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Original poster

11+ and CE exams. How on Earth do I prepare dc for both

22 replies

palerose · 09/07/2021 20:11

I am looking for tutors for 11+ for local grammars but also want my dc to go onto sit the common entrance exams for a couple of independents as well.
Do you have to have separate tutors for each test or school? Is it even possible to aim for both routes.

Our prep school aims towards mainly independent schools but not necessarily selective ones and definitely not the 11+.

OP posts:
Skatingpark97 · 09/07/2021 21:01

What part of the U.K. are you based in? Not many areas have grammars and secondaries wanting at 13 CE, do to mean ISEB taken in year 6?

Original poster
palerose · 09/07/2021 21:21

We are in Buckinghamshire. It is for 11+ and CE afaik.
What is the iseb used for in case I need to know this too? Thanks

OP posts:
Skatingpark97 · 09/07/2021 21:27

Ok Bucks is prob 1 of the few areas left with Grammar and secondaries using CE. You need to read the websites of the private secondaries and see what exam is sat at age 11. If you are aiming for Eton you need advice from your prep.

Skatingpark97 · 09/07/2021 22:01

Sorry just to add if your dc is a dd then yes CE is at age 11.

Original poster
palerose · 09/07/2021 22:07

Ok thank you yes it's my dd so I am trying to work out how to sit 11+ and CE and how to prepare at the same time or if this is even possible.

OP posts:
pocketcalculatoroperator · 09/07/2021 22:22

We didn't do CE, but we did grammar 11+ and then independent entry exams. The indie exams were four months after the grammar, so we prepped for one and then the other. The 11+ prep was good grounding for everything, so we just did that (with a tutor) up until the grammar entrance was done, then ditched the tutor and switched to prep at home for the independent. (Primary, so no prep from school.) It was a slog, I won't lie, but perfectly doable.

LesLavandes · 09/07/2021 22:37

Get a tutor for 11 plus and let the school prepare her for CE

Original poster
palerose · 09/07/2021 23:38

Thanks. I need to work out when the exams are. 4 months difference seems tight. @LesLavandes that would make sense to do that.

OP posts:
pocketcalculatoroperator · 10/07/2021 08:02

Don't forget that there is a degree of overlap (eg the kids learnt new maths concepts for 11+ that they hadn't done in primary, and practised harder problems - for the indie exams, they just added a few more concepts and practised even harder problems). Four months might not seem long now, but I definitely think you can over prepare. Mine were beginning to lose the will to live by the end, and I wouldn't have fancied carrying on much longer.

Solasum · 10/07/2021 08:14

Working on exam technique, being sure to work to careful timings, read questions thoroughly, check work, make sure instructions followed etc will apply to all exams

Original poster
palerose · 10/07/2021 09:38

@pocketcalculatoroperator yes you're right, I am going into slight panic mode feeling like I have such little knowledge of the systems.
@Solasum good tips thank you

OP posts:
chocolatepudandchocolatesauce · 10/07/2021 21:56

11+ exams for Bucks are held over two weekends in September. This year the practice exam is second weekend and the actual exam is the third weekend in September. I don't know when the other exams for the independent schools are though.

Original poster
palerose · 10/07/2021 22:34

Thanks @chocolatepudandchocolatesauce I've spent today researching the exams dates. Feel like I'm back to square one.

11+ is in September but the entrance exams for the schools we are looking at are October and November. This seems unrealistic to happily prepare for both using tutors although as a PP has said perhaps we can rely wholly on school for the indie exams.

OP posts:
chocolatepudandchocolatesauce · 11/07/2021 05:09

Is the syllabus likely to be very different for the other schools or is it general aptitude tests? The tutor we used did general maths and English for a lot of the time alongside the verbal and non-verbal reasoning and then switched to exam prep and technique this last term.

user173029768 · 11/07/2021 10:50

in the same position as you - in panic mode because we've been smooth sailing and doing the little but often approach but now I feel like there's such little time left to the exam and we're not yet hitting the targets for the superselective grammars we applied to. Also planning to look at independents and haven't even begun to do that yet because I'd assumed it was a few months later. Anyway, just to say, I know the feeling! We're only doing 30 mins a day and at the open day for a grammar school we went to they said you need to be doing 2 hrs a day and getting 90%+ in the practise tests Confused

pocketcalculatoroperator · 11/07/2021 11:10

The school seriously said that?! I would actually be quite put off by that. We never did anything like that amount. For 11+, we did a one hour tutoring session a week in Year 5, plus an hour of homework at the weekend. Over the summer holidays we switched to little and often (30 minutes a day, but with lots of days off eg when we went on holiday). For the indie (as advised by them) we didn't get a tutor but just familiarised ourselves with the format (ie a one hour practice paper each weekend, alternating English and Maths). This was for a super selective grammar and a very competitive indie. I honestly think they were beginning to plateau by the time we got to the exams - I think that hours more prep would have been a huge amount of pain for a very tiny, incremental gain.

user173029768 · 11/07/2021 11:15

Sorry, I should clarify it wasn't the school who said that but one of the pupils there recommended it and when I look at all the facebook forums discussing this topic people seem to say they're doing a similar amount (2 hours a day and up to 4 hours a day on weekend!!!!) and no-one bats an eyelid. I also think that's a ridiculous amount. Our little and often approach has worked well so far, it hasn't been overwhelming and we seem to slowly be making progress but after that school visit and these forums I'm beginning to panic that we are not doing enough.

Revengeofthepangolins · 11/07/2021 18:28

It is essentially all the same stuff - maths, english and reasoning. You are over thinking this.

Earlydancing · 11/07/2021 18:32

Have you got past papers from all the schools to compare which bits are the same as the 11+. You might find there's not so much to teach for the indies after that.

3peassuit · 11/07/2021 18:34

I just prepped for the 11plus. The entrance exams at the private schools I entered my girls in for were pretty similar to the state grammar test. (Kent)

Original poster
palerose · 11/07/2021 19:08

On one of the indie schools we are applying to there is a science paper and another test not covered in 11+ so it isn't as simple as a complete cross over unfortunately.

I have also heard the indie schools papers are harder than the 11+ ones, one of the schools gives out no practice papers either so I can't really tell what they want.

OP posts:
Skatingpark97 · 11/07/2021 20:28

@palerose , re the independent schools you are considering, is it CE or their own exams that they write themselves or use a company like GL? You need to go with your prep for this. If you are considering Wycombe Abbey your prep should be leading the way for the Cat entry exam, it's similar to the ISEB entry exam and you can use websites like Atom to practice but your prep will know this.

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