Children were sorted into school routes at a young age.
The eleven plus was used to select children for different types of secondary school.
For some it opened opportunity. For others, it created a lasting sense of failure at a young age.
Selection systems can look objective, but they are shaped by class, confidence, preparation, disability, literacy, anxiety and test design.
A child's future should not be narrowed by one test that cannot see the whole child.
A common mistake is treating test results as pure ability. Tests also measure access, support, confidence and fit with the test format.
Who had power here, who was left outside, and what would have changed if the human being was seen first?
These deep dives open out from this part of the timeline.