Advice sought - prepping for 7+ with 6 months to go?

[Knowitall2112]

Hello,

Are there any 7+ survivors out there who've come out the other side, unscathed with offers in hand??
I'd very much like your help please.

I'm interested in my child appearing for 7+ assessments later this year. London day schools - ultra competitive, think hundreds of applicants for 20 odd places. I'm thinking no more than 3 schools - likely to be co-ed settings.

All things being considered I know I have around 6 months / 26 weeks available for my child and I to dedicate to 7+ prep. (Other commitments mean that there are a few weeks between now and assessments that I'll have to largely write off - hence arriving at 26 weeks as the prep period).

DC attends a state primary, is sent home with 1 reading book per week and no other homework is set. It's likely that the class will barely complete the y1 curriculam due to pandemic disruptions. Class teacher thinks DC is doing well, no concerns.

I'd be grateful for any advice on:

1. How to assess my child's capacity today?

1. How to structure the 26 weeks available to us between now and assessments? I'm thinking some kind of planner or schedule which identifies what 7+ content needs to be covered (and mastered) each week.

1. How to regularly assess progress, perhaps on a monthly basis? None of the schools appear to offer past papers on their respective sites and I'm wary of third party company versions - are any of them any good and worth paying for?

I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of information online.

I appreciate that we're incredibly lucky to be living in an information age with so many resources available, free and paid for. But I'm at a complete loss at where to start and how to sort the wood from the trees. What's good quality info, what's still relevant, some sites seem to have outdated advice and information, but i don't know for certain.

Is there a service whereby my DC can be assessed and based on our given timelines, a structured prep plan be put together?

Any decent tutors/ companies out there who could pull something like this together? I'd be happy to explore face to face as well online tutors.

Many thanks in advance!

Hello Knowitall,

Try to upload past 7+ papers (just google it and you’ll find plenty) and let your DC try them. You’ll get the idea about where he/she is in terms of English and Math.
The usual workbooks for 7+ preparation are Bond books (Math, English, Reasonings), the kids should be able to successfully do books for 7-8 years, 8-9 for top schools. Schoffield and Sims are great too, especially if there are some gaps e.g Franctions, Time etc.

Mock7+ exams - worth trying closer to the exam date (2-3 months before). There are many external organisers such as
exampapersplus.co.uk/mock-exams/

What schools are you looking at? I heard that Latymer Prep Past Papers cover pretty much everything that the child should be confident at by 7+ exam.

Hi @2minutesplease,

Thank you for sharing this info, it's much appreciated. I'm thinking of settings like Highgate. I guess I'll need to aim for the age 8-9 standard.

Thanks for the tip re Schofield and Sims. I am wondering what will be the best method for introducing and teaching some of this higher level content. It's helpful to know that Scofield and Sims cover some of this off.

@knowitall2112

Yes, for the most competitive schools, you should have covered full year 3 curriculum by exam time in year 2 (that's for Alleyn's and JAGs though I imagine Highgate is similar). If you are in a state school, I'd suggest you figure out if there any gaps in the curriculum covered to date and then come up with a structured plan from there to cover off the topics on the exam not covered in school once any gaps are filled.

Many thanks @SouthLondonMommy, I'll have a look around for some end of year assessments.

Since you’re looking for co-ed as a preference, you may be interested to know that the City of London schools (Boys and Girls) are opening a joint junior school, incorporating what is currently CLSG Prep, in September 2022. The expectation would be that pupils transfer seamlessly to the respective single-sex senior schools in Y7:

cityjuniorschool.org.uk/