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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

tutor or not for 11+

15 replies

welcometomyworld2 · 13/03/2014 11:07

Ds is currently in year 4 and has recently told us he wants to go to the local grammar. This means he will have to do well in the 11+ and people keep telling me he will need a tutor. He is doing really well at school and already a NC 4a in all subjects without any help at all, so I do not know if tutoring is really necessary. I would really appreciate your advice. Thanks

OP posts:

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bluewisteria · 13/03/2014 18:02

I would... Purely to get used to the way questions are written, and timed exams. He is already bright, and it may give him some extra confidence too.
Good luck to him!

ThreeBeeOneGee · 13/03/2014 18:11

Some preparation is required, as most children won't have come across these sorts of questions before, so they need to familiarise themselves with the question style and learn a bit of exam technique.

Whether this preparation is led by a tutor, a parent or the child themselves (if mature & motivated) is a matter of personal choice.

BornFreeButinChains · 13/03/2014 19:03

Yes 100%.

A good tutor will be able to assess and make sure there are no gaps in his knowledge.

cingolimama · 13/03/2014 19:09

Absolutely. Even bright children at excellent schools have knowledge gaps, or topics that need consolidation. Also, as several posters have pointed out, the format of the tests are unique, and kids need a chance to familiarise themselves with this.
Good luck to your son!

NancyJones · 13/03/2014 19:12

Yes to plug any gaps.
Plus, even the brightest state school pupil will not have come across many VR or NVR questions before so practice at these is essential.

GreenShadow · 13/03/2014 19:19

It's not always necessary. Practice papers are readily available and as long as they make sense to you so that you can help, a tutor is not essential.

Hoppinggreen · 13/03/2014 21:21

My friend invigilates the 11+ and she says that each year there are a number of children in tears during the exam simply because they have never seen anything like it before.
Even if you decide not to get tuition then at least get sample papers.

angelcake20 · 13/03/2014 23:02

Preparation is certainly necessary but whether you need a tutor is dependent on how confident you feel preparing your son for a format that he is not familiar with, and whether you are in an area where 25/30% go to grammars or 1/2%, ie how competitive the exam is.

Sid77 · 13/03/2014 23:08

Just a question, but if you need a tutor to pass the 11+ won't you need a tutor when at grammar school? Doesn't it kind of defeat the object of the 11+? I did the exam/test and went to grammar school. No one that I knew had a tutor for it. That was about 25 years ago...

ThreeBeeOneGee · 14/03/2014 07:16

Just a question, but if you need a tutor to pass the 11+ won't you need a tutor when at grammar school?

Not if most of the other children also had a tutor or were coached by a relative. It's a bit more competitive than it was 25 years ago, especially for the superselectives.

cingolimama · 14/03/2014 09:12

Sid, yes that was about 25 years ago....

Things have changed. The tests have changed. And no, the child won't need a tutor when at grammar school - that idea simply doesn't hold water.

cingolimama · 14/03/2014 09:18

OP, one thing I would say is that I consider a "tutor" could also be a parent, if you have the time and inclination, and would rather save the money or don't have the money for a paid tutor.

You absolutely can do it yourself, but there are advantages to paying someone else though. Have you checked out the eleven + forum? It's full of helpful advice and can be very specific about your area.
www.elevenplusexams.co.uk

BornFreeButinChains · 14/03/2014 09:45

sid many kids are at preps who have been preparing them for selective from day one, they have regular exposure to VR and NVR and the whole teaching is aimed at feeding into excellent schools and the bar for these pupils is set high, expectations are very high.

I think any child going for 11+ up against this lot should at least prepare for it as best they can.

Sid77 · 14/03/2014 13:22

Thanks for your replies - things are clearly more competitive now!

fuzzywuzzy · 14/03/2014 13:29

I personally didn't, purely because I didn't want Dd to pass and get into the school and then find she couldn't keep up.

I do think DC need to be familiarised with the exams, but as DD didn't know the importance of what she was doing she was very relaxed and happy to sit the exams, I know some kids who sat the 11+ amd really worked themselves up over it (which I didn't want for DD).

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