Help… is it too late to start studying for the 11+ exam?

[StudyWorries]

My family have recently found out we will have to relocate to England. Our daughter will be starting year 6 after summer and now that we’ll be in England, I’d like her to sit the 11 plus exam to give herself a chance of going to a grammar school. Is it too late to start revising now to sit the exam in September?

thanks.

Maybe this is a stupid question but are you definitely moving to a grammar area? Grammar schools don't exist in most of England.

No it's not too late if she is bright and already doing well at school

Whereabouts are you moving to? Not all areas use same 11+, if at all, and some require residency for longer than year 6.

Do you know where you will be moving to? If you have a choice I would move to an area with good comprehensive schools.

We won’t know exactly where we will move to until spring time (military family). I just don’t want to limit her options.

Wiltshire is one of the more likely possibilities and I know there is a grammar school in that area.

It won't do any harm to buy a few books and work through them with her. Make sure you get the right ones for the area you are thinking of. From memory my sons 11 plus was maths/spag/vocabulary/NVR. So anything she learns is not wasted (apart from nvr maybe) if she doesn't end up sitting the 11 plus. There is still plenty of time, good luck!

No it isn't. You could order some.CGP books to make a start. However, you don't seem entirely sure where you are moving. Is there a chance you will be sitting for an independent schools? Different schools can.have very different styles of 11+ exam and how you prepare may be influenced by your potential target schools. Also, I teach in a prep school and we have a surprising number of students who only start in year 6 and gain entry to selective senior schools. We help with the exam technique and preparation but natural ability also play a significant part and so if your daughter is bright this will.help too. Good luck!

It's not too late at all. But as above not many areas have an 11+ at all. And those that do, the actual type of rest varies depending where you are. So without knowing where you're actually going to be based, you're not going to know what types of tests to be practising.

You could certainly do some general maths and English/vocabulary work though. I'd imagine most or all of the different varieties of 11+ tests need these.

It’s not too late. My DD didn’t start until April of the year that she took the 11 plus in September and she passed. She had a tutor once a week.

No, DS only decided to take he test at the end of May when the test was in September. He passed with no tutoring, just working through the CGP books and practice tests. It’s not a super selective though, it’s one where if you’re in the catchment area you get in if you pass.

There are two types of tutoring/preparation one is to familiarise bright children with the type of questions and maybe push borderline kids over the line, that’s good. The other is to push kids that aren’t bright enough over the line then they often get to grammar, can’t really keep up and it’s not a great experience for them. If your local comps are any good then don’t do the second. If they are awful it might still make sense, but they may need tutors all the way through.