Can someone please explain to me why 11+ tuition starts from the beginning of year 4?

[midnightlurker]

Two years of Maths, NVR and VR? I totally understand doing classes in Y5, but why an extra year?

I'm not sure it does, surely it's up to the parents when to start with tutoring. It's usually Yr5 where I am although DD started halfway through Yr4 as she needed extra help with maths anyway and it definitely did make a difference.

well your child must be at a private school, and they want to show that their leavers go on to 'good' schools...ergo 11 + tuition for most of junior school....
I am surprised that this was not clear when you signed up.

Not my child - a friend's. They have signed up and are paying for two years of lessons at one of those tuition places.

oh I see - so not in her regular school then?
Why not ask the friend in that case?

Maybe they don't have much confidence in their child's abilities? Or they've been conned by the tuition industry which tries to present this as a good/necessary thing to do.

For some, 'tuition' consists of some practice papers during the hols before yr6.

Because people are stupid enough to pay for it!

I am thinking of doing this with my dd as she is entering year 4. My reasons are to make it less pressured, more just something she does and give her a solid knowledge not hot house her to pass the test. You can get books aimed for 8-9 yr olds just to get them used to the format, type of question and thought process required. I am doing it myself not with a tutor as if she did get to grammar school we wouldn't be able to afford a tutor so we need to be her support

Pretty standard afaik. Exams are all about speed. One reason why plenty of people opt out of 11+. Hours can increase significantly in yr 5, and there are lots of more fun things children could be doing.

Yr 5 seems to be norm around here. But I can see why some would do yr 4, tutors book up so there is panic if you don't get a slot you may not get one in yr 5. Keeping up with the Jones - if everyone else is signing up yr 4. Needing to pass out of catchment - so needing a very high score, really needing to pass as no good alternatives, tuition centre group tuition not one on one tuition will take more time to cover topics but cheaper.

What current school is like. As a mum of a DC about to sit the main issue seems to be they need to know the whole of the yr 6 curriculum by end of yr 5. This is fine if school has covered it but if not the child needs teaching the content not just exam prep.

I think the tutor and learning centre industry would like you to think this but it isn't usual IME. DD starts at grammar in Sept. We home tutored from start of y5 but it was very lightweight even then. We were also going for a superselective place. i did meet some who tutored from part way through Y4 but they usually fell into the category of 1) not being native English speakers themselves so extra English tuition would be a good boost, 2) they were at a state school sitting for an independent or our local superselective boys grammar and the maths required was a level not covered by the national curriculum, 3) the child was a grafter but not obviously bright so with the right help they might get a place or 4) the child was bright but didn't want to do the test. The latter group were the hardest to deal with if you started too early as they just got bored and switched off.

I think it is from yr5 here for the Birmingham grammars.

DS was beginning of yr5.

Two close friends children started in year 3 - one passed and one didn't.
And I also know a dC who has been going since year 1. When I was panicking about this, DC1 teacher said 10 sessions in year 5 should be enough.
Hard to know what to do isn't it maybe just not bother

Not the norm here - children start in October of Year 5.

But there will always be parents who think their child needs extra help / think they'll be ahead of the game if they start in Year 4 etc.

We are near a grammar school area. Most are happy to not be in a grammar area. Some aspire to move accoss to grammars in neighbouring LA, esp from one local faith primary.
Yr5 is normal, Yr4 is common and Yr3 increasingly so. In the neighbouring grammar LA it's the same, except that almost all DC trying for a grammar are tutored. It's a huge industry in that area. There is a very real level of paranoia that if you don't tutor intensively, they won't stand a chance of getting in. The affluent families obviously have more chance of the best tutors for the longest. It's hugely divisive. The state primaries in the area claim to be the best but results are heavily skewed by the huge tutor industry... Awful

It usually starts in y5 here.

My DS started 11plus maths tuition in Jan this year and will take the test in Sept.

He did start having tuition in English to improve his creative writing at the start of Y4 but that wasn't 11plus specific ( although the tutor has switched to 11 plus prep in the last 6 months)

There was a lot of talk in y4 about booking in early because of a shortage of tutors but I had no problem finding a great tutor when we needed one.

I'm in a super selective area (think that's right phrase!) my daughter is starting 121 next month at start of year 5, 1 hour per week. I had spoken to another group tutoring centre several months ago who suggested she would need 4 hours a week of group tutoring.

I was horrified - in my view if she needs 4 hours a week then surely she should not be going there and secondly I wasn't putting her through that she would be sick of it by the time the exam comes round!