How to prepare a child for the 7+ entrance exam

[emanuela]

I am the mother of a Year 1 child who goes to a good(but not very academic) indeependent school.

I would like her to sit the 7+ next year, but I honestly don't know whether she is academic enough for that type of schools.

She is reading Stage 11 ORT books, she writes (short) sentences ahd her spelling is mostly OK.

She has not started timetables yet at school nor fractions, but we are trying to teach her those at home.

Unfortunately, both my husband and I work full time (12 hours/day) so we don't really have much time to spend with her. The nanny is not a native English speaker (nor are we) so she is not the best person to help.

She is also quite lazy, so getting her to do homework/extra work is very difficult.

Are there any mothers of children who have sat the 7+ exam ? How did you prepare your children? What is expected of them?

Thank you in advance for all your help. I appreciate that academic success is not everything, but both my husband and I started with nothing and we are where we are now thanks to our tenacity and our academic abilities.

Thanks again,
Ema

Year 1 is the right time to start preparing your daughter if you're really serious about the seven plus entrance because they exams take place in Jan of Yr2.

Essentially, your child should be able to tackle a comprehension and a story (8-10 lines at least but with a logical plot) in English, definitely times tables till 10, fractions, simple multiplication and division and you also need to prepare verbal and non-verbal reasoning.

May be you can get some help speaking to those whose kids have done their exams. Which area are you based in, I could put you in touch with some mums if you live near me.

Have a look at the school websites you are thinking of. It would for instance in London be unusual to expect them to have all their tables to 10 - latimer and WEstminster for instance say they should know the 2,3, 4, 5 and 10s I think. Most schools give a pretty good summary of what they expect to have covered.

Judging from the boys' schools she will need some verbal reasoning, so buy the Bond verbal reasoning books (WHSmiths, Waterstones etc) and get started doing one a week from now until the exam. If she is going for an academic school you will ideally want to be at least a year ahead of her age.

Other posters are right re comprehension and stories. Probably wait until the summer to start working on stories if she isn't keen already, as they cover a huge amount of ground in year 1, and it may well be too early.
Are you in London? There are people who will do assessments (again, probably not until the summer) to advise you if she is at the right level. And mock exams in the autumn.
And your nanny, not withstanding english, can still do a tables test each morning on the way to school (and her spelling words) - this will help a lot.
Hope this helpful

michaelahp - thinking of this for my dd. How would I find someone to assess to see if she's up for this, might you know? Thanks

we just had an assessment completed for our daughter by a tutor at Swiss Cottage. In case you are interested - I could send you her contact details

Tricia, would you be able to pm me that? Thank you very much

emanuela, interesting we share a name and also a dd1 in Y1 - are you me? ;o)

I will be watching this thread with interest as I am considering transferring my DD1 at some point so need to keep up with what's needed!!!

Make sure you check what the school/s you're planning on trying for expect.

DS1 just tried for a highly selective school through the 7+, who made it clear they are looking for potential, and that tutoring or extra work will only get in the way of them noticing it. I was quite sceptical about this being the case, but being lazy, decided to give it a try.
A week before the exam, a friend with DC at another pre-prep told me the boys sitting 7+ at same next school as DS1, were getting 30 mins extra tuition a day from current school.

We almost pulled DS1 out of the exam, but in the end, he sat them. He got in. Only one of the seven very-prepped boys got in.

BTW - current school should be giving you advice on what next schools your DD should be trying for (even if they want her to stay with them). Its part of what you're paying for.

My friends daughter sat tests for Bute House last year. She was amazingly bright, knew her times tables to 12, could add triple digits in her head, could simplify basic fractions! Her english was ok, but not as good as her Maths. Unfortunately she didnt get in! They didnt tell her why but I think super prepping may be necessary! Ive been looking around online for my own son to start classes to prepare him, so far Ive found www.topsettuition.com. DOes anyone know of any other classes that can prepare him within London?

Please can some tell me about the 7+ exams, I am new to this and have no idea where to begin. I have tried google but I can't fine an explanation on what it is, how to apply, testing and son on.

Any responses are much appreciated.

Hello - one of mine has recently sat 7+ - he is quite bright but not genius level, he did well in the tests and has been offered a place for Sep.

Our (state) school recommended him for it - and I got good advice on here on how to prepare!

NNE

It is the entrance exam some schools hold for children who will start the school at the beginning of yr 3, when they are 7. They usually take the exam at the beginning of the Spring term in yr 2. Unless you specifically want to send your child to such a school you dont need to know anything more about it.

I am also considering 7+ for my DD. Any further advice on how to prepare them for the English part of the exam? Someone mentioned Bond books on verbal reasoning? Thanks.

Hi tricia04,
Can you please send the details for the Swiss Cottage teacher?
Thanks
Supriya