11 plus support thread for exams 2024

Not long left for 11plus exams start. We have 1st exams next week , our practical exam on 10th Sept and then actual exam on the 12th Sept. I am glad in a sense that twins will be fimilair with the environment before the actual test . Then we have a week gap before our last exam can't wait for it to be over. I am so nervous for them .

When do they take the exam? Do you have to wait from September to March to find out results??

I'm in Kent, DD will do her exam next Thursday, VR and NVR, then a break, then maths and English.

We then have to wait 5 weeks for results which I thought was bad enough! Annoying that we have to go to open days for schools that we we needn't have bothered with!

Yep, I'm in Warwickshire. Are you? I don't mind getting it all over and done with in one session, but I'm not looking forward to having to wait until National Offer Day to find out whether DS's score is high enough. I think he'll do much better at not thinking about it than I will.

@Danlsb definitely let her go!

Are you Warwickshire @MincemeatMaestro ?

I was surprised to find other counties sitting different exams on different days and some only doing reading and maths.

Warwickshire have all in one session and it's reading, maths, VR & NVR 🤯

My eldest DD sits for CCHS exam on 13th. Does anyone know roughly what was the format last year please? They don’t give out past papers. Also if the final score is age standardised?

I'd let her go as well. She'll have time to bounce back from the tiredness and I'm sure she's well prepped for the tests.

Good luck, ElvenDreamer! We're in a similar position to you but only 10 days to go. I'm hopeful DS will do well enough but it's for a state grammar and the VAT changes may mean more competition for not many places this year and it's one test on one day... I wish it was over and done with!

Yes that’s my thinking too

I’d definitely let her go. At this stage she either knows what she’s doing or she doesn’t. The extra days study will make no difference. However if she doesn’t pass, she’ll always remember she missed out on PGL “for nothing”. It makes the stakes so high.

If she has a few nights to catch up on sleep (which she will) I think it’s far too valuable an experience to miss out on.

I would let her go. 28th September is a weekend so she will have almost a full week to catch up on sleep. And three study days is irrelevant at this stage.

@Danlsb - has she got any friends in the same situation? Could the parents get together and organise a trip for these kids to eg Harry Potter World type thing instead?
There is no way I would cancel something like that for my DC due to a test without an alternative for them that is equally fun etc. I would not want them to remember the 11 plus like that.
My older kids have totally forgotten about the 11 plus because kept it so low key. They are doing really well.

Crunch time here for DD she had first exam Monday - one today then another Sunday. We then need to wait to see if we get called to sit the second round for two of the schools. I wondered what your thoughts were on allowing her to go on her year 6 PGL the weekend before a potential second exam ( second exam date 28th sept) I feel she should go for mental health reasons ( she has worked hard and missed out on a lot this year) but husband wants to cancel as he says it’s too much of risk ( late nights and 3 study days lost). Would value your thoughts.

Re Atom, just logged into ours and it is the same as previously, but I have noticed if DC do not do the recommended islands the scores go down somehow, regardless it seems, of performance in the Atom mock tests.

If they are doing ok in the practice tests I wouldn’t worry too much.

We gave up our subscription from today as our exam is next week so I can’t help. Makes little sense though as the Atom material has to cover yr6 maths etc. as it’s included in the test (in GL at least) and NVR isn’t really part of the curriculum anyway?

Atom reset? Has anyone else found that Atom has reset their child's results to "needs practice" across the board?

Earlier this week we had mainly "master" ratings with a few "goods" but now it's all "needs practice"

We emailed Atom and they said they'd ready to Y6 but we shouldn't expect to see a change since the Y6 curriculum would have already been covered as part of 11+ prep. Clearly not!!

Unfortunately, in our experience, half of the results come out from mental capability to handle the stress. I know two other kids of my DC's year who were with the same tutor. I know both of them were super bright and really hardworking. Mine was nowhere near their level. Both neither of them went through the 1st round and only one probably can manage to go into their 3rd choice via waiting list. To have the mind power to handle the stress is really really vital. But if they could conquer it, they would benefit massively in secondary and GCSES. - I myself have had massive anxiety issues during exams, so I know what a game changer it could be.

So use the rest of the few weeks, really emphasize stabling her mind and get down to just focusing on each question, not the big scary picture.

Did she say why maths and vr were difficult? Time management or level of knowledge? You need to identify which aspects are weak and then focus on that given so little time left.

Just do your best (both of you). Nobody can guarantee anything, and doing your best is all what you can.

Sutton mock has a small drop compared to last year actually. Don't know SET test, I don't think there will be increase, don't know Bucks, Kent and Bucks are grammar county driven by otjet dynamics.

@antcomp - has Sutton confirmed that fewer candidates have actually registered for the free exam? The mock is expensive? Families have left London. Kent test applications have gone up again. What about Bucks? There was a post Covid exodus out of London per se to Home Counties and further?

The peak in birth rates has passed, leading to expected lower competition this year and in the future. According to statistics from the Sutton mock, there are fewer students sitting exams compared to previous years. This decline is also partly due to the current government’s stance against private and grammar schools.

@Danlsb - older DC had reported at the time that the maths in superselective mocks was harder than stage 1 in the real thing.

DC sitting 4 grammar tests in September and two have a second stage!
We only started prep at the beginning of July. DC very strong at English and was in top 3 per cent in the mocks with no prep at that point. We have a ton of non verbal which we have crammed and on the CGP stretch books now. Verbal is just natural ability too but still more practice required. Maths DC is making silly mistakes but can finish in the time allocated. I wish we had started earlier now.

I did the same with my elder DC and they all made it into superselectives, but it all seems more competitive this year. There were a ton of private school kids at the mocks locally this time round. I have booked one more mock.
As we are sitting different formats rather than just 1 test, it is difficult to get too hung up on exact format. Equally, I feel for anyone sitting just 1 and everything riding on that. I am not sure what is better.

We will also be doing music aptitude tests, although right now we have scrapped much of music practice. It’s part of the reason we started so late as DC refused to do anything else at the time.

Thank you Return2 - we have been telling her that we will be proud of her regardless of her result and that the extra work will benefit her in any school and are not directly telling her she has to hit 90% as I completely agree with you that it would be harmful and unfair pressure. It was just her response to the recent mock that had me worried.
Thanks also Sampoodle - we have downloaded the sample papers that are available but they only put the English ones on but it was the maths and VR that surprised her as being a lot harder.
🤞🏼 for everyone