Revision tips for CE please

I have rarely if ever heard of a child at prep school failing CE - unless the parents have entered them for a school against the advice of the prep Head. So assuming your DS is entered for the right senior school for him, I would relax, let him relax and leave it to the school to manage the revision. Christmas is too early to start for exams in June.

Inthename - does he have to sit any VR/NVR tests as well? Don't neglect those. When are the interviews? I think you said he was flummoxed by his 11 plus interviews - make sure he's read the newspapers and go over those common questions; what do you like about this school, why do you want to come here, if you were the prime minister, super hero, cartoon character, millionaire, what would you do etc?
One last thing - has he had any special mention in school newsletters or local papers re his extra curricular scholarship application, preferably with a photo? If yes, download them or take photocopies and put them in his scholarship portfolio - if it was worth a special mention in the prep school newsletter then you should highlight it and make it seem more real (don't go overboard though, 2 or 3 will do.)

Inthename so he needs to practise his maths and science in order that he can also do ok in maths and science when he is anxious or not feeing clear-headed. As well as what Clavinova says, I would suggest some time pressurised testing of his maths and science after the early revision period. Unfortunately, as you will have told him, he has to realise that he really needs to work at this stage to ensure his place at these schools from a 'bad' exam day

Summer, I assumed that the OP was talking about entrance tests due to the worry of revision over christmas.

inthename sorry when you said CE we thought you meant the standard CE June entrance. If his exams are in January (which we had forgotten) then he needs to do proper work over the holidays.
dodo3 you are /we are confusing you with terminology - school specific pretests (for the competitive boarding schools usually don't need 'revision') and CE (June) or scholarship (spring or summer term) which is done in year 8. CE is used by Eton, Westminster and co which are pretty competitive. The CE at that stage is really mainly for setting purposes since very few who have passed the pretest are likely to fail.

Thank you Happy, we have been there and done that. CE is not respected by schools thats why schools administer their own exams.

I would suggest he studies for at least four hours a day during the Christmas holidays, indie exams are tough and very competitive.

I thought the op's ds had several entrance exams in January plus a CE only school in June - he doesn't have a conditional place yet and needs a bursary as well. His year group have been given revision packs and past papers to do over Christmas and he scored badly in recent mocks - I suggest he 'knuckles down' to some work soon but concentrates on those subjects to be tested in January only over Christmas. OP have you actually seen him revise or does he just retreat to his room? I think you might need to hover over him a bit more and 'test' him regularly on what he has learnt - it sounds as though he needs more support with his revision. You've said in the past that maths is a particular weakness - the only way to improve maths is by doing maths past papers, preferably with the answers so you can mark it for him afterwards and go through his wrong answers. If there's a particular type of sum he/you can't do perhaps someone on here can help if you post the question, or the people on the elevenplusexams forum would be helpful for this - loads of posts asking for help with maths problems over there.

dodo most major independent schools that start at yr 9 require non scholars to sit CE in June. It consists of separate exams testing English, math, at least 1 MFL usually French, geog, the three sciences, RS and Latin (this can be optional), Some schools will have pre tested/interviewed already and offered a conditional place. Each school sets the % a potential pupil will be required to get, some require an average, some a certain % in some subjects e.g. math and English others want the same % on all subjects, fairly obviously the more selective the school the higher the % and also the higher the level required. Parents state their choice of school around Easter, the ISEB write CE and the finished exam papers are sent to your chosen school for marking this takes about 10 days I think. If you fail to get the required mark and therefore are not offered a place at your chosen school, which few do if they've followed the advise given by their prep school, then your prep school head will contact other schools to try and get you a place somewhere else.
Most yr 8's at prep spend most of yr 8 preparing for CE for their chosen school because this is ultimately what parents are paying for.

Competive exams are typically in January. Common Entrance (the qualifying exam for those with conditional offers) is in June.

OP: is he adrift in all papers, or only some subjects? Has the school said anything about holiday revision (maybe issued a revision pack?) because if so, straight bribery for head down and get through it might be needed.

If not, then try the softer approach of encouraging learning through activities: reading a decent newspaper and talking about how current events stories are out together, watching documentaries, watching French children's telly in YouTube, watching the RI Christmas lectures etc could all keep him using his brain without it being too pointed.

I thought all schools had entrance exams in Jan

My boy is only year 7 buy fwiw I suggests a good few days ostentatiously off and then think what will be good long term investment work, rather than cramming for which it is too early. Latin and French vocabulary are always a bore to keep in top of during term so ideal for short bursts of investment. Then check if there were any obvious gaps exposed by the recent exams - if he doesn't understand the perfect tense or simultaneous equations HP him master them. Finally, judging by my boy's files perhaps have him go through his notes making summaries or filling in gaps so they are ready to be learnt from in the Easter hols.

My sons had mocks immediately after the Christmas holidays and they had drawn up revision timetables with their class teachers before the break. But if your son doesn't have exams then I'd just give him a break now.

dodo I believe the OP is talking about CE exams in June.
60% at level 2 is well within the capabilities of a bright child at even an average prep. Leave the revision, enjoy the next few weeks only a lunatic or the obsessively conscientious would want to revise over the Xmas hols. Enjoy Xmas, forget CE for a few weeks.

If he has an apple device - iPhone, iPad etc - there's an app called Pipiatum which tests CE Latin vocabulary and grammar. I highly recommend it, it's based around an algorithm which remembers which words you know and which you need to work on, so it tailors itself as you go along (I'm not in their pay, I'm a Classics teacher ).

But as others have said, beyond Latin and French vocab and encouraging him to read widely, I wouldn't overdo revision at this stage.

Are you talking about indie entrance exams in Jan or CE exams in June ?

My advice would be, no actual revision, but if you can manage one hour a day to spend:
proper reading
bit of French and Latin vocab
tables and perhaps Mymaths if you can supervise and ensure he's on task
any other bbc subject stuff he finds interesting.

I E not an hour on each, but an hour doing something structured, with you.
The school will be doing masses of revision as June gets nearer, your job this holidays is just to keep the brain ticking over.

Honestly, I'd lay off the revision for now unless he has entrance tests in January. He will be subjected to endless past appears for the Spring term. If you must, identify a few weaker areas and focus on those. When you say he didn't do so well in the mocks how far of the 60% was he ? Is it a realistic target and how many do the chosen school/s actually decline on the basis of CE or over offer ? He is only 12/13 , endless testing and revision in holidays is going to be the norm for the next 5 years, so let him relax while he can.

I am a great believer in little but often, (although throughout my life I sadly have been not so sensible). However when there seems to be a certain fatigue and lack of motivation but still a long time before the exam it certainly is worth considering a complete break and also release inthename from the unpleasantness of having to nag her DS. With CE being in June that still leaves 5 months of preparation which at level 2 for a bright boy must more than ample if not overkill. Little but often from the next term would be most valuable IMO for vocab learning and maths if not secure.

I agree time off is important as is revision, but surely there is a compromise between the two. My DCs both had revision to do in the Christmas holidays prior to CE. Admittedly one was taking a scholarship which happened earlier. My DS though took CE in June. He had a week off and then did a small amount each day so that he had completed all the work set. We sent them to prep school to prepare them for senior school so as the school sent work home this was part of their preparation. However, he did it in such a way that it didn't take over the Christmas holidays. We wrote a sensible revision timetable, bought lots of revision food and he did it. All DCs are different but my DS certainly benefitted from the little and often approach. Not all DCs find it easy to learn facts etc

I know that this may seem easy to say when we are not at that stage of uncertainty but I agree with HG, Indrid and Thea. Boys at that age often lack normal energy levels anyway and certainly a few weeks off may allow him time to rest and clear his brain and just give him a physical and mental boost. If he does n't seem any better by half-term you can have the chat with him then. That will give him plenty of revision time for CE. Even if he does n't do well in the mocks and starts working after Easter, there is loads of time.

I assumed he had mocks after Christmas for which he needed to revise. Mine did.