11 plus advice

[thebigmove21]

Wondering if any one has some 11 plus advice they could kindly share and specifically which tutoring companies you have successfully used. My DS is about to start year 5, so it's that time........!

We’re using a local one to us, might be worth trying the same. She came over to see if last week and went through things that happen in the exam for our school consortium.

Whereabouts in the country are you?

I was a bit nonplussed to find my cousin’s fancy prep based a lot of their 11+ and CE prep around the Atom Learning platform, which you can subscribe to yourself without forking out £5k a term for school fees!

We use Atom learning and have just started with tutors from Scholarius Consulting for our daughter who is starting in year 5. We did the same for our eldest who is going to year 8 at spgs.

I need advise on 11 plus if possible please
my daughter starts year 5 and we are looking for online tuition. We’ve found some classes that charge £240 for half term for both English and math. Which makes it c.£1500 for the whole year plus I guess we would have to pay for mock exams etc?
does a child really need to study throughout of the whole year for this exam? Or is it enough to do the last few months just before the exam? Thanks

We are in Essex. Anything you could suggest would be great.

Thank you I have messaged them

friends have used a tutor via atom and also tutordoctor. If you search on mumsnet I have also seen some good recommendations.

@thebigmove21 I randomly just got a code sent to me for 20% off Atom.

The code is EXAMNINJA20

Try it, it is really very good!

That is so so kind of you, thank you

Which board for the 11+ exam?

My DC’s used the tuition videos on YOUTUBE and some 11+ papers. Videos were great in explaining each type of question and leading through the steps to complete it. They used the papers to apply the learning

We also extended their learning by providing them with number puzzles, code words and word puzzles.

https://www.learningstreet.co.uk/ is brilliant. 40 weeks course for about £90 + 4 tests for £45 for every grammar school in the country. The disadvantage, that you will need to teach by yourself, the advantage is a price and the lessons are of a really good quality. Just print them and you are ready to teach

Will also depend on the grammar school you are aiming for. Some grammar schools are very competitive to get in and kids trying to get in work a lot harder. While some aren’t the competitive.

Thanks for the link.
Ive booked online group sessions for this term and it’s going well so far. There are two classes math and non-VR and English and VR.
is it all we need or do we need something else?
the schools we are looking to apply are oversubscribed so the competition is going to be tough. We are in the priority catchment area but not local to either of the schools. So toying with an idea to move closer.
my daughter is also autistic and have high anxiety. When she learnt that passing the test is not enough to guarantee a school place she got a bit disheartened. I’m trying still to encourage her but it’s difficult 😰

as for "is it all we need or do we need something else?" Do check your daughter's progress regularly by yourself and act accordingly. It's very true, that competition is insane, my child sat exam 13 days ago, so for us it's a waiting game. We have a good local school as an option, if he won't get an eligible score or will be put on the waiting list. I am of the opinion, that this test is a good practice for the future tests + to fail in something is a good lesson, as it's not the end of the world. The priority for them is to be healthy and happy

to be fair I would have no idea how to check the progress, so I buy some mock exam papers and go through them with her? And how frequently do I check the progress every few weeks or every few months? Sorry to ask so many questions just new to this all.
the secondary school in our catchment is not the best so we are looking to move anyway, closer to better schools
good luck on your sons exam! 💐

Yes, I checked once in 3 months at the start,however by March ,I tested more often. You can recycle tests, you don't need to waste your money on the new one all the time. Check now, then you will see all the topics your child need to put an extra work on, then later on, use the same test and check the result, you have to see the difference.If there is no difference, then think about changing the provider or teaching by yourself.

Thank you. He tried for Reading School so...

Thanks that sounds like a good approach.
yes I agree whether she gets a place or not, having prepped for the test is I’ll expand her knowledge and a good experience for future studies.
she started year 5 and always says how her school learning is too easy

I can't blame her. The school curriculum is not enough for bright children.

Also, here is a site with free printable tests. I used it a lot . It's a good one https://www.11plusguide.com/11-plus-papers-books/free-11-plus-papers/free-sample-11-plus-maths-papers/