How much support did you get ahead of 7+?

[Annemum6]

How much support/ feedback did your prep give ahead of the 7+?

I'm a little surprised as we are 4-5 months away from sitting the first 7+ assessments and while we have a small amount of weekly homework (about 10 minutes at a stretch) there hasn't been much else. Were you given specific feedback about what to work on? I think DC can work on their creative writing but this is only my guess - we haven't been told anything.

What would you expect in terms of support before the 7+?

Bumping this for myself!

That sounds on the light side, although you don’t say what/how much 7+ prep your DC is doing during normal school hours.

From Jan of Y1, my DS’s class did:

20 new spelling words a week, and a weekly dictation test
plus
20 minutes homework every weeknight and 30 mins at the weekend (often involving writing a story)
plus
times tables practice
plus
all the boys sitting 7+ did a semi-compulsory after school session once a week where they did a mock test.

On top of that, lots of boys had tutors outside school as well - esp for maths and chess.

Sorry just to clarify that was out of school hours - they also did timed comprehension and VR sessions etc in the normal school day.

sorry one more thing - they also did termly standardised and internal assessments and in the summer and autumn terms pre 7/8+ they give parents a weekly written read out on progress against key objectives, so you could see what needed work.

Thanks @AutumnTerm can I ask what school your DS went to?

Ouch - our homework seems incredibly (or rather, worryingly) light in comparison. We have 10 spelling words a week and have never had to do a story at home. I don't know what prep they are doing in class - there hasn't been anything on the timetable about this.

Eaton House Belgravia

South London Prep here, fairly relaxed one though defo not a hot house. School set:

10 new spelling words a week
1-2 books reading per evening
60 mins at the weekend (writing a story/ maths/ comprehension )
times tables practice now and again , which DS just sort of did has he likes them
plus 4 months to go we did: exam prep, reasoning prep at home roughly every other weekend.

prep or pre-prep? If a prep that goes to 11 or 13 I'd expect zero support for the7+ as they want you to stay.

Hi OP

I know this is not quite what you asked but I hope it provides some reassurance.

Our DC was at a prep, and as pp says, they don't prepare you for the 7+ as their aim is the 11+, so we did the 7+ ourselves, starting in the summer with some creative writing once-a-week.
Then just before Oct half term we started doing some maths, VR and non-VR papers just so our DC had experience of answering worksheets rather than for learning new concepts, IYSWIM.

Exams were the first week of Jan and we went on hols over Christmas, returning 4 days before the first paper.
So, it can be done with limited pressure on the child.

If your child is at a pre-prep, they are probably already working a year ahead of their age range, so it is likely to be a case of practising exam technique and, for creative writing, making sure they get into the habit of structuring their story, using interesting vocabulary etc.

I'd be glad that the school is not heaping on loads of pressure. What is their exit results like at 7+? This should give an indication of how good their method of prepping them is.

Good luck!

Just to add we did not use a tutor or use online programs, such as Atom

Can anyone please give me a sample pic or link of what level a child is expected to write at for 7+? I really need some guidance and help and frame of reference.

@Lizzysd13 , it depends on where you live and which school you are aiming for. Kings College Wimbledon have sample 7plus exam papers on their website.

Sorry I should have been more specific. I have a lot of sample papers and have also been using the exam papers plus website which I think is great. What I would like to actually see is samples of kids who have written stories or creative essays so I have some frame of reference as to what my child should be capable of doing/writing. He does a decent job, but I mean I sometimes wonder if I think that because I’m his mother 🤣

@Lizzysd13 , are you aiming for London boys preps? If the expectations are so much higher than others schools.

My daughter did 7+ exam this year. She did 4 exam and passed all of them. 2 of them was really selective independent school. We did no practice at home and no private tutor.

I looked for this too and this was the only one I ever found
crystaltuition.com/blog/f/7-plus-creative-writing-tips-student-example-story-by-j

If it helps, my DD got in at 7+ at a v selective school and her punctuation and spelling definitely wasn't as perfect as this.

I was also told, though I don't know if it's true, that for girls it's often the reasoning and maths that makes the difference, and for boys it's the writing (because that's often their respectively weaker subjects at this age).

There's a 7+ thread somewhere where you will get an indication of this but I recommend ramping it up. Competition is extreme - and unfortunately there's a certain sub set of parents pushing it up. I myself haven't done it with DD but we did 4+ and I came across some ridiculous parenting during the process. You may be chilled, but they are not = pushing your naturally intelligent DD down the chain.

@Lizzysd13 Bought back memories. This happens when you don't know what one should benchmark against. Drop me a direct message, and I can try and help with what my DS used to write before his 7+. Happy to help.

Prep or pre-prep? A prep goes to 11 and will generally offer zero help for the 7+ as they want you to stay.

Depends on the school and their exit school marketing.

Do they market themselves on sending boys to WUS, St Paul‘s Junior or KCW at 7 or 8? If so I would expect them to have identified those candidates with a strong chance and for them to be tutoring to the test from early of Y1.

Are they a through 11/13 school? Would not expect much in school help.

Are you in a less competitive area where entry at 7+ is based on the child being average, well behaved and from a family able to pay full fees? In which case I would expect a bit of exam practice in the month before the test.

@Lizzysd13

Sorry I should have been more specific. I have a lot of sample papers and have also been using the exam papers plus website which I think is great. What I would like to actually see is samples of kids who have written stories or creative essays so I have some frame of reference as to what my child should be capable of doing/writing. He does a decent job, but I mean I sometimes wonder if I think that because I’m his mother 🤣

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