Is taking 11 plus early for Independent schools a good idea?

[YellowSkyBlue]

I am new to applying and preparing for independent schools. My DS has been given the opportunity to take tests in 6 months time, which is about a year earlier than normal admissions to secure a place. Lockdown has meant that he has covered a lot more of the curriculum. Would you do the tests? Why? Have you done so before? What happened?

[hellooooooooooo]

Is this for 10plus deferred entry. Some schools have always done this- always worth a try!

[YellowSkyBlue]

It's for year 7 entry but exams taken in Year 5.

[disorganisedsecretsquirrel]

No. Because 11+ is a diabolical construct that separates kids aged 10 am for a half .. between those who are 12 .. l

My DD 'failed' her 11+ and if hadn't been for her whole family supporting her and believing in her she wouldn't of gone to Cambridge and done a Maths degree ;she failed her 11+ on English)

The 11* is an abomination.. at that age..

[After8itsgrownuptime]

If you want to, then why not. We did it for DD and she has a place so now, when she sits her 11+ , the stress has gone for her. The 10+ was her second favourite (and my first) so she can still try for her favourite without the anxiety

[hellooooooooooo]

Which school is it? DS got a 10plus place. He didn't end up going there but it was very nice to have a place in all the 11plus madness. Are you in London?

[YellowSkyBlue]

We are outside of London in the South East.

[PettsWoodParadise]

It very much depends on whether they are taking the test with their usual cohort. You say it is early but as someone else has pointed out some schools do advance tests, some have 10+ tests, so it may not be early for them.

DD was offered to go up a year at an independent prep but we decided not to do it as it would mean she would not be with her friends and some girls could have been 18months older. We also don’t know if the advance was a blip or would always be the case.

From my experience lots of children between 3 and 10 may be advanced (or the opposite) by 1 to 3 years compared to their peers, by secondary it evens out a bit more.

I know a few who at one point had the choice of taking 11+ grammar tests early but chose not to. Main reasonings being 1) their DC only has one test chance at the school and 2) age of peers

[hellooooooooooo]

Sounds like deferred 10plus. Nothing to lose unless your son will get upset if he doesn't get a place. Some schools in London have v hard 10 plus as a lot of people sit them for practice.

[YellowSkyBlue]

Thank you all for your replies. I think we are going to be brave and give it a go. It will be daunting but we will gain some experience. Please can you share some tips on how you prepared and what you would if you had 6 months to do it?

[JMG1234]

I'd do the early test and get it out of the way. My kids did 13 plus but my tips would be to look at different schools' 11 plus papers for practice. There's one website (can't remember the name but should come up if you google it) that had amalgamated a whole list of schools' admission papers into one place.

If there's any creative writing, my other tip would be to encourage your child to use interesting vocab and perhaps to think of some good phrases that perhaps could be used in descriptive writing. Also, the teachers told my kids endlessly to focus on description, not on plot, to hit the higher marks.

[YellowSkyBlue]

Just wanted to say thank you you to everyone that posted and advised me on this thread. We went ahead and did 10+. We now have two great offers including a full bursary!