Confused - How start preparing DC for selective exams at 11+?

[Sugarbeach]

Hi there. Just started thinking about how to get DD into private schools at 11, and possibly grammar as well. On top of that, I'm just generally anxious that the school is leaving gaps in her education, so would like to do extra at home to help ensure the basis are covered. I've not been too impressed with how science or maths is taught so far.

But THERE ARE SO MANY SCHEMES and books out there - from Bond, to Letts, to Carol Voderman, and even within each brand there are loads of books you can potentially get. I appreciate that these are businesses afterall and are trying to push products - but it does not help the consumer to make the right choices.

Bearing in mind that I don't wish to do death by worksheets and definitely want to keep this light and concise.

Are there any schemes/books you would recommend please? I prefer simple, non-gimmicky, concise and comprehensive workbooks, and want to choose one scheme for consistency if possible.

TIA MNs.

Bond How to do 11+ Maths will cover all the ground. But it's good more as an overview, rather than a teaching guide. We used Peter Robson's books and AE Tuition books for more detailed work on particular topics. Both are widely used esp former by Prep Schools. Also, whilst the Bond guide will be enough for all grammar schools, some independent school exams may go beyond the National Curriculum for KS 2 which grammar schools won't.

There are also a whole series of mental maths books that some swear by Schofield and Sims.

Should add - get past papers from schools of your choice and practice those.

I've been trying to understand why senior school entry is so stressful. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that we do what suits our comfort level, and not necessarily what our kids need. It's finally dawned on me this week (more below) why it's clear to everyone how I've failed my kids.

DC1 was told what papers there would be (I can read instructions as well as the next person), and to go for it. Years later I was shocked to hear that a fellow scholar was being tutored privately, and everyone else had been at some point. My response to this accusation of deprivation was sweetie, I didn't want you to be stressed out, and now you're used to being un-stressed, it would be cruel (to your mother to have to find a tutor), and what does the school do anyway, and nobody's ever complained at parents' evenings, and it must be these supernumerary tutors who are confusing the poor boys or they'd be doing better wouldn't they?).

So, with DCs>1, I knew about practising, but lost the will after seeing the glittering array of choice. They enthusiastically brought home some ancient past papers (methinks from the recycling bin, though allegedly from the HT) from senior schools to which I'd never consider ferrying them, but I let them have a go. It's really too much to expect a child to focus for 45 minutes when there's no need. They know they have to pull it out on the day(s) if they like the look of the place. Which they did, despite being dumped from G+T (something about being unteachable, which DC1 was too, apparently), altogether a good thing, since the vastly expanded group of 10 (of HT's favourites) produced only one other grammar school offer, proving my previous point about supernumerary coaching. (By then, I'd realised life would be fine at a small grammar, without paying SPGS fees, and they couldn't tell the difference anyway!)

This week I discovered the 11+ forum. They're fantastic. If I'd discovered them years ago when we could have done with seeing the light, I'd have been extremely happy (and busy doing what needed doing). I didn't know I was unhappy, but that chance to be happy, although gone for me, can be yours.

So I urge you to log onto the 11+ forum. They are lovely people, anything they do not know about schools, prep materials, tutors, appealling, and all other things about which I remain ignorant, isn't worth knowing. They really are lovely. Much much nicer than those mothers who could easily have told me how I was depriving my kids of the wonderful experiences theirs were enjoying.

That's all, really.

Do Bond Assessment papers for your daughter's age group to give her some practice in verbal and non-verbal reasoning.

Other than that, there should be no preparation for a private school entry.

It entirely depends what school you want them to go to, whether they're at a state primary or a prep (if the latter you're paying the school essentially to prepare them) and what the entrance exams consist of.

I like Bond best.

I agree with zeolite this is where you need to go. I had wonderful support from there when my kids were doing the 11+. Some people call it "scary" (and there was a really horrible thread on MN about that a long while back), but I never felt that. It took so much of the worry out of the whole 11+ process for me and all the replies to my posts were really nice and helpful. I just went back to have a look and there is loads of new stuff on the main website since I last looked at it - it was a bit out of date then.

Thank you ladies. Wow, an 11+ forum. Soo much info I need to get my head round. Looks like Bond is good for practice papers in the last year.

What about recommendations for good, structured, clear workbooks on an on going basis to consolidate her learnings and building up speed/accuracy on Maths? Oh and also English (spelling, grammar, comprehension)?

Or should I start another thread on this?

DD's actually in a British Curriculum school in Dubai, it's a watered down version of the National Curriculum and equivalent to a good state school in the UK. I'm concerned about gaps and the teaching seems patchy and lack structure. She's in Yr1.

Sooo much stress and anxiety with LO's education.....

These are fabulous, we did them from about Yr 2.

Why don't you go through a copy of the National Curriculum, and tick off what she has done, and then try to extend it, just by reading and chatting etc.? If there are important things that have been missed, why not say to the teacher, "by the way, when will we be covering xxx?".

See my post above, Sugarbeach. This gives you exactly what you need. Either Peter Robson or AE Tuition are both sets of 6 books. You start at the beginning and work through!

The Schofield and Sims ones likewise - set of 6 graded.

Thanks for starting this thread. My DS is in state primary, and we're aiming for state grammar and one or two private schools. But I get the impression the prep schools are way way ahead of state schools in their sats levels and academic grounding.
I enquired about moving my DS to a prep, and was asked - 'Has he any Latin? It would be ill advised to move him at this stage without Latin.' He's 8! Surely prep tinies are still amo amas amatting at that age, not quoting vast chunks from the Illiad at each other for fun.
I interpreted this as 'Oik, step away from our school if you can only afford two yea fees.'
It seems to me that our state school is brilliant at giving them endless mini-tasters of this and that but weak at giving a solid grounding in anything. End of year four and they still barely know half their times tables. (I know - we can do this at home with them, and will. But why is it no longer learned in class?)