City of London Boys 10+ Tips

[MrsSoyaSauce]

Hello! We are probably going to apply for the 10+ at City Boys this year. Wanted to ask for wisdom from parents who have done the 10+ recently at City - any tips? recommended workbooks? interview tips? I note there are only English and Maths specimen papers but nothing for Verbal. Any tips to help our prep would be much appreciated!

Hi there
We have gone through the process and prepared as if we were preparing for the 11+ - exams are very similar. I recommend all 11+ CGP books (CGP 11+ exam papers, CGP Maths/English/Verbal reasoning 11+ books e.g 10 minutes workouts/tests - GL and CEM - do both), Synonyms and Antonyms: Vocabulary for the C.E.M. Style 11 book , 11+ Vocabulary Cartoons II book I, II and III (to boost vocabulary - also helps with creative working). Also all the exam papers on the pia academy website (comes with solutions so handy). Also work on creative writing to ensure fluent command of metaphors, similes, personifications, descriptions and dialogues. Also classical English for Comprehension. Also, all 11+ books First Past the Post are good for prep. Good luck!

Hi, agree with all the above. My son said the maths paper was much harder than the specimen papers with lots of subsections so help with time management would be good. He found the VB paper relatively easy. Good luck!

anyone received the interview invites? how many people are invited?

80 boys out of over 900 were invited for an interview, ~40 places on offer. Interviews were tough, my DS had a very professional interview without much personal touch at all.

Around 900 usually sit for 11+ entry, I wouldn’t think that many apply at 10+?

I agree about the online interviews. I think it is very hard for them to get to know a child through a screen, and very hard for a child to open up to a new person that way. Really don’t know why they’ve kept this Covid-era change.