11 plus support thread

@Pipsquiggle my DD did her exams in September, we're Essex which for the girls means 2 sets of exams for different schools, one of which was CEM. We found the 10 minute tests by Schofield and Sims or Bond etc were great, little and often sort of prep so it didn't become a huge stressful thing. I found exam technique was important, knowing to work quickly through the ones you can do so you don't get timed out having spent too long on one question.
For my sins I'm now going through it all over again with my DS who is yr 5.

Really interesting @LetItGoToRuin - I guess the lesson already is as you say understand the format and requirements of the local tests.

We're Bucks which is CEM. Feeling slightly out of my depth but soldiering on.

Interestingly, our experience was the opposite of Lockdowndramaqueen’s. We’re in the West Midlands (CEM test in VR, NVR and Numerical Reasoning), and with these tests the VR is worth half the marks, and I think it tends to split the pack.

Here, the maths ('Numerical Reasoning') is all about problem solving and thinking outside the box, with a very tight time limit, but the complexity on the maths itself is not high. Most bright children can do well in the maths with reasonable preparation.

With the verbal reasoning, they are trying to find the children that read widely and have great inference skills and a rich vocabulary. This element is harder to prepare for: many families resort to word lists, with limited success.

In maths, my DD comfortably reached the standard with steady practice. Her strength is VR which gave her the edge – she is an avid reader and a wordsmith, so found all the VR prep and tests easy, and this was unusual amongst her peers.

It comes back to knowing as much as you can about the requirements of the test.

Great question, Pipsquiggle

I would say it’s important to know as much as you can about the type of test your DC will be taking. It sounds really obvious to say that, but I know people that were trying to teach their children more advanced algebra when we knew the maths questions wouldn’t require anything more complicated than the primary curriculum. Similarly, there’s no point in practising essay questions for a multiple-choice test.

Also, exam technique and experience paid dividends for our DD and others. She came out a bit shellshocked from a mock test, but it focussed her mind on the timings and meant she wasn’t fazed by the setup in the room, the positioning of papers on her desk etc. A friend (who had paid for twice weekly 1:1 sessions with a national tutoring company for a year) felt it was the experience of the mock test that got her DS over the line in the actual exam.

What I wish I’d known a year ago? That, with a little bit of sensible prep, the results won’t be a surprise. In my small sample size of classmates and friends’ children, the children generally considered the brightest passed easily, the borderline children got borderline scores, and the average children missed out. This, of course, is what is supposed to happen (it’s CEM in this area, so theoretically less tutorable) but I found it reassuring that it actually did happen, despite a variable amount of input from parents/tutors. Here, many children sit two tests (both CEM format), one for each LA, and the results were broadly consistent for each child for the two tests.

Best of luck to you and to your DC.

When I say it’s all about the maths I mean that seems to be the dividing line - they have to be great at English too.

It’s all about the maths - I underestimated this until we did our first mock. It’s way more competitive than you think even though you know it is. Make sure your child has realistic expectations and have some good back up options that they feel good about too. I should say we were trying for SW London/ Surrey super selective state grammars so maybe less fraught elsewhere. Having said all this my child seemed mostly quite calm about it all and we got the result we wanted so I don’t want to put you off but it was definitely eye opening.

Hello hope all your DC are doing well. I am a yr 5 mum starting to go on the 11+ journey.

On refelection, now you have been through it, what pieces of advice could you give me and what do you know now that you wish you'd known a year ago?

Thanks in advance

Sorry, I'm not sure if I answered the question there - you should accept your allocated school even if you're hoping for another place from the waiting list.

Wallington boys just ring-fence 15 places for certain postcodes I think, unless that's changed?

DS is at Wilson's and I remember the frustration of having to wait until March. Girls get their scores and while it is lovely knowing DD has a place already, there's something nice about the boys starting not knowing. 6 girls in DD's class passed, but with very different scores, which are obviously being discussed.

*list them
Sorry, typing on my phone!

Congratulations!

Email it is - we’ve had it, and it’s a very good pass. Phew!

KCC do send an email, they normally seem to start late morning (though they say after 4pm). Then at some point today if you log back in to the portal, your results will show there too. Good luck everyone!