11 plus - Home tutoring

[amazingmom]

Which is the good online resource for 11 plus training. Has anyone successfully got their children in grammar school by Just teaching them at home? If yes please share the resources used, when did they start and how much time preparation is needed.

Our DS home tutored for 11+ since middle of the Year 3. Now he is in Year 5. It takes 1.5-2 hours to practice. We work through Bond and CGP papers. Additionally, we use readtheory.org for comprehensive reading. We bought some theory’s books to help explain unclear moments to DC. We went to a professional learning centre where an assessment test was made for him and he has passed English, Math, VR & NVR successfully. So, I hope our chances is not less than tutored children 👶We will see in a year.🤓

Since year 3??? Poor child!
OP, most people start in year 5 which should be enough. Have you looked at www.elevenplusexams.co.uk? Lots of help there although I didn't find it in time for mine, it helped with an appeal.

Jesus Christ. How anyone thinks getting into grammar is anything other than an indicator of parental time, ambition and income is beyond me.

We home tutored DD for a superselective Grammar and she did fine and passed all her tests. We started in Y5, Y3 is far too early for formal tutoring but general good practices of regular reading, encouraging wide vocabulary and on the move maths are helpful building blocks.

We did an hour a week of familiarisation then upped this in the summer holidays to half an hour a day five days a week. This is with two weeks Parents so is completely doable. A couple of mock tests helped with technique and identifying weak areas so we could focus the n those rather than just go over the same thing. I’ve heard of some who go to a tutor plus a group tutorial and then have homework from each taking to a horrific four hours a week and still didn’t pass.

Do check the style of test as per the guides on the elevenplusexams forum and work not just on the test but techniques like timing and juggling paper on a small desk. Computer programmes don’t help with the paper test experience.

Key to the whole thing is your child wants to do the test, too much tutoring takes the real learning out of it and can be demoralising and they run out of steam. DD actually enjoyed the tests but not all children and parents will work well together.

If your child needs tutoring to.pass the exam will they need tutoring to ensure they can cope with the work once in throughout school?

*working parents not weeks!

DD is now in Y9 at her grammar and no further tutoring needed and she is going well. As what we did was more home familiarisation it was more based on her baseline ability. Those who start very early on with tons of formal tutoring I would wonder about how you could judge their DCs suitability for a grammar.

We started in the June before the test (which was first week of September). We just did CGP and Bond short tests in non-verbal reasoning, verbal reasoning and Maths. We also compiled a list of useful vocabulary/synonyms and antonyms from the 11 plus forum and went through these with her. We probably did a bit about 2 or 3 times a week over the summer.

She was already a good reader and very keen on reading and writing so that was half the challenge. She also generally enjoyed the challenge of tests.

She scored enough for two of our local grammars (just missed out on her favourite though!) and also got a bursary at the local selective independent.

With our son we did more intensive work over the summer holidays as he was distractible and prone to silly mistakes. Over the holidays he did a number of full mixed practice papers (CGP, Letts) which were useful and his exam technique definitely improved. He got a grammar school place too.

My opinion is the main thing you need to prepare for is exam technique and familiarity with the papers. It doesn't take 2 years!

I just bought some CEM papers from WHSmiths and my DD did a couple of tests about 3 times a week in the Summer holidays before the exam mid September.

It is mostly about familiarisation and speed. My DD has also always read a lot, about a book a week, more in the holidays.

Yes. But. It all depends on your child and your local grammar system.

Is your local area opt-in or opt-out? Ie does everyone do the 11+ automatically? Or do you have to apply to do it for the schools you are interested in?

If it’s the former then your child maybe only needs to be in the top half of their class. If it’s the latter, they’ll need to be the top of their class.

So you need to check what standard of attainment applies in your area. You need to then compare this wit your child’s academic attainment so far and take a view on how much work is required.

Then to your child. Are they motivated (or likely to become motivated) to work for the test? You can only do the 11+ if they are on board.

Do you have a good working relationship? Will they let you tutor them? How do you have to accommodate their learning style or differences?

What type of tests are done in your area? How does your child rate in each area?

Eg DS finds maths and VR easy but comprehension & writing tricky. He’s already well ahead in the first 2 so we’ll do very little on those other than exam/format practice and speed training. We’ll do background learning in vocabulary and story building all the next 12 months to build his confidence very very slowly as otherwise he’ll refuse if we go too quick.

You’ll have completely different requirements based in your area and child, but DIY is totally do-able

What Crazycrofters said. Spot on.

Tutoring long term (i.e. more than a couple of months) probably means you're not doing the right thing. There are many kids in average to decent state school, untutored, that have aptitude needed for selective schools. They just need exam technique. If you're in that group, Great.

I found the elevenplusforum very helpful, as it ensures that you are using the correct resources. Different areas have different formats, and they do change over the years, so you must ensure that you are practising the right papers.

I started to look at the books Easter year 4, decided that DS was wasn't going to struggle with the maths, then did a few questions on verbal reasoning etc.

We then left it for a whole year, and looked at them again Easter year 5. No more than an hour a week. He got a high score and his first choice school.

Same process for DS2, but very clear from year 4 that it was going to be harder as he's not as quick. He and I jointly decided to spend his energy on his music instead, and he ended up with a music place at a local selective.

Elevenplusforum is your best starting place.

@Lenazayka thanks for the readtheory tip. Looks like a great resource!

I started in year 4 with just a few VR and NVR quick test. Dd quite liked doing them, so we did them without any pressure, just for fun. I think when introducing the NVR it is important to give them the impression they have done well, not matter how they do. The idea that it is something they can do will help.

I concentrated more on maths, because they will not have finished the year 6 syllabus by the time they take their test. It was only about 6 months before the test that dd did more VR and NVR.

At grammar she does not need extra tutoring because the teachers teach them what they need to know for GCSE and they will not have another NVR or VR test. If you have a child who puts in the work they need to pass the 11+, then you have a child who will put in the work needed at grammar.

The more work your dc puts in, the better their chance will be. It is not a level playing field and VR and NVR does not measure innate ability. It just ensures children up and down the country waste hours learning something useless.

I think tutoring you own child depends on how much time you have do it successfully and how receptive your child is to listening to you. We did this with DD and she varied in how well she'd listen to us - sometimes she'd just stomp off instead which was annoying.

We started with some work books sometime in Year 4 because she was keen but we didn't do them consistently. In Year 5 we did more. She also would work through some of them with her friends - then they could work through the answers together and see where and why they went wrong.

Things that help which are not workbooks (helpful for any child not just those who are taking the 11 plus):
Crossword puzzles
Playing word games - scrabble, bananagrams
Fun maths puzzles - computer games which help to embed times tables for example, brain teasers
Reading to them - particularly 'old fashioned' books because they have a wider vocabulary than many modern books.

Definitely do work on exam technique and timings. They need to learn to move onto another question if they have no idea how to answer one, and if it is multiple choice to make sure that they fill in the correct line for the question they are answering.