Can I tutor for 11 plus myself?

[lindorlove]

Just that really. In gloucestershire. DS bright, def in top 5 in his class. Currently in year 4. Been looking at 11 plus tutors to start in sept but tbh, I just can't afford the £150ish a month it will cost for a tutor. Is it possible to do myself using resources from Amazon/Twinkl etc?

@LetItGoToRuin
Yes. Where fewer get to Grammars, because there are fewer grammars, the cohorts in the comps are stronger. With Pate’s, it’s the only grammar so other schools don’t suffer too much. In Bucks 25% of Dc don’t get to grammars in all areas. Those figures are very skewed to the south of the county.?

@TizerorFizz I've already agreed with you that the low % getting into Gloucestershire grammars is good news for the comprehensive, but I'm not sure what you mean about Pate's being the only grammar? Did you mean it's the only grammar in Cheltenham?

Judging by what I've read on the Gloucestershire section of the 11 plus forum, plenty of children don't go to their most local grammar, so many of those that live in/near Cheltenham but missed out on a place at Pate's (or simply prefer another grammar school) will choose to travel to Gloucester or Stroud.

I tutored DD2 myself and she got into grammar school. I paid for a year of Bond online which was £55 for the year, and we worked through all the online tests. It builds a profile and tells you what areas you need to concentrate on. Then a few months before the 11+ I paid for her to do three mock 11+ tests - there are a few different providers, one of ours was Susan Daughtrey and it gave an experience the same as the 11+ and provided feedback. This was the most important bit as the 11+ is mainly about getting your timing right and being comfortable with exam conditions.

By the time the 11+ came round my DD was quite relaxed about taking the exams.

Yes. I meant in Cheltenham. Travel to others might not be appealing if you live in Stow on the Wold for example. In Bucks the grammars have sensible catchments. However it’s of no consequence if you don’t live there!!

Hard work but absolutely yes!

Definitely! I know many parents who have done this, and DD’s tutor says that if the relationship is strong, she thinks parental tuition works better than hired tuition. There is a huge industry that will charge parents ££££ but you do not need it.

1. First read this: www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/preparation/planning-your-campaign
2. Them go to Amazon, buy this www.amazon.co.uk/New-How-Revise-11-Complete-ebook/dp/B086BNY9Y9
3. Also consider buying some of these www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BLCQKQGP and maybe some of these wjoch are boring but excellent preparation: Schofield and Simms 11+ books
4. Read as many fiction and bon-fiction books to your child as possible (to widen vocabulary)

Also ask around Facebook groups if anyone has second hand 11+ books

If you have a bit of spare money the tests here are good
www.bofa11plus.com

Good luck!

We didn’t go down that path in the end. We did connect with a university student to mark unmarked maths papers but he wasn’t getting much wrong. It was more to challenge him in awful lockdown closures and we did about four sessions.

We paid for Atom for one month to practise format and that was it.

We had excellent back up school available though so the pressure wasn’t so great. When he got in it was a big decision.

You can but first :

what proportion of kids go to grammar locally. Round here it’s top 5-10% so you need to be minimum 3rd in a class if 30 …

do you know the details of thr test / are there past papers? Agsin here they don’t publish these to make it trickier to “ teach to test “ so doing it yourself is really hard

Me and my 4 siblings were all home taught. Went to school for all our exams and all passed with flying colours.Our 13 yr old is also taught at home. You can do anything you set your mind to

Yes my friend tutored her son and he flew into their chosen school. If you are competent in maths and English yourself there is no reason why not. I know that you need to teach them the whole of the Year 6 maths curriculum before the exam.
If you think the school is worth it, do it. In my non-grammar school area with only a few grammars the schools themselves are not worth it, IMO.

Yes I did it a few years ago, build up slowly with past papers starting year 5 , book in monthly mocks starting summer term and atom learning for summer hols. Worked very well. It’s better than tutors as you can work at child’s pace and really get to grips with any weaker areas early on.

You have had good advice.

1. get hold of the available past papers for the target grammar. Check you can easily answer yourself in the allocated time. If not, you will have to self teach verbal and non verbal etc using CGP books. There are tricks, for example, most non verbal is done by elimination.

2. you must understand the exam board - aka is it CEM vs GL - 11 plus forum is helpful

3. proper mock tests using timed conditions in halls are important closer to the time

4. as others have said, the Year 6 maths curriculum needs to be covered in advance and be very secure on all fronts. There has to be recall of some things like 13x13, 14x14 for some exams. Things like short division should be taught by you to save time. Some of the methods they are taught at school these days take too long for 11 plus purposes.

5. if DC is a very strong reader already, then verbal reasoning and English comprehension is much simpler. If not, you will have to get hold of vocab books. Things such as 11 Plus Vocabulary by Rose Mc Gowan can help as a starting point. Strong readers should keep diaries of new words and look them up

6. I don’t know the grammar you are targeting, but you need to figure out where the real challenge is for your DC. All DCs have a weakness be it maths, non verbal or verbal or English and honing the weak area to improve marks there makes a big difference. This is where parental tuition and knowing your child best can trump a tutor.

7. be really patient and kind to your DC. No matter how bright, they will get frustrated. Best to work out a set routine. Little often can work very well for some DC. Eg 10 minutes a day, 3 times a day etc. This is where Bond online, Atom help some DC. However, pen on paper needs to be part of the process too. Especially close to the exam, things such as shading boxes accurately and fast needs to be practised properly.

Looking for 11+ tutor for my daughter currently starting Year 5 in coming September. I am looking to start her for 1-1 sessions targeting Halifax Grammar with GL Assessments. Any info reg tutors focusing this format pls??

@priyakiran14 This thread is 2 years old! Did it not warn you not to respond?

You should start a new thread of your own, making sure you mention 11+ tutor and Halifax in the title.