How do you get lazy boys studying for 11+/common entrance during the summer break?

[CheerLeader2017]

11+ and common entrance season is just around the corner….former head of Harrow School, Barnaby Lenon says 99% of boys are innately lazy. What tactics are you using to get your son studying over the summer break? www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-boys-i-have-had-to-deal-with-are-lazy-fcd326vgv

What are your state options like?
Sorry- not thread for me- I shall depart... soon.
Can't read article but on the lazy boys bit - I have 2 boys. One puts more effort in, naturally, than the other. DS2 does bare minimum- always.
Even one who is naturally a harder worker has his sloppy strand- spelling and grammar spring to mind.
Hope your boy has a good holiday and doesn't have to study too hard.
My two not studying though am trying to get younger [reluctant reader] to do Summer Reading challenge. My God it is a challenge as well...
Older one reading Horrible History stuff alongside his tablet stuff- that will do!
11 plus types will help you more I am sure...

What about letting them create their own reward chart? They choose a reward on a weekly basis and to earn it they must do some 11+ work everyday and earn a sticker. I know it sounds young but if it's something they really want and they control it, it might work. My niece is doing this and is doing some 11+ work every single day.

Is this clickbait? I can't see the article and am not paying for it.

boys are not born "innately" lazy, any more than girls are. I teach, and as usual there are lazy girls and hardworking boys, and vice versa.

Stereotyping again.

You start aged about 2... you teach them not to be lazy - just like you do with girls.

I've been through this with a lazy girl. I don't believe there is any gender difference here - just different kids.

Are you ensuring that he gets lots of physical exercise before he starts on the work? A morning sports camp would work wonders for concentration.

How much are you trying to do? My recommendation is no more than an hour a day - say 30 min paper, go through difficult parts afterwards with him and then some limited corrections. Definitely don't aim for every subject every day!

If you're in the 3+ hours a day camp, I can't even begin to help! I've seen breakdowns, kids melting under pressure etc. Some people think that's okay as long as the goal is achieved but it has long-lasting effect.

Thanks for all the great tips!

Are you aiming for 11+ or CE?

The timelines (and which holidays they bugger up) are quite different.

To the OP. In answer to your question, you force them to study!

99% boys innately lazy lol guess that spills over to manhood then ladies

I think the lazy bit is the stereotype about boys being lazy.

Or any stereotype for that matter.

I have 2 incredibly hard working, motivated sons (11 and 12)

I'm sure there are plenty of motivated boys out there and lazy girls too.

And lazy boys and motivated girls 🙄

I had lazy boy here he did very, very little.
The only thing that worked for him was when a pushy mum whose son also doing the test asked if DS wanted to go round there and have a go at completing a maths paper under test conditions (at her kitchen table). This hit the spot especially when the other boy scored slightly higher in the first test DH tested them both on a different paper at ours. They are both at a similar level and are both competitive. We rewarded them with a fancy ice cream.
Once they get used to the timer and competing against themselves really helps. Good luck.

If your DS is at a prep and doing CE they do not need to study over the summer. School will prepare them fine. If you have doubts about this, change prep as you are not getting value for money. Spend summer doing interesting things and sparking their enthusiasm.
For 11+ competition is much harder. So sadly practice, practice and more practice is the answer. And if that does not kill off their love of learning, nothing will.
Or you could rely on the state system as the vast majority of Oxbridge and Russell Group undergraduates do!

DS and DD1 both sat just a couple of 11+ exams (DD1 just sat one) and are at grammar school. The 11+ prep hasn't killed their love of learning at all, DS is about to start y9 and is so so so so much happier than he was at primary school where he was bullied on and off from y4-y6 for being a geek and a swot, I could weep with relief. He comes home with chat about artists/ history/ English debates, as he would no doubt have done if he had gone to our local comp or local academy. (So not a point about grammar schools, just that the 11+ does not seem to have caused any lasting trauma, but I'll keep fingers crossed.)

We did try and keep it lightness of touch: 15 min of break/ Nvr about 4-5 times a week, like doing daily piano practice, but over the summer we probably did about 1 hour a week of past papers, if that... lack of organisation and effort on my part rather than push back from DS.

Good luck!

And if that does not kill off their love of learning, nothing will.

No, my son passed the 11+ after being forced by us to put in the effort over the Summer, and is loving his grammar school years. He's constantly challenging himself and after a bit of a shaky/haphazard start due to transition, is now in the top 15 of his year (out of 150) and still aiming higher. He's a happy, well adjusted 15 year old, with lots of friends and outside activities. Certainly not a "swot" who does nothing else! We have no regrets and DS has since said that he's glad we pushed him.

By contrast, I had a miserable existence in my state comp and hated the place and was suicidal due to horrendous bullying, physical abuse, and went from a straight A pupil at primary to a complete failure at 15 (only 1 O level), all due to crap school, with crap teachers.

At the end of the day, stereotyping simply doesn't work. Grammars are fine for many, just as comps are fine for many. Some boys are lazy, just as some girls are.