7+ for WUS, SPJS, KCJS

[KitKat789]

Hello Parents,

I was wondering if I could leverage some experience from parents whose child has successfully navigated the 7+ for the likes of Westminster, St Pauls and Kings.

I am currently living outside of London right now, and I am have been tutoring my son beyond the national curriculum. If we are successful, we would be moving house. As we don’t have any 7+ schools in our area, all the tutors are general tutors or 11+ so they can teach the national curriculum syllabus, but not any specific 7+ exam preparation.

My son is in Y1, and we are looking to take the exams in around Oct next year. I have spent a long time trawling mumsnet, but I still have some questions. I would be very grateful if some parents could help me answer them and share their experiences.

Questions:

• What level (national curriculum) is required. Is just completing year 2 sufficient for WUS, SPJS, KCJS? This is what the school website mentions, but almost all parents mention year 3 spring/autumn term.
• What are the best materials, I have heard people talk about (1st) CGP 11+ (2nd) Bond 11+ (3rd) Atom learning
• What level for the materials. I have read about CGP 11+ 7-8 and Bond 11+ 8-9 as Bond books seem to be easier. Some people on munsnet mention Bond 9-10 - is this the normal level for these schools
• For the 11+, most tutors say syllabus learning should stop at around Easter, and exam paper practice should be main focus after Easter. Does this sound reasonable for 7+

My son took the King’s 7+ last week (he passed the first round) and the Westminster Under School exam yesterday. From what we’ve seen, the questions covered content roughly up to the Year 1 and Year 2 curriculum.
We used Bond materials at the start to help him grasp the basic logic of maths, then hired a tutor and enrolled him in a weekly two-hour course. Since we moved here two years ago and English isn’t our first language, we were advised to focus heavily on reading. We also hired a tutor specifically for comprehension and creative writing.
We began working on practice papers around May. My son—and a friend’s daughter who also took the exam yesterday—both felt that the maths section was much easier than the one at King’s!

Thank you heliomum for the response. Can I as:

• Did you notice any questions that were dipping in the year 3 national curriculum?
• Did you continue using the Bond 11+ books after your hired a tutor? Can I ask what level you was working at, 7-8, 8-9?

Wishing your son all the best for the exams!

@heliomum well done to your DS and you on Kings! Great school. We will apply to WUS next year and were wondering how rigorous the English comprehension and creative writing was in the exam? Any tips appreciated

• Did you notice any questions that were dipping in the year 3 national curriculum? No
• Did you continue using the Bond 11+ books after your hired a tutor? No, because we finished the books before hiring the tutor
• Can I ask what level you was working at, 7-8, 8-9? Started 7-8 and the move 8-9

Hi :)

I highly recommend the bond books, for 7 plus, you should be working at the 7-8/8-9 books. No need to go higher than that. I would also suggest purchasing a few practice tests from exam paper plus for the specific schools you are keen on. Practice these tests about 6 months before the test so your child gets used to the format. In our experience, (DS just called for interview at Westminster), the actual test was a lot easier than the exam paper plus papers. Particularly the verbal and nonverbal reasoning. I would skip the exampaperplus for those and actually just focus on bond books! Good luck!

Hi Everyone, those taking the second round for WUS—do you think the exam date matters? For example, does taking it on the first day versus the last day make any difference? I read on Mumsnet that students who scored higher are usually scheduled earlier, and I’m curious if there's any truth to that.

I’m not sure but I don’t think it does? We went in this morning and I feel like the kids were sent into age-sorted cohorts. The teachers seemed lovely and there weren’t any visible tears. Quite a few kids seemed to know each other , maybe from the usual prep schools. My DD didn’t know anyone but the teacher looked fun and kind, so I hope that’ll break the ice :)
Did you come in today or will you come in later?

Hi how was your kids exam. My daughter took the exam today as well and she is not very happy about. She said it was difficult. Hope yours went well

Thank you! We’ll be going on Wednesday the 12th. I hope your daughter's went well, and that we’ll all be there again next year. Unfortunately, my son’s writing skills aren’t very strong, but he worked hard, and I’m happy that he still managed to make it to the second round.

Has anyone received any updates about King's second round?

We usually don’t get much feedback from my daughter, she goes monosyllabic about her day :) But little snippets suggest they had a fun day - good food, good snacks, even a spot of PE! And lessons interspersed with some tests and interviews during those lessons. All as they said in their emails too. The children looked pretty relaxed at pick-up, if that puts your mind at ease!
Indeed - I would (and do) feel proud of the round 1 results too, there’s so much you can’t control about these processes with little people, but you can take joy and satisfaction in the fact that they worked hard and improved their skills!
Still in the dark on these things, but WUS seems to have a strong math tilt? So maybe his reticence in creative writing is ok! I find that most kids seem to dislike that part at this stage, it feels like a lot at their age.

Ha yes, I didn’t gather much about how the day went. But yes, she did mention that the maths wasn’t easy. I guess that’s the WUS way… 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sadly our daughter did not get an offer from WUS!

I saw on the other thread that your child received an offer from WUS — big congratulations! Unfortunately, my daughter didn’t get in, but my son will be taking the 7+ exams next year. Would you mind sending me a DM with the details of the tutors and weekend classes you used?

Hi, I can give you a tutor recommnedation who got a girl into WUS 7+ this year, if you privately DM me.

Hi, have just sent you a PM x