11+

[LittleMissGossip]

Recently (so approx 3 months prior to tests) ds has decided he’d like to give the 11+ exam a go. I thought it was great, but didn’t think we needed to spend £££ on tutors or the online courses. We’ve only just started to look at exam papers, purchased a few cgp books to work through (more so so he knows exam layout).
DS knows whatever happens, it’s not the end of the world, but recently I read what other parents have been doing in preparation for exams 😳
Most start in year 4, and those that start in year 5 only give children one day off (and even then they’ll prob have quick vocabulary session).
I have probably gone about this all wrong, but my thinking was, yes with a little work, if child is good enough they’ll pass, and working the poor things so they don’t have any sort of break seemed harsh.

So have I been AIBU, taking the slightly relaxed route?

If DS passes it’ll be great, but we have other schools on our list that are also very good so it won’t mean he’s lost out…but I’m beginning to feel a little nervous for him now- knowing some children spent every waking moment studying (at least that’s what it sounds like to me 😩)

Oops enabled voting by mistake

Different people work and achieve differently. In college I always remember people going on about things theyd done to prepare and I'd end up with roughly the same as them. Whatever works for you works, don't worry about what other people do and best of luck!

I think your approach is right. The fact that your son wants to take the 11+ shows he is motivated to succeed and he'll give it his best shot.

I was the same as you, dd started preparing in the summer holiday before the test by doing papers, so about 8 weeks if I remember correctly.
She had an hour a week of tutoring (for 6 weeks) and that was only possible because his clients were on holiday, he fitted her in where he could.

We were very relaxed about the whole thing, no pressure on her at all.

@stayathomer

Different people work and achieve differently. In college I always remember people going on about things theyd done to prepare and I'd end up with roughly the same as them. Whatever works for you works, don't worry about what other people do and best of luck!

Agree with this entirely. Ability shines through. I did an A level in two weeks and got the highest mark. I got an award for ny most difficult professional exam I didn't study for and expected to fail as I was having a life crisis at the time. Don't pay any attention to what other people are doing.

It's ok, you haven't made a massive error of judgement. Your course of action probably isn't unreasonable.

A kid who is borderline on ability can certainly be dragged up a level to perform better in the exams, but if their natural ability and potential is lower they won't necessarily thrive in the grammar school environment and may need continued extra tuition to keep them up to the expected standard. A kid who has sufficient natural ability and potential can certainly do very well in the exams and get a place with no trouble with the minimum preparation that you are going with for your DS, soif he is bright and is applying himself well then he might be fine. You should certainly give him some exam-technique practice and ensure he is familiar with the types of questions to expect and has a good understanding of how to recognise opportunities to score higher marks.

The problem is that this is what is known as a "zero sum game" situation. For every mediocre just-below-par child who is tutored up to just over the threshold, there must necessarily be another child who would otherwise have got a place but is knocked down a step in the rankings, because there are only a set number of places that can be awarded. So there are going to be some middle-ranking kids who have sufficient natural ability and potential that they ought to qualify without doing loads of extra tuition and prep, but whose places are taken by less able kids who have been hothoused. So a little more preparation over the summer might be good if you think your DS could fall into that category.

It will be fine. We didn't tutor, but signed up to Bond11+online for a few months to do practice tests and also bought a few paper tests and did a few mock exams under exam conditions. You need to work on timing and getting him used to taking tests and finishing all the questions within the time.

Thank you so much everyone. Will definitely get him to take practice papers under timed conditions to give him an idea of timing/how quickly he needs to work.
When I was younger, people didn't spend so much time and effort 'training' their children, however ive learnt this isn't necessarily the approach a lot of parents take now.

I do wonder, whether those children who have had extensive tutoring find school a little challenging when they are accepted?

Although I agree to an extent with the above posters about taking a relaxed approach, it does depend in the demand in your area. Some schools are very popular with a small intake of children compared to the thousands that apply. This is the case in London. Other areas/schools, not so much. So I would suggest to try to find out how competitive it is to get in to your desirable school.

I think you’re doing the right thing. I would imagine that a child who is tutored to within an inch of their life to pass an exam might find the day-to-day reality of this type of school very challenging.

Tricky. The skill of doing those timed papers esp if it includes NVR needs to be practised. Technique is everything. There are also many items of maths that aren't covered on the national curriculum at that stage.

So don't punish yourself. But don't imagine I'd he doesn't pass its because he isn't clever enough. For most children there is quite a lot of preparation involved. And I know some parents are 'every waking hour types'. But I think moat have a better balance.

I agree with checking out the demand for places. In areas with huge demand for few places then I guess your approach may not work. If there are plenty of places your ds would have a much better chance I think.

Both of mine were tutored by me from the start of year 5. A few times a week, 10mins at a time, building up to most days and then in the spring we did test papers under timed conditions and they sat a couple of mock exams. They were ready by the start of summer, so we didn't do intensive work over the summer holidays. I think it's better to little at a time, when they are willing rather than cram it at the end, but this depends on your child's temperament.
Like pp said, it also depends on the area. London is extremely competitive and my friends daughter studied intensively for a couple of years and still didn't get a place, whereas both of mine got places relatively easily, and I don't think mine are any clever necessarily.

Ds1 passed and was offered a place with your approach. It's the timing and layout of the exam you have to practice.

I know for sure he won't have been one of the higher scorers. I would be surprised if he got 60% on the English and verbal reasoning sections.

If his practice tests are anything to go by he probably scored at least 95% on the maths and NVR. He very rarely got one wrong on the none verbal section and he would complete them in seconds, I doubt that can be taught, he can't even explain how he knows the answers.

Yes NVR is difficult to teach. Luckily mine were very good at it, so I didn't have to!
Some schools only test ability with NVR as it is a good measure of this, also as it's pretty tutor proof.

YANBU

My kids go to a prep school which I actually very good. The end result of this school is that hopefully they will go on to the Grammar near it, which is also excellent.

It became evident really quickly that some parents we paying on top of school fees for extra tuition. I spoke to one of the teachers about it and she said the teacher hate it because it burns the kids out,other tutors have different methods which can confuse the kids and the kids can really struggle in the Grammar with out all the extra support.

We certainly wont be doing it.

My dd1 has done the same. Decided just after Easter. She wasn't interested 18 months ago and wouldn't have engaged with tutoring so it would have been a complete waste of time & money.
We are using books & i have booked a couple of mocks to get used to exam length/conditions.

Op, on't put your poor ds through all that if you have other options, why would you?

Hi op we did pretty much what you did, the only tricky part really is the non verbal reasoning! Dreadful things, u tube has lots of videos on that, I got her to practise that and got some cpg books I knew English was fine it was nvr and maths.

Some of her friends did have several years of masses and masses of extra homework!
They weren't allowed out.. It was crazy!

Dd just got over the line.

Oh and exam technique and practise remember...

I do wonder, whether those children who have had extensive tutoring find school a little challenging when they are accepted?

The answer on this is yes, they do. With DS1 we made the decision to give him 2 months of tuition, mostly on exam technique etc and felt that if he needed more help than this then a grammar setting probably wasn't right for him. He's academically very able and for him, it's the right school and he's thriving. The school is very pushy. The kids are ranked and are told what their ranking is, which must be tough if you are bottom of the pile. Likewise they are tested every week and kids that don't achieve the pass mark are given extra support aka a detention. DS1 tells me that there are kids that are literally in detention all the time, not because they are naughty but because they are not so able. I wonder whether some of these kids were the ones who were over-tutored to pass the entry exam but have not been able to keep up.

Data... Nvr is absolutely not tutor proof at all!.
It's formula stuff that needs practise which in my view makes it all the more ridiculous.

Fan fucking...

🤣 What a throughly hideous dipiction of the school, sending lower achieving dc into dentition and isolation for their ranking.

Are they in little cells with glass doors and a bucket for the loo.

Thank you so much for all the replies.

I did think, with other options we could just forget about this altogether, however since DS said he would like to try I gave in.

It's good to read people have taken a more relaxed approach (and not just me )
I have purchased GL practice papers, as the NVR and VR is completely new to him, but he seems to be getting to grips with it.

Good luck but do make sure he gets over the line, u tube is excellent for this as well with demos.

Don’t panic. We started with DS at Easter with practice papers. 2x25 mins per week excluding school hols. He got the top score in his school despite only finishing 1 of the papers on the day. He is flying at grammar.

My DD is due to sit the 11+ this year and we are using the same approach. Whether she passes is borderline but perhaps grammar isn’t suitable in that case. All very laid back and no more than £50 spent in total.

Caveat: we have grammars and secondary schools with grammar streams so probably less stressful for us in Kent.