NLCS Preparation help

[shivlo]

We have taken a brave step of tutoring our DD by ourselves for nlcs entrance exam, inspite of people suggesting we need to tutor her externally, without which she doesn't stand a chance.
The thing is since we live in reading area, there aren't any experienced tutors to prep her.
I would greatly appreciate if anyone can guide me ( who have been through this)on in terms of what material can I use to guide her and what should we expect. In terms of achievement she has achieved level 5c eng n 5b maths for her end of yr5 targets. I would also appreciate a honest view from any parents , who have been through the process about what chance she stands. She is a very hardworking girl and would like to give her the opportunity if she can to achieve her potential and not loose out due to living in a particular area where right guidance isn't available.
Any help will be very useful. Apologies for a long thread, just an anxious mom!!!

You should head over to the 11+ Forum. They are a chat site for parents coaching their children for grammar and independent school exams.

Firstly, are you planning to move if she gets a place? The coach network doesn't go to Reading. Plenty of girls from state primaries are successfully coached at home and some even come in with no extra prep at all. Look at the school website as NLCS is no longer in the consortium and the format of the exam is different. There is a sample paper on there.

Thank you toomanyhouseguest , I have posted this on 11+ forum as well.

@horsemadmom .. Yes we do know about changes and do plan to move if she gets through, as it won't be fair for her to travel for so long even if the coaches were running from here.. After considering these technicalities, we have taken this decision.

Thanks for feedback, as my dd falls in the perfect scenario you mentioned state primary and tutored at home. The only thing is we are not sure of levels expected at nlcs in terms of academics and as usual current school does not support grammar school or independent schools and have refused to give any feedback on her capabilities.

Have a look on their website, they are part of the North London Consortium for girls' schools and there should be practice papers. The Bond papers books are very good, she could do a maths & English paper a week from the 10-11 books during the holidays. Once she regularly gets over 85% in the maths papers move on to the 11-12 book. Start doing the tests untimed then once she has got the hang of them use a kitchen timer. She needs to be ready just after Christmas so you've got plenty of time. Have a look at their non-verbal reasoning too as they are logic based problems and could help with maths. The other schools in the consortium may have other materials you can use and there are two groups of schools, have a look at both groups for sample papers. LEH, Putney High, SPGS are all non consortium schools which may have sample papers on their websites. My dds are in senior schools now so I haven't looked for a couple of years.

NLCS, just to be clear, is no longer a consortium school. The maths exam isn't radically different (going by the sample paper now on the NLCS website) but the English is much more nuanced. My DD did lots of different papers at her prep school including CE and IGCSE maths. Look at as many school sample papers as possible including Habs, Manchester Grammar and the consortiums. Please don't put all your eggs in one basket. About 500 sit for 60 places. Passing the exams is just the first hurdle and your DD will also need to impress at interview. I can't help assess your DD's levels-sorry.

The Bond books are no good for developing any sense of creative or detailed exploratory writing; this is the task which really singles out the most able candidates IME. Does your daughter read a lot ? and if so, does she read challenging and varied texts? she will need to, and also need to be able to express herself with articulacy and flair if she is to stand a chance. HTH.