through paper after paper as part of their eleven plus preparations.

There must be a fine line, at times, between drudgery and maintaining a competitive edge.