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It sa 'a huge step - because children feel about going to big school "? Janet Murray talks to year 6 pupils in Kent who have faced the 11-plus and are on the brink of change

Going to "big school" is a daunting prospect for all 11-year-olds. But for children in the 36 areas that still have selective education, there is also the 11-plus examination to contend with, and the division between those who will go on to grammar school and those who will not. Here, year 6 children who are just leaving St Saviour's primary in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, and their parents talk about their hopes and fears.

Gabriel

Gabriel, 11, is going to Dane Court grammar school in Broadstairs

Over the summer holidays, my mum made me do 40 practice papers for the 11-plus exam. It was torture, but I'm glad I did it, as otherwise I wouldn't have had a clue what to do. Plus my parents bought me a mobile phone for doing them.

I feel like a bit of pressu
again from my family to go through 11-plus. "My mom and dad and went to school, and my father went to Dane Court. I 't want to let them down. I' D got himself in the head I would not avoid ', so I tried delighted with my second choice of school, King Ethelbert, just in case.

It took me ages to get to sleep the night before the exam. On the day, I felt ill and had a dizzy head and I was worried I wouldn't be able to concentrate. My mum cried when she found out I'd passed. I got lots of praise and had my bedroom fully redecorated as a reward.

I was nervous about starting in September, but I spent a day at the school recently and met a boy called Tim from Upton school who is going to be in my class. We got along well, so I'm not so worried now. The school does lots of musical theatre, and has a climbing wall, so I'm quite excited really.

The fact that I am a bit worried about homework. In my induction booklet, he says, you get detention if you do not 't finish their homework. I'm distracted easily, and does not seem to finish everything, so I 'm have to work on it. If I get custody, my parents would kill me.

Alex Hampton-Saint, Gabriel's father

Things have definitely changed since my wife Rachel and I did the 11-plus. I certainly don't remember doing much preparation. I just sat the test and thought no more of it until the letter arrived saying I'd passed.

In those days, because many parents pay for private classes, rather high pressure. We 've taken into account not put in too much pressure on by Gabriel, but we do not pay for the teacher and made him do a little work every day in the summer holidays.

Although we've both done well, we feel that, if we'd applied ourselves better at school, we might have been more successful earlier on in our careers. We just want to give Gabriel every opportunity to succeed.

Ellie

Ellie, 11 is going to King Ethelbert high school, in Birchington

When you see secondary schools on TV programmes, there is always bullying, people taking other people's lunch money, teachers shouting and lots of chaos. I'm hoping it won't be like that.

I don't feel too nervous though, because I've been to King Ethelbert lots of times now. In the term before you go up to secondary school, they run a sort of after-school club every week for new pupils, where you can do different activities and get to know the school. I did cooking and badge-making, but you could do lots of things, including sport.

I took the 11-plus, but I do not 't get it. Most of our group took a year, but only 11 were. We Is not t 'really get much help from the school to prepare, but some people had extra training outside of school.

My parents would have been proud if I had passed, but I didn't feel under any pressure. If I'd passed by just a few marks, I probably wouldn't have gone there anyway, because I find difficult work quite confusing. I'd rather be top of King Ethelbert than bottom of a grammar school.

My parents didn't bribe me to pass the 11-plus, but some parents did. One person was offered £150.

Angela Perry Taylor, the mother Ellie '

We looked at five local schools for Ellie, but we just got a good gut feeling about King Ethelbert. As older parents, in our late forties, we wanted a school that felt like school as we remembered it. King Ethelbert school felt like home.

We weren t 'truly guided, in which children can get 11-plus, so we were open. Ellie gave him leave, but we made it clear in advance that it under no pressure from us.

So far, I'm really impressed with Ellie's new school. We were invited along to after-school taster sessions over a six-week period, which has given Ellie the chance to get used to her new surroundings, teachers and classmates. Parents could join in with the activities, but there were also information sessions on helping your child settle into the new school. That was very reassuring.

Of course you can't help but worry about things like bullying. I know it happens at every school. The important thing is how it is dealt with.

Cameron

Cameron, 11, goes to school King Ethelbert

I'm feeling quite nervous, because it's quite a big step to move to a much bigger school where I'll have at least seven teachers for different subjects. I'm worried about moving around the school for different lessons and whether I'll remember to put the right books in my bag on the right days.

I've been going to the school every Wednesday evening to take part in activities with other new pupils, which has been very helpful. I got to use the Apple Mac computers in maths and made a fire in science, and put it out, so that was brilliant. I've met my form tutor, Mr Gabriel, too. I liked him because he told jokes. A couple of weeks ago, my teacher, Mr Arnold, took a small group of us for an extra visit, so now I feel much more confident. I'll be sad to leave some of my friends behind, though, as some of them are going to different schools.

I did the 11-plus, but I wasn't upset when I didn't pass because I think King Ethelbert is a great school and I was happy to go there. I've got two little brothers, so I'm the first to go to secondary school, which makes me feel quite proud.

The boy, whom I know, in the year 1911 told me that this is a ghost in the school, in the toilet, but I 't think I believe him. I do not t 'really believe in ghosts.

Barry Millen, Cameron's father

Cameron has always struggled with social skills and we've recently found out he may have traits of autism, so we're quite apprehensive on his behalf. He likes routine and can get quite anxious if he doesn't know what is coming up next. The whole concept of moving classes every hour or so will be a big change for him.

His primary school has taken steps to support him, but of course we're worried how he will cope with the changes. We're trying to take out the surprise element, making sure we have answers ready for everything. We are also trying to get him to mingle more with other children, as he tends to keep himself to himself. It's really important that he socialises, as we don't want him to become isolated.

So what will surely be a few sleepless nights for us, but we hope that after the first week, he will regulate.

Tayla

Tayla, 11, is going to Dane Court grammar school

One of my biggest worries is having to start again, going from being at the top of the school to being at the bottom. There are over 300 children here, so it is a big junior school, but there are over 1,500 pupils are Dane Court, so I am worried I might get lost.

When I went for a visit a few weeks ago, we met our form teachers and found out who was going to be in our class. My teacher seemed really friendly and I found out I was with Millie, one of my friends from this school, which I'm really pleased about.

As we were walking round the school, the older pupils kept looking at us, saying we looked really sweet, so I'm not too worried about being picked on. Children in the older years come and look after the year 7s in the first few weeks, so if you're worried about something, and don't want to see a teacher, you can go and see one of the sixth-formers.

Nicola Gaspa, mother Theil '

Tayla is really excited about starting at Dane Court, but nervous, too. She's never travelled on a bus on her own before, so I'll be taking her out to practise during the school holidays. I'm also going to let her go to a shopping centre on her own with her friends for a few hours. She's growing up and I need to start letting her go.

Lewis

Lewis, 11, is going to King Ethelbert school

I didn't take the 11-plus because I thought it would be too hard for me, but some of my friends are going to grammar school. Luckily quite a few are going to King Ethelbert, including one of my closest friends, Josh, who I've known since I was in year 1, but I don't think we'll be in the same class.

My biggest worry is bullying, because you hear lots of stories, like if you talk back to one of the older kids, you might get punched. But I've got an older sister who went to the school and she says it's fine.

It's about half an hour's walk to my new school, so my mum is going to get me a bus pass, but I'm a bit scared, because I've never been on a bus on my own. I might get off at the wrong stop or the older kids might say bad things or swear.

School is cool, because they 've just made a few new buildings and head, Mrs. Gray, who seems very nice and fun. I went to an open evening for new students, and she said that getting a "outstanding" from the inspectors, so I think it should be a good school.

Joe Baker, the mother of Lewis '

Lewis is more of a "hands-on" sort and sometimes struggles with academic work, so we didn't put him in for the 11-plus. Although he might have done OK, we thought he would be crushed if he didn't pass.

We looked round a few schools, but we chose King Ethelbert because Lewis was comfortable there. His older sister has just left the school, so everything was quite familiar to him. When my daughter, who is now 16, started, it was just about satisfactory, but under the new headteacher, Mrs Greig, the school is almost unrecognisable. I can't think of a bad word to say about it.