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Reeds School 11+ exam

37 replies

somekindofmagic · 15/09/2019 08:26

Hello, Does anyone have any experience or advice to offer on the 11 plus exam at Reeds? ie level of difficulty, insights into maths/English papers, relevant level of practice papers etc.

Particularly interested to hear from anyone with a DS who has sat the exam in recent years.

Thanks in advance.

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Original poster
somekindofmagic · 23/09/2019 13:55

Thanks v much @TWmum28 - that info is really appreciated!

Yes, you sound in about the same boat as us! My DS found the Hampton 10+ quite tough. Despite that though he got great feedback and they are helpful in giving you information on what they need to focus and work on if you give them a call after the results are out. We treated it as a dry run for the 11+ with low stakes.

I do hear that the maths is particularly tough at Hampton. So here's hoping that DS will find it comparatively easier at Reeds. I appreciate what you're saying about the timed paper at Reeds - something we're working on now.

Good luck to your son too - it is a crazy merrygoround and I'll be glad when it's all done at the end of Jan!

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TWmum28 · 23/09/2019 00:22

Hi there somekind

We are a year behind you but having the same thoughts. DS is down to sit the Hampton 10 + this year and Reeds/KGS are our other choices. We are obviously hoping for a pass at 10 plus but not getting our hopes up. We live between the two schools and not too far from KGS either.

3 friends had DSs that sat for both schools last year (and 2 were successful at Reeds (1of those got a Reeds scholarship) but neither got Hampton, then 1 got Hampton and Reeds but no scholarship) they all said the maths exam was considerably easier at Reeds ... the English harder to differentiate. Timing at Reeds was important because there were different sections so making sure you knew what time for what etc

Good luck to your son. It's all a bit of a minefield!

Gingercat1223 · 17/09/2019 14:24

@somekindofmagic if you sat the Hampton 10plus last year your ds is ahead of the game and the experience will greatly benefit him come January in terms of the exam experience & expected content.

Original poster
somekindofmagic · 17/09/2019 10:14

Thx too Gingercat! Yes we have a state school back up. We’re under no illusions about the Hampton exam 😊 but we think it’s worth a good shot.

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Original poster
somekindofmagic · 17/09/2019 09:50

Thx for the PM GU24!

Yes I agree we are looking at a wide range of schools academically. But with valid reasons. Having sat the 10+ last year at H and receiving great feedback, though unsuccessful, we are keeping Hampton in the mix... for a long while it was our first choice. But we are beginning to swing away from it due to feeling DS will suit a less fast-paced environment, academically.

CFC was never on my radar but my perception did a 180 after attending an open day. I think it’s an exciting time for the school and most definitely on the up in terms of academics.

Let’s face it... the demand for places, at least in Surrey and SW London, these days far outstrips the supply so naturally DCs who would’ve previously gone to Hampton/KCS/KGS etc are spilling into the Reeds/St Johns etc and therefore now Claremont. It’s a lovely school with fabulous grounds and I think there’ll be a surprising number sitting for it this year.

I’m trying to trust the process and hope that the right school picks the right child!

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GU24Mum · 17/09/2019 07:45

HI OP, I'll PM you and let you know where we ended up!

Hampton, Reeds and Claremont is a very wide range in terms of what you're likely to get into. It's probably quite unusual to have Hampton and Claremont in the same set of exams though either with Reeds is more usual.

Gingercat1223 · 16/09/2019 22:05

@somekindofmagic best of luck for the coming months,
yes it looks like Reeds have revised their entrance exam for 2019 so at least everyone will be in the same boat.
Hampton are looking for bright all rounders, your ds needs to be equally strong in English and maths. Carefully study the reading list for pre-admission on the school website admissions section for ideas of books for your son to read in the run up to the exam period.

You might want to consider St Johns or Epsom College too unless you have a state school back up option.

Original poster
somekindofmagic · 16/09/2019 21:32

It’s a pretty brutal process isn’t it! I’ll be glad when it’s over.

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Original poster
somekindofmagic · 16/09/2019 21:31

Hi GU24mum, thx so much for responding! And thx for taking the time to look at the website... I really appreciate your feedback. 😊
Yes I saw from the website it’s a fairly long 75 min test on maths/English/VR/NVR! Comparatively, that’s quite an unusual format. Most don’t test NVR and most break the English and Maths into separate tests.
Anyhow, I was interested in the comparative difficulty level I guess. From what little I can glean anecdotally Reeds may not be as hard as Hampton, which we are also looking at. DS is bright and in top of 3 of his class but still, they’re only 10! It all depends on the day really.
Must say we all loved Reeds! We are looking at Claremont too.
It’s interesting and good to hear that your DS didn’t find Reeds as hard. Do you mind me asking where he chose in the end?

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GU24Mum · 16/09/2019 20:59

Hi OP, my son took the exam (and various other ones) this year. I've had a quick look at the 11+ section of the Reeds' website and I think the exam might be a bit different from last year. Apparently there's a mostly multiple choice paper with a mix of maths, english, VR and non-VR then a creative writing task and an interview. They'll publish a sample nearer the time.
Last year, I went through the various school admissions sites and made a list of who tested what (most that time didn't test non-VR), which did multiple choice English/proper sentence answer papers etc. My son's feedback was that the papers weren't as hard as some he sat for which strangely didn't really suit him - he's absolutely no genius but is better at some of the more conceptual stuff, rubbish at basic times tables!
Where else are you looking at?

Original poster
somekindofmagic · 16/09/2019 18:08

Lots of views but no comments 🤔 Does anyone at least want to chat about Reeds if you’re considering it?

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Original poster
somekindofmagic · 16/09/2019 06:28

Bump

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