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Original poster

11+ Advice

19 replies

lovely123 · 23/05/2018 15:46

Hi

My DD sits the 11+ exam this Sep and we have been working on past papers/bond/letts etc at home, she does a little practice 4 times a week, 30/45 mins plus reading at bedtime.
I know all kids are different but really keen to hear from parents whose DC got grammar school places and what their study routine was 3/4 months before the exam? Any tips/advice greatly appreciated.

OP posts:
PerspicaciaTick · 23/05/2018 15:48

1 hour with a tutor and 30mins homework a week. Nothing at all during school holidays.

theknackster · 23/05/2018 15:54

For mine: 1 hour of tutoring / week, and going through a past paper at the weekend (timed, so they get a feel for the speed they need to get to).

Your main job as a parent is to seem totally relaxed and unconcerned about the whole thing. Good luck!

MrsPatmore · 23/05/2018 16:32

Head over to the elevenplusexams website. There is a wealth of info there including a talk forum for all of the different 11+ areas you can post on.

AsAProfessionalFekko · 23/05/2018 16:35

Manchester grammar school papers are online. Try to get the target school past papers (and answer schemes top).

RoxanneMonke · 23/05/2018 16:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PettsWoodParadise · 23/05/2018 18:35

It will all depend on your child, their ability and what type of grammar they are aiming for. DD sat for three lots of grammar tests (plus one independent) a few years ago, one a superselective. Based on mocks and practice papers we worked on very little and she was doing an hour a week tops (no tutor). During the summer holidays the pattern changed and she did a bit more but spread out over four or five days each week.

Also lots of reading that might not be classed as eleven plus Prep is really helpful for VR and comprehension.

DD did well in all tests but we saw some DCs who’d been doing several hours a week, summer crash courses etc who didn’t achieve the grade.

Go with your knowledge of your child and the routine that will fit in best for your family.

iklboo · 23/05/2018 18:37

90 mins a week with a tutor and one practice paper a week. We then arranged for DS to sit a mock exam under 'proper' conditions so he knew what to expect.

GreenMeerkat · 23/05/2018 18:37

My DCs are not old enough (only just in primary school) but I sat the 11+ and got into grammar school. I'd do studying with my dad 3 or 4 times a week with my Dad and then I'd do a couple of practice papers at the end of each week. I'm not sure what they are like now but if it's still verbal/non-verbal reasoning the best thing to do is to keep doing the practice papers as it's all about skill rather than knowledge.

Good luck to your DD x

Panicmode1 · 23/05/2018 18:43

Lesson with a tutor once a week, a couple of practice papers - some 10 mins, some longer, twice a week, making sure they are reading lots, and that's about it. DS1 and DD are at SS grammars already, DS2 takes it in Sept - he'll do 'summer school' with his tutor in August for four days and he will have a paper a week to do over the summer holiday.

And the parents' job is to stay as calm and unconcerned as you can.

Good luck to your DD!

AveEldon · 23/05/2018 18:54

depends which 11+ you are doing

what will the exam involve?

nearer the time you should focus on timed practice test and exam skills

Original poster
lovely123 · 23/05/2018 20:34

Thanks for all the advice.

OP posts:
whiteroseredrose · 23/05/2018 21:40

My DC had a tutor once a week in Y5 with a little bit of homework. A few past papers in the build up to the exam in late August.

ChocolateWombat · 23/05/2018 22:11

My child had a tutor once a week for an hour and then completed about 2 hours worth of work for the following session - that was in term time.

In holidays, mostly didn't have tutor. Through long holiday, did 30 mins maths or English each day, plus 30mins VR/NVR - that was during weekdays. Did nothing at weekends and whilst actually away on holiday itself.

Have to say, it wasn't pleasant and DC wasn't always co-operative about it, but a clear routine definitely helped. We had sweets or biscuits which could be selected after each session - just a small reward to sweeten it.

In the holiday, the Maths or English would be done straight after breakfast and then we would have the rest of the day for fun stuff and the 30 mins VR/NVR would be done immediately after supper.

And DC passed and has certainly benefitted in terms of maths and English as a result of that work. Wouldn't want to do it again though.

ChocolateWombat · 23/05/2018 22:12

Yes, at the end, it was all about timed work......then the going over.

Moonpie07 · 23/05/2018 22:34

I would recommend sitting a mock examination if available in your area. DS did and did really badly but it definitely helped with timing and coping with the whole experience. In the actual exam, there were huge numbers sitting, at least one boy cried and I imagine it was a very intimidating experience so think mock helped to cope with that, given at 10/11 they've not had to deal with this before. He did pass despite the dreadful mock result! And on the plus side the subsequent experience of SATS in your own classroom is a doddle in comparison. Good luck.

ChristopherTracy · 24/05/2018 11:06

Yes, it depends on your child and which schools you are targetting. We are in a super selective area and so at that stage my dd was doing an hour of maths a night with dh on topics she struggled with and 2 hours tutoring a week - but only school English as she was very good already.

Plus a summer holiday week of intense tutoring.

People who arent in a super selective area will boggle at that but thats just the way it is if there is only a few marks in it.

Hercules12 · 24/05/2018 11:10

Dd in superselective. Group tutoring once a week, homework set by tutor and paper for English and maths at least once a week. She also did a mock test.
We also did papers in McDonald's so she was used to distractions.

PettsWoodParadise · 24/05/2018 13:38

I would disagree that just because you are in a SS area you must to do tons of work, it does depend on the type of test, the ability of your child and how set you are on the school. It also depends on how effective your tutor or home familiarization is. We were quite chilled about it and the hour a week of home familiarization was quite enough for us and that included a superselective test plus others that were a different format.

The sellers of the test papers, the tutors etc all want you to get hyped up as it is in their interests. It is essential a child knows what to expect and has some knowledge and yes there is a degree of 'because others are doing it I have to', but there comes a point when they are repeating the same good marks that it is pointless to continue at high levels and you just need to keep things ticking over so they don't dip, otherwise you risk them burning out or turning against the whole idea of the test. Children who are struggling may well need a different level of familiarization or tutoring but it needs to be focused on their areas of weakness to avoid hours of stuff they don't need to keep revisiting - good quality mocks that provide analysis of the types of questions repeatedly answered incorrectly can help with this.

trinitybleu · 24/05/2018 14:06

75 mins with tutor, an hour of homework all done on the Sunday, usually a comprehension piece, a maths sheet, spellings and do a few pages of each of your workbooks. There was usually some holiday homework but no more than usual for all but summer holidays.

There were mock exam courses in the holidays - exam over 2 days then 2 days feedback / reworking. She did those at Easter and May.

Over the summer she just did 1 exam session (same as above) and kept on with her books.

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