11+ practical advice

[samvimesboots]

Hi

I'm hoping those with DC's who have just done the 11+ would share some practical advice. I'm not thinking about what you needed to know for the exam day itself (rather than if a child should take the exam/study).

Thanks

my dgd studied and practiced extensively for the 11+ process (although at an independent school and aiming for independent secondaries) I found her year 5 experience at school to be relentless and they even managed to suck the joy out of choir practice, everything timed (all pe races), all art work graded and collated as experienced parents worked hard to apply to scholarship opportunities. early year 6 a bit more relaxed leading up to the exams although at this point she had weekly out of school home tuition. she's a clever child although prone to loose focus.
surprisingly dgd was not particularly phased by the exam situations themselves although the lead up did have some friendship flair-up's.
her parents were in knots as to what schools to apply to with one they both expected to be a great fit, being a total flop and dgd firmly against even taking the exam for that particular school.
moving forward, she sat iseb's received two acceptances at the two schools the family agreed on and a decision was quickly made before christmas.
the school has been an excellent fit for dgd, she is doing very well in her classes and excelling in both subject matter and area's she's never tried before.
a very happy family unit regarding secondary choice made for this little one.

Thank you that's interesting. I've not yet taken DD with me to see any schools, I was going to select the ones I like first. I'll watch for friendship flairs too I guess they all get a little stressed.

@samvimesboots We are in Bucks and we didn’t do anything like that at state school. No graded art here! My DD had a week of getting exam technique we paid for and I went through VR questions with her vis a tutoring book. Nothing else. Some parents tutored for years and others did what I did. My dd loved choir. Still sings in a choir now 20 years later. If schools are super selective it’s so competitive! Of course you will like the schools! That’s why there’s competition for places.

It might be helpful if you said what sort of 11+ you will be doing as I think the advice will vary depending on on whether you are looking at a private school (and, if so, whether it’s a competitive one in London for example or one struggling post VAT on school fees), a super selective area like Kent or an area like Bucks where about 1/3 of local kids pass the 11+.

we did 5 months of group online tutoring. 2 hrs every other weekend and my son enjoyed it, much to my amazement. We also did some bond books at home
Some kids were tutored for 3 years two sessions a week..

Good point @RedwallMattimeo

It's for a state school - GL Assessment combination of verbal and non-verbal reasoning, English and mathematics.

I've started a tutor just 1 hour a week and DD enjoys doing the books at home. We're lucky that the our non-grammar catchment school is good, so if she doesn't pass it is not the end of the earth.

Someone at school mentioned you needed a signed photo of the child when taking the test to prove who the child is. I did that classic thing of walking away before thinking of questions and I've not seen her since - I'm assuming a passport will do.

My daughter did tutoring once a week (a joint session with a friend) and some past papers in the summer. We didn't make a bug deal of it, just talked about as giving her more options when it was time to choose schools. Some of the parents at school really went for it and sent their kids to 11+ summer camps and made them practice multiple times a week. Which I just think is too much at 10.

Not sure how old your dc is, but if possible it’s a good idea to have given your dc some low-stakes opportunities to face their nerves eg music or ballet exams, theatre performance, individual competitive sport such as swim races.

Also don’t let dc drink too much before the test! Nothing worse than needing a wee right in the middle.

We saw lots of schools in year 5 and our DC set their hearts on a grammar. They are naturally bright and had struggled in primary school with disruption and noise in class and the pace being slow for them. Especially post covid when many children had to catch up again.

However, we do not have a child that takes well to having to apply themselves. So, we put aside 30 minutes after school one day a week to practice skills like NVR etc using CGP books. To pick up familiarity. Before the summer hols before the test, we booked onto a mock test, which showed us gaps and helped our DC understand the sped needed. We gave them the option of not continuing after this. However, they scored well in most sections and were keen to try the test. So, over the summer we picked it up to at least one full test paper a day (the test organisers provided them) and we could get them online. I also went over algebra and other maths they’d need. we mostly focussed on speed and accuracy. They have to be ready to be fast and accurate.

At the end of the holidays we took another mock test for practice. We then gave them a few days space from any work. Before doing a couple of refreshers on any areas of weakness before they went in.

We fried to keep it low pressure and it’s a take and see. But, I did worry how my DC would feel if they did not get a qualifying score. So made sure we kept visiting other schools and talking about their positives. Happily, it wasn’t needed and DC is now thriving at their grammar of choice.

Tips for the test

• speed is essential keep moving through
• read carefully (all parts of the q, don’t rush to answer the first part of the question)
• eliminate answers that cant be correct first
• don’t spend too long on any one question - if you’re stuck mark by it on the question paper and move on - come back to it at the end
• when you come back to the question, if you still can’t do it, guess an answer- leave no question unchecked
• at the very end, any you haven’t gone back to, just mark in answers on the sheet.

Practically they are all different though - Essex (multiple), Kent, Bucks, Lincolnshire, Birmingham etc - all administer their own exams and set their own practices.

However, since you have engaged a tutor, they would be the perfect person to advise and prep your DC.

@CoucouCat Thanks yes I agree low level failures are a good think DD does a musical instrument which I really thinks helps with the idea of constant practice, failing to get it right, and then small wins is healthy.

I'll keep the water drinking tip in mind. This is what I was looking for things about the exam day itself please.

My best advice would be to read the admissions and test info on your target school's website and visit the schools. My dc were far happier studying once they knew what they were working for.

@CrowMate (love the name)

Good idea, I'll look into mock tests for the summer (not too many) so she gets a feel.

I'll also go through your tips with her, thanks. It has been a while since I sat an exam

Also, depending on where you live please look into eligibility criteria. For example, Bucks grammars all have catchment areas and you will not get in unless you live in catchment - no matter how highly your DC scores.

It's incredibly selfish to take the 11+ test for a school they have no chance of getting into as it deprives a more local child of that place.