11+ tutoring questions

[NoushieMin]

I just have a couple of questions which I’m hoping some of you might be able to help answer. Firstly, I am just wondering what the difference is between individual 11+ exams and the ISEB common pretest exam?

We have a short list of schools we like the look of some of which require you to take the ISEB exam (for example Reed’s, Epsom College and St John’s) and others that just have their own 11+ exams (for example St George’s, Hampton, Kingston grammar).

Would this require two different tutors or would a good tutor be able to get them ready for both?

Also, my child has only just started year 4, should I be starting tutoring this year or wait until next year?

Lastly, how do I know if he would even have a chance of getting into any of these schools. Would a tutor be able to give you an idea about that after a short period of time or is it more a case of pay for one/two years of tutoring and then hope for the best??

Thanks in advance

I'm afraid I don't know the answers to these questions on a personal level, but have friends and acquaintances who have gone through the process. Most tutors my friends used started in year 4. They assessed the children before taking them on and told the parents at the start if their kids didn't have a chance in hell. They gave clear indications on which schools the children should aim for and which were too challenging.

It would be great if you could PM me their details 🙏🏻

re ISEB: this is an online test, multiple choice and it’s adaptive which is slightly odd IME - it means the questions can suddenly get much harder if your child does well, or vice versa. This can take some getting used to and kids can get thrown by it if they haven’t done mock ISEBs.

Tutors can prep for the kind of questions in the ISEB, but they can’t give your child mock ISEBs to get them used to the adaptive format, unless you have a subscription to Atom or similar which has mock ISEBs on it.

Atom is pricey so may be worth weighing up having that and a bit less tutoring vs tutoring alone. Depends if the ISEB schools are a main focus for you.

This is super helpful, thank you. I will certainly look into the Atom subscription.

Hi, could anyone share details of a good tutor?

I used to be Head of English at an independent prep school and now tutor English full time, including for 11+ exams, so hopefully my advice can help!

A good tutor will be able to prepare you for both types of test simultaneously, as the tests do cover lots of the same content. It’s also generally good practice to ensure a solid grasp of all areas as schools can and do change their exam content/ format without much (or any) notice.

As someone else has mentioned, Atom is an online, adaptive platform that mimics the ISEB pretests. It covers some similar content to the written 11+ exams, dependent of course on what the individual school has decided to focus on. Your tutor should be able to connect their tutor Atom account to your Atom account to set work and view how your child is doing in specific areas.

Check that the tutor is familiar with the selective standard of your chosen schools - if so, after a few lessons they should be able to give you an indication of how your child might expect to perform.

Most of my students begin in Year 4, but I use that time to ensure a strong curriculum base before moving on to exam-specific prep in Year 5.

Some pupils do start in Year 5 though, and it works well for them if they’re already fairly academic.

Year 4 is the best time to start. Don't wait till year 5, as it'll be hard to get to level of where others are, unless you tutor more than once a week.
Take a look at MentorStudio. Helped both children for the most competitive schools in London. 😊

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

Always happy to recommend our tutor as it’s a bit of a minefield! Agree with the above that a good tutor can prepare simultaneously for both sets of exams. Good luck.

You can get a tutor though Atom, which is pretty helpful for ensuring that they are well familiar with the system and with the preparation needed for the 11+. We found that this was a huge leg up over just using Atom, which can be a little demoralizing to navigate. Our child gets a so much benefit from working through problems with them.