11+ 2025 support thread

[AquaPeer]

Hi all,
I really enjoyed reading previous 11 plus support threads and I think we’re probably ready for a new cohort of year 5s start their prep?

so I thought I’d set up one for next year. All welcome!

we are trying for dame Alice Owen. DD currently has group tutoring once a week but we are looking to increase to twice a week before Xmas.

i am trying to get her to do a cgt GL 15 min tests a day very unsuccessfully! This half term is going to be all about embedding routine 😀

look forward to meeting other parents preparing

Thank you. I found a couple of city of London ones that look kind of similar as well. She's got two more sessions with an English teacher mum from school. Other than that and the 2 mocks she's only done atom learning. Was trying to keep it light as well as being on a budget but now feeling like I should have done more.

Thank you and good luck! I am glad your ds has found his groove again

Morning all. How is everyone? I'm driving myself slightly mad googling past cut off scores etc and have totally lost track of what any of it means. Feel antsy ahead of exam week, I'll be a nightmare when poor dd1 does GCSEs. Hopefully not conveying any of this to dd2 who is plugging away at GL practice papers. She's scoring around 90% on these and have totally lost track of whether that's good enough but what will be will be

I’m sure this is not what you’re intended but you’ve given me a task this week 🙈🙈

DD has been in intensive workshops all week and has a final external mock tomorrow.

stage 1 (VR) is 1st sep so next week I am anticipating targeting weak areas for maybe 20 mins a day and doing 1 50min past paper per day.
Then final weekend off.

she’s been a superstar, there isn’t really anything else we can do.

then I will spend an anxious 17 days waiting to see if she got through to round 2! (And googling pass marks!!)

Our first one (Henrietta Barnett round 1 so English multiple choice, VR and NVR) is 2 September. Then Latymer (maths, English and vr) on the 6th. Then a few weeks before we find out if she's through to HB round 2 and whether she gets her English marked at Latymer

Talking of weak areas, does anyone know how likely proverbs are to come up? They appeared in her mock and it turns out she knows barely any, but feels an odd thing to test.

I don't know about proverbs, but DS was doing a practice test the other day and came across five questions that relied on him knowing the composition of a standard deck of playing cards.

The paper told him there were 52 cards but then asked about the probability of drawing certain ones in certain circumstances, which could only be answered if you know that a deck contains four suits, each comprising an ace, nine other numbers and three face cards, with half red and half black.

AIBU to say that's not stuff you'd expect a primary school pupil to know, or is Buckinghamshire actually full of 10-year-old poker players?

Oh that would be dd's specialist subject as she's obsessed with magic tricks. How many litres a standard backpack contains however ...

ARRGGGGHHHHH DC scored 58% in maths today - this is usually his strongest element - god this is like a bloody rollercoaster

I have a mock booked for the 28th... exam isn't until the 12th, but the purpose of the mock is just to expose her to exam conditions, strange faces and time constraints. If she doesn't do well - I won't be telling her that as it'll knock her confidence!

I'm so over it now. This last stretch feels like the week of pregnancy, drawn out and uncomfortable. I've gone for a light timetable and just hope that somehow he remembers what he's been taught. The rest I'm leaving in God's hands. It's been awful this Summer, watching him stuck inside studying whilst the sun is shining outside. There must be a better way for 10 -year- olds.

I always try to remember in studying and in work that it comes back with a bang after you’ve had some time away for it all to percolate 😀

How much work have they been doing? We are taking a light approach…

We're travelling tomorrow, we need a break. Then we'll get back to it. There is just such a vast amount of topics which could come up. It's more challenging than GCSEs , because GCSEs have a fixed syllabus.

why is he stuck inside, you should still be enjoying your holidays! I just ask ds to do some work every day 30-40 minutes and then we have the whole day to do stuff. It’s not fair on them or us otherwise… hope you enjoy your break!

my son mentioned he was advised to shade in the whole box on his answer sheets when he was at tution. That doesn’t seem right to me and i’m a little concerned that shading might take up extra time in the exam. Is that the correct way to answer the questions?

I don't think so - the answer sheets tend to say thin pencil line.

We are taking a few days off too, visiting grandparents. She's been working hard the past few days, but it keeps her occupied while I'm working. Otherwise she'd be at holiday club.

Has anyone got 1DC at a grammar and another at a secondary school - how has that worked out?

I think this is how it's going to work out for us.

This could very well be where we are heading too...

No direct experience (yet) but a lot of parents in my oldest's year were in that exact situation. Every one of them knew their children had ended up in the right place and the children were very happy regardless of where they/their siblings were. So I take some comfort from seeing this!

How do you think your child will feel if they don't get into a grammar? My oldest would have been devastated, but my middle child (taking the 11+ in September) is much less bothered and I know he would be very happy at our local secondary school if he doesn't pass, and he has never expressed any feelings towards going to the same school as his older brother. Obviously, this makes things easier for us but I know that's not the same for everyone.

I'm in a slightly different boat because dd1 is at a comprehensive and dd2 is applying for grammar. They're both bright girls and dd1 is aiming for high GCSE grades and university etc but she wasn't keen on the grammar schools, commuting etc. She also has ADHD among other difficulties. She applied but in a kind of half hearted way and wasn't especially bothered not to get in. She's supportive of her sister applying but can see for herself that dd2 has a different attitude to it all - is keen and putting a lot of effort into studying. It's possible dd1 will apply again at 6th form stage. The only thing that worries me is dd1's school has falling roll numbers and I'm not sure it's a safe bet for dd2 so I don't have a solid fallback option.

Dipping a toe in here. We have twins sitting the exam this year, one of whom devours GCSE Maths for fun, wakes at 5am to spend three hours revising of his own volition (lest anyone think him a saint, gaming time in our house is earned through academic work and I understand that he is cultivating rather a lavish Roblux garden..) and very much wants - and may well achieve - full marks. His brother is bright but very much not a mathematician and understandably NOT keen to roll out of bed into an NVR practice paper. His mocks have been decidedly borderline thus far.

Both twins will be devastated to be separated and Twin B's self-esteem will take such a hit if he doesn't pass this bloody exam and his brother sails through. We are all very stressed. I have had to mute the class Whatsapp group and warn friends that I am incapable of being a reasonable human either mid-September or results day.

Hope you're all managing. I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that it's almost over now...

Oh that sounds stressful. Whereabouts in the country are you? Is it selective or super selective? Sounds like both twins might have a decent chance even if one aces it more than the other?

We have had a few days totally off, visiting grandparents. Back in the saddle for the final push

@MamaKiwi - there are threads every year from parents of twins in this exact situation. The conclusion tends to be that you cannot hold the very academic twin back, every single time. If they get in, they should go, regardless of logistics etc. with the other twin, especially if they have worked incredibly hard for it. The other twin will likely be proud of their sibling in the long run. Neither school option costs any money so as a parent, you give them the school they rightly get into.
I have several friends in this exact situation. Often they ended up paying for private school for both twins or just one to somehow “make up”, and regretted it later. If the second twin does not get into the grammar school, you simply praise their efforts and the school they are allocated and point out all the positives.

Same, we're on holiday and will get back to it on our return. They are so close now that there is not much more we could shoe- horn in.