11+ non/less selective independents - how much preparation is necessary?

[Dittousername]

Applying to less selective (apparently!) independents which still have entrance assessments. I am told these are in order to assess the student’s level rather than a threshold that needs to be reached.

As such, how much or what specific preparation should we do? I really want this to be as gentle as possible and not to take over the summer and first term back, so the least intrusive, the better!

Any essentials in terms of preparation?

What does the school website say about the content of the entrance exam?

They will often tell you fairly precisely what the exam covers, eg, VR, NVR, English comprehension, Maths.

Depends if you’re coming from a state or a prep school.

Also, depending on the demand / how full the school is - if they have space they will lower the requirements as they want the cash!

Equally if your child is top of their game at music / sport etc - once again they have a better chance to get into the school.

Depends how smart your child is too - some are naturally bright others it takes time.

Too many variables…. Just do what makes you both happy

It depends entirely on the school and your child’s ability. It might be worth asking about the school specifically.

Thanks, I think it’s probably about familiarity with what the papers might look like / sort of thing they will contain. No assistance at current school. I am skeptical of the online practice paper sites to purchase for specific schools. I guess we will just look over some bond books a little bit. Really don’t want it to consume the summer though.

The online practice paper sites that claim to be for specific schools are definitely not always accurate - completely wrong for the one we applied for. I would ask the school for a little guidance on what will be in the assessment and then use bond books or similar to get a bit of familiarity. They might say that they include a creative writing task in which case your child needs to be ready to do that eg plan, structure. vocab and things like similes, timing etc. There's quite a difference in the papers/books on the market as to how hard they are. Some are geared at the more selective entrance exams eg some are really long comprehension passages from classic novels which might not be what you require. It doesn't need to consume the summer - just a little bit of time on a regular basis.

Thank you! That’s very helpful. I can’t help but think some of these websites claiming to have this and that school’s paper are preying on anxious parents. Most schools tell me they don’t share their papers, set their own etc. Very useful about the creative writing too.

Selective schools also have the advantage of interviews ans assessment visits.
Exams give an indication of existing level but the visit allows a other chance to demonstrate ability in another way.

That is very true.

I see many threads obsessing over CAT scores and such like .. and I firmly believe it doesn’t define a child. Also even if you’re the brightest button, you can still have off days so one would hope the schools truly do look at whole child.

My DD did entrance assessments (they didn’t call them tests) at a few “gently selective” senior schools. She was at a small village state primary, average CAT scores, mild dyslexia with slower processing speeds and she received offers from all. I think in her case they very much looked at the whole picture, not just CAT scores or how she did in the maths and English assessments. But then we specifically looked for such schools in the first place as we knew a very academic environment was not for her. Interestingly several asked her to do a creative writing task and also observed her in group activities and finally a short interview. We were using a weekly tutor anyway for her maths and English because of her dyslexia but we didn’t do anything in addition to this.