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

Experiencing similar levels of "just want it over with" angst, made worse by the realisation that after the test we then have another month-long wait for the results during which we're all absolutely powerless to do anything to improve the outcome. The one small ray of sunshine is that we're in the catchment area of the grammar he wants to go to and that in every year for records are available that's been enough to get him a place (provided, of course, that he passes the sodding test), so the wait for national offer day won't be quite so painful.

He keeps plugging away in his room for an hour a day. Results of practice papers are up and down but the positive is that he keeps learning new stuff - drops marks when a set of questions are based on something he doesn't know (eg he's never been taught what "rotational symmetry of order 2" means), but once it's explained to him he remembers it for next time. He keeps making silly mistakes though, including some weird obsession with expressing ratios backwards.

He's doing two more semi-fomal mock papers, one today and one tomorrow, and then hopefully we can work out a plan to plug any remaining gaps in the two weeks before the big day.

I have no idea what rotational symmetry of order 2 is! And I have a level further maths. Such madness isn't it? Am also now contemplating the logistics of getting her there in time for the exam and realising that if she actually gets in this will be a daily journey. Suddenly feels like madness. I had my doubts about whether it was a good idea, which is why I half arsed it with dd1, but dd2 has been so determined and focused and I decided it would be wrong not to support her. And now I really want her to get in because she'll be gutted if not having put all this work in. Feels like a mess!

NGL, I had to Google.

Ha, I only know what the order of rotational symmetry is as it came up in DS' first mock and we both had to google it when he got home!

Really struggling to know how to fill the last couple of weeks or so now. Feel like he's learned all the key stuff and I'm worried we'll take a step backwards if we spend time focussing too much on particular topics and he ends up making mistakes and then loses confidence. But then if we just do lots of random mixed practice, are we going to miss something we should be practising more?! Feel like we should be making the most of the last few days of the summer break as once he's back at school he's too tired to focus on learning at home as well as he has been these last few weeks.

Same. English is her weakest subject I think, but probably the one where last minute practice is likely to pay off the least. She also veers away from her weaker subjects towards the ones where she's most comfortable and I am continuing to follow her lead because I don't want to put too much pressure on her or knock her confidence. She did an NVR paper yesterday though and did v well, so hopefully that helped her a bit as she's been avoiding it since the harrow mock

Much the same here, too. I think English is the really tricky, pretty much un-crammable one - not much you can do at this stage beyond maybe working through a vocab list and looking up definitions of unfamiliar words.

It really is a very silly system. I was trying to think of any other situation in life where so much depends on one exam, with a straight pass/fail and no retakes. Best I could come up with was a making a complete hash of a job interview, but even then they're likely to look at a whole bunch of other metrics and factors and if you don't get in, well, there's nothing to stop you applying for a different one.

Six years of effort distilled into two hours of multiple choice.

Mine had a disastrous mock NVR/Maths paper today (Bucks). Maths is always her weakest, but she normally gets 100% in NVR, so she's now really upset and has lost loads of confidence. So I am now thinking that sending her for the mock was an error! She didn't like the audio 'shouting' at her. And there was a lot of it today due to all the sections in the NVR test. Luckily as she's autistic she is doing the test in a separate room with a teacher reading out the bits the audio would normally do, so that won't be a problem on the day. She did really well in her English/VR mock. It is such a rollercoaster. I'm hoping she's now got her disaster out of the way before the day. But I'm now not very confident. She is very bright but also very liable to panic and mess it up. This is such a stupid system.

Sorry it was a bad experience. Knocking confidence was my worry with a last minute mock, but I guess on the positive side she does know what to expect now and it'll be less stressful in the real thing? 100% in NVR is 😮 anyway and it sounds like there were positive things to take from English?

My DD seems fed up now if I'm honest. I thought she'd be even keener to cram as well get close, but it's almost the opposite and she wants to do other stuff. Which is fine I think, as it is her holiday after all I think she's plateaued as well and doesn't have much progress to motivate her. Whether she's plateaued at the right level I really don't know - she's averaging above 90% on most subjects I would say but not above 95% which she might need, and the comprehension and creative writing might drag her down further. It's annoying as that's obviously really good but will be for nothing if she's not in the top few candidates.

My DS is soooooo fed up, as am I. Just too drained to continue. We've begun to speak about the local state school being an amazing place to go as well.

How long do you have to go @Tiredlady1?

First exam is next Saturday and the last end of Sept

First exam is next Saturday and the last end of Sept.

Hope there's a gap between. We have tues and sat and then a gap till beginning Oct.

Do any London folk know about grey coat hospital? It has some places on language aptitude - you don't seem to be able to apply yet but the tests must be soon. We have done no practice at that (not even sure how) but wondering if it is worth a go?

No sorry never heard of it im afraid.

It's a girls' school. I started a separate thread and got one reply saying go for it but you can't really prepare

Soooo - we have DAO part I on Monday. And we are sick 😭 Couldn’t make this s* up! Anyone have any experience of this? When might the alternate test day be scheduled for?

Oh I am sorry to hear this. I have a feeling the reschedule it would be at the weekend (so 6/7th) but I don’t know where I read that. You poor things

Awww - thanks @AquaPeer. There’s really not much we can do so we are being pretty circumspect about it, alongside moments of ‘a year of prep has come to this??’. She will be fine by the weekend I’m sure. Hope you’re all set for Monday.

We have Latymer on the 7th

very up and down here- too late to worry about it now though!

Oh no! No chance they'll be better by Monday? I was wondering this this morning as the rest of us are a bit under the weather but DD seems ok so far fx

She’s done her best and will do her best, I’m sure. Wishing her the best of luck

Quite possibly. But if there is any chance she’s not 100% fighting fit, I’d rather she wait.

we all came down with a flu-like bug. Possibly Covid. We were careful, but I guess it was inevitable 😭

@Magnificentkitteh thank you! Local is a selective, but we’re also trying for a super-selective (St Olave’s). Very academic twin seems to be in with a shot at the super but really just wants the local selective, and the tutor both boys saw this week seems to think both boys are likely to pass well enough for our local grammar. Fingers crossed. Sounds like your daughter is doing really well - above 90% is rather good, no? Is she trying for the super-selectives?

@Araminta1003 thank you so much, you are totally right of course. We wouldn’t dream of not sending the passing child, but very concerned about what to do with the other one should it come to it - the local state offerings are really quite dire.

@sweetmelody god, what awful timing, I am so very sorry. I hope you and your daughter aren’t too distraught at the change of plans and you hear of the alternate test date soon.

@Tiredlady1 your username is rather apt! Almost over now.

My son has an ADHD diagnostic appointment on the 8th and I’m quite certain he’ll receive a diagnosis. I’m feeling really guilty that he’s been expected to prepare/revise whilst battling wonky brain chemistry - not to mention sit the exams - but hopeful that we’ll get a Headteacher Appeal given the circumstances if he doesn’t quite manage. We shall see. Both twins have a mock tomorrow and I am hopeful for nice, confidence-giving passes and then a massive glass of wine at the end (for me, not the boys, although they jolly well deserve it at this point!).

@MamaKiwi Yes there are only super selective options here really, though obviously I need a fallback. Dd1 is at a local comp girls' school which has a lot going for it but also seems to be in a bit of a downward spiral - falling roll numbers, a revolving door of teachers, a building riddled with RAAC. It is going to be a building site at best but there's a serious question mark over whether they change their mind and sell the land. It probably won't happen but has rattled me enough to think I probably can't send dd2 there if there's another option.