11+ Support Thread 2026

Love this 🥰.
Children who make a conscious choice to try their best and do extra work which they don't have to do, to persevere even when it gets hard, will go on to do well in life, whichever school they end up at.

It would be interesting to track those who didn't pass, or passed but didn't gain a place, to see if they did better than those who didn't go through the process.

We have an intensive week of tuition the last week of August.
It has been a good learning experience for DD and I am so impressed by her perseverance to go for something she wants.

I will be glad when it's all over. DD is doing an 11+ summer camp next week - intensive 7 hour days x 5, so hopefully this will fill any gaps. Whatever the outcome I am so impressed at her effort and focus, it's a good life lesson on trying your best without any guarantees, and not giving up when it gets hard/boring. I will be proud of her whether she passes or fails.

We did an at home mock which was a disaster from a different provider. This has knocked DDs confidence but I wish I had found the provider sooner because of the level of feedback given and it being specific to our exam.
We are currently on holiday so no prep has been done but we are going to have a timetable in place for the rest of the holiday.

Yes, similar. Although I feel like summer learning is more hit and miss with lots going on...she's not quite as attentive now the routine is more random...there are the odd gaps still, esp around 3D cubes/nets, which we'll try and focus on, but ultimately they're not going to get 100%, are they? Have to trust in the process that got you here, and not stress too much about it. Or at least not convey that to them!

Hi did anyone’s son sit the Reading test this week? How did they find it? A similar level to familiarisation book or harder/easier? Any surprises?
obviously not looking for discussion on individual questions but more an overall feel

an average of an hour a day most days over the summer holidays

I guess a lot of it comes down to looking at the marginal benefit. For instance, if a child already has a 90% chance of getting into a grammar school, spending an extra hour studying just to push that to 91% might not be worth it. But if they are at 50% and some extra hours could bring them up to 80%, then it feels justified. It is just an example to show that it really depends on whether a child is still on the steep part of their learning curve or if they have already hit a plateau, as well as their actual chances of admission and whether they have met the required standard.

It is quite interesting how it all comes down to perspective, really. I guess one could argue that sending a child to school for 15 years is a bit cruel, but then one could just as easily argue that withholding 15 years of education is a different kind of cruelty. It feels like summer learning falls into that exact same grey area.

I suppose most reasonable parents just try to look at their own child's actual needs and priorities to figure out what works best for their specific situation. It can be a bit exhausting when people assume their own approach is the only enlightened or caring way, and that anyone doing things differently must be either misguided or unkind.

Personally, I think keeping an open mind and just focusing on what serves the family's overall well-being is probably the healthiest way forward. It seems much better to quietly adapt to our own children and try to tune out the external noise and societal pressures, whatever they may be.

They will also think it's cruel for us to be doing work over the summer with the kids and will just be generally snooty about it.

They’re practically treating hard work like a crime. Labeling study time as 'cruel' is a massive stretch, especially since it’s just one summer and DC has had plenty of time to just play over the last ten years! They see it as taking away DC's holidays, but I see it as protecting DC's future. It comes down to a simple trade-off: a few weeks of structured work now versus years of DC struggling in an underperforming school later. To me, letting DC coast into a chaotic environment just to prove a political point is what's truly cruel to the child.

I think they feel like when we return to country (we're currently abroad) we should choose a non-grammar area as it's such a terrible system. They will also think it's cruel for us to be doing work over the summer with the kids and will just be generally snooty about it. They feel strongly about children being exposed to a wide section of society - it's political for them. Whereas I don't want my children surviving at some miserable comp which doesn't set until Y9 and having to put up with loads of disruptive behaviour, just to make a political point.

Exactly this. I am ideologically opposed to grammar schools, but I'm not going to stop my daughter trying for one if that's what she wants. The alternatives are a faith school (which I'm also not that keen on) and a very poor comp. It's her life to live, and her choice to make.

And that I think is the response to anyone who is opposed to it - not to argue with them, but to say that fine for you to think that, DD/DS has made the choice which is right for them, and them not going isn't going to change the system.

Historically, British families used to really value education—grammar schools definitely weren't invented by Asian families! But nowadays, there seems to be this massive cultural shift where pushing your kids academically is almost looked down upon. Maybe it's because society has become so stagnant now. Most mainstream British families just seem completely content with the status quo.
It is like frogs sitting in warm water for too long, they have completely lost the aspiration to jump out to a better place. Even worse, they look down on the frogs that actually want to jump.

We also have family who are extremely ideologically opposed to grammar schools so I'm not looking forward to explaining ourselves. @notanothernvr

Could you elaborate on that? I can understand being ideologically opposed to grammar school system, but I find it hard to comprehend why anyone would make their own kids give up a grammar school place when the alternative is a disruptive comprehensive school. I don't understand why you need to explain why you choose to prepare for grammar school.

We're hitting a bit of a motivation barrier here! My two are chugging along on atom, but we've a very busy summer planned and I'm stressed about how to get in the revision they need, and balance it with not ruining their tenth summer. We also have family who are extremely ideologically opposed to grammar schools so I'm not looking forward to explaining ourselves.

It's so hard. One is easily on track, the other is slightly below the target line on atom (although her mocks are ok) which she finds so demotivating. The good thing is all this work has meant they're absolutely soaring in school and on such a high from the confidence. They've always been bright but being so ahead of the curriculum now because of the content they're learning has really been great for them.

@Elevenseconds its just driven into Asians that education is key, not so much to get ahead, but more that it forms the basis to everything. I was chatting to the local newsagent and he was telling me his son got into QE boys, then the local waxing/threading lady, telling me about her daughter trying to pass Henrietta Barnett. These are people who really haven't much money but choose education as a priority and want a better life for their kids.

And that highlights the issue with grammar schools, they aren't accessed by the children who need them the most/who they were originally intended for. I was listening to DD and her friends last week, one asked the question ' what do you want to do when you grow up'. The ones who have professional 'middle class parents said 'wildlife photographer, teacher, vet' the ones with parents who are working in lower paid roles said 'hairdresser, beautician'. There was no correlation between ability and ambition, but there was a complete correlation between parent background and ambition. Not saying this is always the case, but it does seem to be linked.

No child wants to do extra work outside school, mine definitely gets fed up of it. But we went to visit the local grammars and comps at start of year 5, and she is motivated by wanting to attend one of the grammars. Parental ambition and proactivity has a huge impact on who takes the 11+.

CSSE (the Essex consortium) provides free Atom access for those who qualify for pupil premium and the copies of the tests taken in 2023 and before for free. They just need their current school to confirm their status.
No one I know who would qualify took up the offer despite originally being interested in the grammar schools. Most said that their DC weren't interested because it meant work outside of school.

I agree, it's very different spending 2k for 1 year on tutoring, to spending 30k every year for 7 years for private schools.
The private schools naturally prep them anyway - one near us boasts of a 100% pass rate on 11+, so either they are hyper focused on it to get every child through regardless of ability (as it's not a selective private), or they are lying. It does feel quite unfair though, there should be different pass marks for private vs state. They already adjust mark for age and pupil premium, why not for school as well.