7+ exams a year a way. What should I be doing now with DD?

[MGMidget]

My DD is fairly young in her year and we are thinking of trying for at last one 7+ exam in a year's time. She experienced disrupted learning during the lockdowns like many of her peers so I don't know how much this is going to affect the school's expectations for next year's 7+ exams. I suspect it may be as tough as ever as parents will have put a lot of work in at home.

I wondered if those who have been through 7 + exams for academic schools could tell me what we should be doing with DD a year away from the exams. The expectations look quite high relative to the work her class are being given in the current lockdown so I think I have my work cut out!

Any views on what level of attainment they should have now and how much children progress in a year at this age with additional input from home?

Do most people tutor as well or are workbooks the most effective way of preparing and if so what age workbooks were you using a year before the exams and what age did you get to judge before the exams?

Thank you!

Depends on what schools you are aiming for. For the most selective schools many children learn the full year 3 curriculum ahead of the exam on January of Year 2.

A state school will very rarely be able to teach even the most able students this far ahead of the national curriculum so you should ensure she is solid on everything she has already been taught and then accelerate her learning at home.

Thanks, SouthLondonMommy. In practice then, if you have a year to accelerate them how much time do they need to spend on this out of school? I am just gauging what the commitment is going to be? The school we are considering would fall into the highly selective category. I have bought some age 5-6 bond books to start on but know this is just the starting point. Just wondering just how much of a mountain we're going to have to climb!

I don't think it's worth sweating this. If your daughter is very able and working at a higher than expected level, she'll get in. My son is in year 1 at a state school and we might possibly do a 7+ exam next year. If we do it would only be so he could be stretched in maths. If your daughter is very able (which I'm sure she is) then her current school should be able to give her more advanced work. And of course she should read as widely as possible. If she is not significantly more able than the average, then she might get a place with lots of coaching but it will be a miserable experience. Trust the school you're applying to and your daughter to work out if they're a good fit or not.

My friend's son appeared for 7+ a couple of years ago. Her mum is a tutor herself and worked very hard to get him a place. Despite the hardship, he did not pass all the exams he sat but got into Kings.
I understand from many who sit the exam, that they either get a tutor or use the online systems.
My friend is a tutor herself but also tried the online systems. I do not remember which ones she tried. It was a couple of years ago when she mentioned but if you are interested in the online systems then I can ask her.
I have a DD who sat the 11+ in 2019 but we never tried 7+.

@RickyDad

My friend's son appeared for 7+ a couple of years ago. Her mum is a tutor herself and worked very hard to get him a place. Despite the hardship, he did not pass all the exams he sat but got into Kings. I understand from many who sit the exam, that they either get a tutor or use the online systems. My friend is a tutor herself but also tried the online systems. I do not remember which ones she tried. It was a couple of years ago when she mentioned but if you are interested in the online systems then I can ask her. I have a DD who sat the 11+ in 2019 but we never tried 7+.

Hi What do you mean by online systems? Thanks

Try to increase her vocabulary, use unfamiliar words and explain the meaning - and write them. Read widely and discuss with her, especially how the characters feel, what they are thinking. Give her ideas for stories that she can write, the more imaginative the better.

Encourage her to have an enquiring mind and to look things up. There isn't much 'going out' at the moment but even short outings involve seeing things, flowers, trees, people and animals which she can talk about and describe.

Do some puzzles and junior scrabble. Make sure her times tables are up to scratch.

Painting and drawing.

@justasmalltownmum there are various online education platforms you can use to prepare for 7+ exams. The platforms help strengthen the basics and also provide things like past papers to practice, mock exams, on-demand tutors etc. It usually works out cheaper than hiring a private tutor and you get more resources.
I hope this helps.

[quote RickyDad]@justasmalltownmum there are various online education platforms you can use to prepare for 7+ exams. The platforms help strengthen the basics and also provide things like past papers to practice, mock exams, on-demand tutors etc. It usually works out cheaper than hiring a private tutor and you get more resources.
I hope this helps.[/quote]
Thanks! If possible, Could you send me some links please?

It depends where you are thinking? If London are you looking at Bute, Latymer, City etc?

It makes a big difference on prep.

Hi OP.

I agree it depends a little bit on which schools you are aiming for. If the top ones, and if not at a pre-prep, then unfortunately I think just being bright is not enough to get a place.

My DS is at a school that doesn't prepare for 7+, and we did extra work with him for about 18 months in the lead up to the exams. Not masses but certainly lots of reading, comprehension and story writing and VR/NVR. And practice tests for maths. They need to get used to the exam format.

Bond books for reasoning I think you do need to be at 8-9 level. Practice papers are available on many school websites, or you can pay and download packs from exam specialist websites.

We did get a tutor quite early on, partly to get an assessment to see if it was worth trying, and to work on the gaps.

Good luck

Thanks eveyone. To pick up on some questions and comments:

We are aiming for an academic school, the standard is competitive, definitely. We are in a private school with a good reputation but it doesnt prepare for 7+. Furthermore lockdowns have had a big effect. Dd seems to be more able in maths than English at the moment but I know we have our work cut out. I cant really ask the school foer extra work at the moment. Education hasnt been normal for most of the past year with teachers providing a scaled down educTion that is largely dependent on the amount of time parents can spend delivering their lesson plans and grapple with the glitchy technology. So we get the strong message from school that teachers are working their socks off to deliver a scaled down service and wont be doing any more. We have also been told there will be no differentiation so it is the same programme for everyone and has been since the start of the first lockdown in her reception year. Also, as the school doesn’t prepare for 7+ and doesnt expect children to leave until at least 11 I think it best not to divulge my intentions. I dont want my child to be the least favoured when any decisions are being made. Therefore, I need to take this on as on out-of -school project.

I am very interested in knowing what the good online programmes are? I am looking at getting a tutor involved to give us some guidance on standards and our DD’s potential plus keep us motivated and on track but I know we’ll need to do more than a bit of tutoring. A year away we havent even started on times tables yet so I was a little amused at the suggestion of making sure she knows them all really well! However , I know we’ve got a year, and that’s good advice of what standard we need to get to.

We are looking at appearing for 7+ next January and I am working on the assumption that standard will be similar to 7+ at the junior departments of the big name London boys schools so I know we may never reach that standard. The school probably has the same desirability for girls and goes all-through so more or less a guaranteed place in the girls secondary school which is academic. I am just weighing up whether it’s worth trying and what we need to do.

@MGMidget if you want to specifically look at the tutor pls do pm me. I can share details of someone I know

@MGMidget we come from a non feeder school and I started working with my child in March of last year to sit for the corresponding 7+. We have two offers and one school turned us down which I do believe was because the exam was switched to an online medium last minute and we had troubling signing in. But the school has asked us to reapply for the 8+ which we fully intend to do.

I would suggest start with the 5-6 but you should quickly be able to progress to the 7-8 and 8-9 sets of practice papers. Maths, Grammar, Composition, Non verbal and verbal reasoning. Schools like St Pauls and Westminster under have a reading list. Go through them and see how well she reads/understands books on that list because I'm pretty sure all top private schools have similar standards. CGP and Bond books are good but Schofield & Sims are a game changer. Plus take a look at this website: exam paper plus. You'll have to purchase the exam papers and they'll give you a password to access those practice papers. She should be able to do the 7+ papers and progress to the 8+ as well. Read the little write up they provide on the school you're aiming for.

If you're considering Bute House, they will make you sign an affadavit confirming you have not had the child tutored. They are very thorough with the assessment and go to great lengths to ensure the child hasn't been trained to the point of insanity. Fantastic campus and a huge number of girl go to St Paul's girls later.

It sounds crazy and overwhelming but this piece of advice I swear by. Consistency. Every day after school, 1-2 hours of 7+ prep. Only Sundays off. You'll be absolutely amazed how much you'll cover by the time she sits for the exams. If you're from a non feeder like us, you'll have to teach a few concepts yourself.

Lastly, puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, tessellation, stick puzzles, cross the river puzzles, you'll find a lot of material online, mental maths, etc. We used to do them at dinner time because I wanted to make it fun for him. We'd all pretend to solve and in that way, encourage him to think. You don't want to overburden the child. That's why start early and be consistent. Good luck.

@MGMidget
I think you are in the same boat as most parents. Maths is strong and English needs work. Same story almost everywhere. My DS had the same traits. We had to work hard to ensure that we maximise his Maths potential and focus on getting him everything correct. Sounds a lot of pressure but usually it isn't as they continuously keep on getting something wrong. You just need to work on it. Being strong in Maths is great but if you speak to multiple parents you might realise that it isn't a differentiator especially if scores hover around 85% in a full test.

In English, try and get the grammar strong and then it is about using adjectives, synonyms, adverbs, nouns etc all in a short passage. Do focus on words per minute as my DS was too slow in handwriting.

I would suggest that you help yourself rather than getting a tutor. Howver, if you need suggestions on maths and english tutors then I can refer you to two different places.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. As she’s at a private prep it’s a long day so two hours after school and then puzzles at tea time is going to be tough and a big change for DD! However lockdown schooling is giving me more knowledge as a home educator! As a matter of interest did you create a range of incentives to encourage all this extra work? I have reward charts already but think I need to work on motivation techniques to sustain this commitment for a year!

How did you prepare for creative writing? What resources did you use? Thank you