11+ prep - is a tutor really as essential as we’re being led to believe?

[Suchasadmumma]

This has probably been done to death over the years, so apologies!

Prepping for 11+; my daughter is about to start yr 5. She’s bright and would like to try 11+ next year to see if she can pass/apply to local grammar school.

I don’t do school run myself, but hubby tells me everyone says that you HAVE to get a tutor. A client of mine I was chatting to today also indicated to that effect. Apparently, everyone does it and it’s pretty much pointless trying to do it without.

I get that it’s a totally different kind of area of learning to what they’d be doing at school; but is full on tutoring absolutely necessary?!

I didn’t really want to take that route; I worry that kids might sink while they’re there, having been trained to sit a test but perhaps not actually be bright enough to keep up at the expected level once they’re in?

Apart from fully fledged child geniuses (which as bright as she is, my child definitely isn’t!) has anybody here had kids do a bit of prep at home to get a feel for the kind of questions in the test, but then taken the test and passed?

We’re Kent area, if that makes a difference at all!

Thanks

Absolutely possible to do if your DD wants it and is self motivated. The Kent test really isn’t that difficult if your DD just needs a pass.

Remember it isn’t just about the test though it is also technique so timing, not getting distracted by upset other children, what to do if don’t know an answer so you don’t get stuck and fail to answer the rest of the paper.

Use practice and familiarisation time effectively by identifying the styles of questions she repeatedly gets wrong rather than go over and over the same thing.

Another factor which you might want to consider is that if say half the class are having a tutor then there begins to be a split in the class, which I imagine will be worse after missing time with CV. The class essentially splits into those who have covered the syllabus already with their tutor and those who haven't and they can feel discouraged when their friends move up maths sets and they don't.

If you want her to get into the 11+ schools, get a tutor. If she misses out by a few marks you will regret not doing so. Why not try a weekly session to see how it goes? You don’t need to continue if it’s not working.

Having just (successfully) gone through for the Sutton area its as much about training and preparing for how it works.

For example she was told how to check using her ruler every five questions - it turned out she missed one but got it early enough to change and get back on track.

We did an hour a week and some practice stuff. It was too important for her not to get in and she did so very comfortably (got an OOC score). She is a child who likes to be prepared though

A couple of years off for us, but I, reading this with interest. We are in Kent. I would feel happy to tutor my daughter myself, but the issue is time because of work. How do those of you who prepare your children yourself manage time wise?

@lovemylot1

A couple of years off for us, but I, reading this with interest. We are in Kent. I would feel happy to tutor my daughter myself, but the issue is time because of work. How do those of you who prepare your children yourself manage time wise?

I worked full time and key was for DD to do most of it and then I would review. It got her into good self study habits that have paid dividends recently! She only did about an hour or so a week, I would set a ten minute test in one of the categories (English, maths, NVR, VR and then also fifteen mins of targeted work on any problem areas identified. The latter I sometimes made up and I could put together in a document on my phone whilst commuting.

DD would also read and have a paper bookmark she would write down vocabulary on she didn’t understand and I would then go through that, but that didn’t feel like work! So it was five lots of ten or 15 mins for DD over the course of the week plus once a week of me reviewing and chatting about her latest read.

We also arranged for a couple of mocks and talked about how to not get stuck on questions and how to mark the boxes correctly and not get out of kilter between question and answer box. Demystifying the whole experience so she was less likely to get thrown by what when in on the actual day.

Thank you Browneyed that’s helpful! You sound like a superstar parent.

Can anyone PM their tutor details for 11+? I work full time so would really like some help. Based in North West London.

I think a lot depends on the area, and how selective it is. In sone areas the grammars take the top 30% while in others its more like the top 5%. If you end up not usingbz tutor, make sure you're aware of ehat is actually being tested. Maths is the big issue in our area because the 11+ tests on the entire Y6 curriculum but it is taken in September so a child attending state school will not have covered the work at school yet

I didn’t have a tutor for my son as I couldn’t afford it. Registered him for the 11+ to give him a chance anyway on the advice of his teacher and ordered a practice book from Amazon which he did the week before. Didn’t mark it, just to get a feel for the format and questions.

He did pass and get a place at the school. If I could have afforded tutoring I would have though as it would have helped him and also given him that extra boost for the transition from primary to secondary which is huge

I felt awful that I couldn’t tutor him or afford a tutor.

We did practice papers for mine, but that was it. From experience I'd say you can tell once you're in which kids were tutored to pass the exam. Unless you're planning to keep up the tutoring their whole academic career its pointless getting them into a hugely academic school by spending hours preparing. They won't cope once they're there and don't have the same support! Doing practice papers is sensible so you know what level they're realistically working at and the papers don't surprise them on the day. Especially the non-verbal reasoning sections.

I’d say it’s essential to get your best chance.

It’s not the same stuff they do in school and they need to prep for the exam and learn/practise those specific skills.

I've not been on MN for ages, and appreciate that insight!

Crazy that test day is next month, it feels like forever ago I posted this.

We did get a tutor 1hr a week (although nothing during lockdowns) and have a couple of revision sessions in the hols. We're mainly just doing practice papers when we get a chance and will see what happens, without usual session in holidays. She's not completed much of the tutor set work within the year but tutor reckons she'll have a good chance of passing anyway and that she's able enough/suited to grammar generally, without risking being below par if she were to get in.

We decided we didn't want to have her doing bags of extra work under duress, but that a bit of help with techniques and the NVR stuff wouldn't go amiss. We've not pushed too many practice papers on her and all the tutor set work for that reason.

Basically, we're winging it and it'll be what it'll be.

I do think it's a shame that we feel that you 'have' to get a tutor at all, and that it isn't just a case of sitting the test and that's that. I think that's probably how it was always intended to be.