Ideal time to get an 11+ tutor

[SamPoodle123]

I am just curious, when do you think is the ideal time to get an 11+ tutor when dc is coming from a state school and why? I know everyone will have different thoughts. I have heard people say year 4 and some year 5 Sept/Jan. My dd started her prep end of May year 5 because we only decided at that point we would do 11+ (she did well). For my ds, who is in year 4 we know ahead of time that he will do the 11+. Initially, I thought we would get a tutor at start of year 5. But now I am wondering if it is better to wait until Jan year 5. I do not want him to get bored of the prep and lose motivation if we start tutoring too early. Atm we do atom learning journeys here and there. He is happy w that as they only take a few minutes. My main worry is his handwriting is such a mess. I know there are writing workshops. But I am wondering how helpful these really are. All his tests will be written. I wonder if perhaps the teachers are used to being able to read messy handwriting? I hope so!

My personal view is that I will do a year of formal tutoring in year 5. In our immediate area, that is standard, in the two suburbs further south, they are more pushy and more parents do 2 years (those grammars have higher standardised scores).

I know a couple of friends in that area and they are prepping for 2 years to bring their more expected child up to speed. They openly admit that themselves!

I feel it is a careful balance of tutoring but also letting them be a kid. My son has started a musical instrument in year 4 and I personally think this is more beneficial to him than an extra years' tuition.

In the meantime, I'm encouraging reading as much as possible and some extra challenge in maths at home (where he is very able and finds maths at school quite boring).

Truly depends on what schools you are targeting and how naturally bright your child is.

I don't know if the schools she sat exams for are "super selectives" but we did informal tuition (aka get a bunch of books and do them with DD at her own pace) from Jan Y4 and then formal tuition from Sept Y5. She was actually quite bored of it in Y4 because DD found it all so easy! So perhaps we should have started later but it's in the past now. We then decided to go for a school that is definitely considered a super selective. DD didn't get in to that but is high enough on the WL for a place before September. But whether or not we'll accept it is another thread! She did get into her second choice (our first choice initially if I'm honest) and it's an excellent grammar so it all worked out in the end.

The most helpful thing for us was booking a bunch of formal mock exams. There are a lot available and we did this to get the fear/hoopla out of the 11+ (as well as getting her used to exam conditions as this is the first time so many kids have done exams like this at all) so by the time it came to the real exams, DD had done this all 5+ times before so wasn't stressed at all.

Like I said: it's dependent on your child and schools.

@StressedMumOf2Girls yes, that is true. But hard to know if its better to start at the start of year 5 or if from Jan is fine. I guess my dd is going to a "super selective." She will start year 7 at G&L in September. I think my ds will apply to st pauls boys, kings, latymer and emanuel. Both dc are bright. My dd did well with prep end of May year 5, but then she complained of being so bored in school. I wanted my ds to have a head start, as his exams are written and he struggles with his hand writing. But I am not sure if tutoring from September might be too early and January would be fine.

@yoshiblue I am all up for dc to be kids. I am quite laid back with their school work. I def do not want ds to over tutor, which is why I wonder if I should delay it. However, the schools he will apply to are very difficult to get into. It is hard when you hear of dc tutoring from year 4, but then my dd did not start until end of year 5. I want to get the right balance for my ds. With my dd we had no choice as I did not realise we would apply until last minute. But with my ds he is year 4 so I have time to make a decision.

It does depend how bright your DS is. If he's around the same as your daughter was or more then you can easily wait till sometime in Year 5. But if not then a little tuition in Year 4 would be fine if it's fairly relaxed and then you can start proper tuition when he's a little older.

We put my son into tuition at Year 4 and he still didn't get in but when we put my daughter at Year 4 she passed really well. She definitely didn't need the Year 4 tuition but we weren't sure so gave it to her as extra benefit. It definitely depends on the child.

@StressedMumOf2Girls yes, that is true. But hard to know if its better to start at the start of year 5 or if from Jan is fine. I guess my dd is going to a "super selective." She will start year 7 at G&L in September. I think my ds will apply to st pauls boys, kings, latymer and emanuel. Both dc are bright. My dd did well with prep end of May year 5, but then she complained of being so bored in school. I wanted my ds to have a head start, as his exams are written and he struggles with his hand writing. But I am not sure if tutoring from September might be too early and January would be fine.

Ah I just put DD through state grammars so I can't give any other specific advice but my general one is that you know your DS the most. If you think he needs more support/help then start him off in September. Tutoring "too early" really depends on the child. For some September Y5 is too early, for others though it is too late.

It depends on the child, you can start with some light prep in the beginning of Year 5. In our area there are many half term camps aimed at 11+ prep. Then regular tutoring from January. You can always have fortnightly tutoring from September or just 10+ past papers as well as Atom for a few months before more regular tutoring.

What you don’t want is tutoring fatigue when you start too early. Unless there is a « problematic » area that needs focusing on ie. needs specific help with creative writing, maths etc

It would also depend on if the tutor you wish to use is fully booked a long time in advance (if using one and not home tutoring).

We started half way through year 4 because the tutoring class we wanted for year 5 would give priority to those who had gone through the year 4 classes. And was so sought after there was a waiting list a mile long they wouldn't hold a place for you to start mid way through year 5.

They made it fun for my DC though, she loved going to her classes. Year 4 was mostly games where she didn't really realise she was learning.

@SamPoodle123 Tutoring is a very general word and can mean lots of things. If you feel your son needs support in certain areas, like handwriting, you can do that targetedly, without putting on a wide cap "tutoring" with math, english, etc, entailed.
However, if you feel your child would benefit from being stretched, and would enjoy being challenged with extra math - problem solving, puzzles, etc, then there is nothing wrong in starting now - there is no time limit as to when to start doing this - in fact, this should be something he can do all the time, from time to time.
Reading - you can explore different types of books/genres and discuss them - you don't need to wait until end or beginning of an academic year to do that officially or be given a reading list from a tutor.
The actual past exam prep is more vital just because of the breadth of it - the mock exams and the past exams - if you start too late then you won't have time for proper exam technique and time practice. However, for that practice to be effective, first the core curriculum has to be covered and he shouldn't have gaps.
You've done this already with your daughter, so it should not be as confusing. If anything, you know the pitfalls of the 11+ process, so it should be a smoother ride second time around.

Ah yes, when I say tutor, I mean someone to help cover exam technique and any gaps he might still have come from a state school. I am currently having him do learning journeys to cover gaps, but come year 5 I want a tutor to help with the written exam technique, as Atom is just online. My son reads for fun already and we already have many books that my dd read when she was doing the 11+ So we have that covered naturally, as he just reads for pleasure anyway. I am confident when applying to girl schools in my area (that was all online so Atom covers all that). The boy schools are all written though, so that is why I am less confident on the prep work required. My dd applied to Emanuel, which did have written and she did well. The tutor helped with that, but from end of year 5. And it was online group sessions (I am thinking ds would do better face to face). We were recommended a face to face tutor, so I am debating if he should start at the beginnging of year 5 or from Jan.

@ImJustMeSimpleMe makes a valid point, the spot might not be available if I wait until mid Jan.

@ash86i and yes, I do not want him to get tutoring fatigue if we start too early.

It depends. We started fairly early with our daughter (the summer between year 3 and year 4). She's at a nice school but she was quite bored and we felt she wasn't being challenged enough. She absolutely LOVES her tuition sessions. They're online which is a novelty for her as she gets to sit at her dad's big computer desk, and they're really fun and don't feel like 'work'. We tried a few tutors before (including group sessions and also with former teachers etc) but they felt too much like school, whereas this is all about her and her time to have a nice chat with a nice person who cares about her progress etc. I should add that we're in an extremely competitive area for grammar schools (over 1,000 entrants for 150 places). I wouldn't say we're 'pushy' with her, but we know she's happiest when she feels she's doing well.

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