11 plus support thread for exams 2024

@Twinkle38 is your child currently Year 5 and you have just finished teaching them the Y6 curriculum? Super impressive!

@Twinkle38 in my view, it's a little too early for mocks. My DD sat for the Birmingham 11 plus a couple of years ago (which is generally considered a similar format/difficulty to Gloucestershire) and she did a mini mock at a small tuition centre at about Easter of Y5, and two 'proper' external mocks with a well-known local provider in the summer of Y5 - one in June and another in August.

We did home prep rather than tutoring. We made sure to use workbooks from a range of providers, and to go through wrong answers carefully to learn from any mistakes. We did do about four mock papers at home as well, but none until Easter of Y5.

In my view, the main benefit of mocks is to get your DC used to the format of the papers and the exam conditions. It is therefore unnecessary until the last few months.

Thank you so much for your advice. We have just finished year 6 syllabus and about to go through revision of this consilidating with bond assessment papers. Is this the right time for the 10-11 papers or too soon? Thanks again.

No, we haven't gone down that route. Currently they sit in the 'greater depth' bands on core subjects so we are hesitant but we are reading up on it. We are also waiting to see if a tutor gets a better performance than just mum and dad giving the trial tests.

@Teatrayderby Has your DC tried medication? Mine wouldn't have gotten anywhere near attempting the exam without the medication. He was diagnosed last year and only started medication in Jan. And he did well enough in the exams despite all the stress and his disadvantages in lots of areas due to ADHD.

Can I join? Kent test here but DC with ADHD. Will have a prompter in the exam but not sure if it's enough. Given practice tests at home and 4/10 questions will go unanswered not down to ability but just distracted/glossed over them/claims didn't see them. Very frustrating!

twinkle38 we sat the Gloucestershire exam this September. We had a tutor for my twins who was phenomenal, she taught her them to a high level, pitching work to year 7| standard. They never did fantastically in mocks, averaging 65% but both found the actual exam easier than the mocks and the work covered with their tutor.

Sitting mocks is very beneficial. Mine sat them every month from May to August with various providers. This really helped their confidence.

Best of luck.

Hi, we are sitting the Gloucestershire exams next year. Please can I ask how you prepared in Year 5? When did you start doing mocks? Thanks.

Yes, and it’s sad. The area is changing so much with kids not able to see their friends as they live 30 miles away! I have already seen a massive shift. From the looks of this year’s results, Maths has gone a bit into the ridiculous - when I was writing we were at a year 7 (grade 4 GCSE) level but it’s getting harder…

PM sent

Gosh, we're also aiming for CRGS but for 2025, its only going to get more competitive with the 20% vat on indie school fees isn't it.
@Safariplease would you mind messaging me the tutor details please - I hadn't considered it was a good idea to get a tutor who had been a secondary school teacher. I think the ones I've spoken to are primary.

not sure I made sense there…

Private primaries have received letters about the effects of increases if Labour win. A large number are now directing their children to 11+ for grammar rather than private because of the concern

As you know I mentioned my experience with Essex. Just to warn you, not panic, but applicants are expected to rise and an increase in tutoring - mainly because the private school increases are taking over.

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@ElvenDreamer thanks for starting, I have not come across many 2024 threads yet. My anxiety has peaked despite there being 10 months to go, not sure how I will cope during the waiting period 😕

DS had a mock exam at tuition and did extremely well, now his attitude has changed - a complete 180. So I would suggest trying to sign your young one up to see if that motivates them @Emmarie123

Haha I know. I kept getting notifications about it.

You sound like you're doing well. I think my DS has gone off the idea. We've not even started.

My sons were both at Skinners in TW . Big school for cricket and rugby.

Dd just passed the 11+ and I wanted to chip in…

Do book a mock exam or two if you can afford to over the Easter/Summer, but don’t worry if they do terribly in it. It’s just to get them used to time pressure. Mine got 30% in her first try and I nearly didn’t bother entering her for the real 11+ but she passed comfortably in the end and found the real thing much easier than the mocks. They grow up very suddently over that summer!

The CGP books are fab.

Watch out for shit tutors, there are many. You can do it just fine without a tutor but obviously it is easier with.

Round here all the charity shops and libraries have loads of donated 11+ study books at the moment, the libraries are even refusing to accept any more 11+ study books. So if you want second hand books, worth looking now or asking on local Facebook mums groups.

We did the Gloucestershire 11 plus this September, my dtwins sat the exam and both thankfully got decent qualifying rankings. It was a stressful year and I am so glad it’s over. My fear was one getting a place and not the other, it is a process I wouldn’t like to repeat.

Best of luck!

@Safariplease Can you DM me too, please? Grateful for the details of the tutor company in Essex as I am in the CSSE catchment. Thanks 🙂

@PencilVania sure I will send a message now

@Safariplease assuming the company is based in the CSSE area, please could I get their name (either here or via DM) thanks