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

For Maths practice I can really recommend the Schofield and Simms mental maths workbooks. They were recommended to us by our tutor and we used them alongside 11+ materials.

Thanks for all the advice. The funny thing is my DD is managing the S&S books quite easily and I’d also seen her manage the tutor homework which is practice papers. She does lack confidence and needs a steer towards how to work some things out.

However we are in SW London, and I wonder if the competition here is so huge, probably some of the tutored kids are in Prep schools and way ahead !
so reducing the competitive element might be a good thing.
The tutor said for Maths they need to have mastered Y6 level by the Autumn term of Y6, and some preps even do basic GCSE level Maths…!

(As background, my husband was similarly told by a tutor that he wasn’t up to the 11+, so he went to state school but then aced his A Levels and went to Oxbridge!
I was gifted at maths, sailed through 11+ and went to a Private school but then didn’t get into Oxbridge! So it seems DD is after him and just may not pass… but not the end of the world. Some kids blossom later.)

Hi, quick question about maths preparation/ Bond resources!

I've always used CGP books until now but I found out last week that my son's tutor is also using CGP books so he's essentially doing the same work twice which seems like a waste of time.

I thought I'd buy the maths Bond books instead - I've just looked on their website and they have 11+ books for the age group 12+! CGP only seem to go up to 10-11. Should we be aiming to learn at the 12+ level or should 10-11 be enough? Obviously I want to encourage him to prepare as well as he can but I'm worried he'll become overwhelmed and discouraged with too much to get through (especially if the 12+ books are more advanced than they need to be to pass - he gets upset if he finds things too hard).

Thanks 🙂

@IsThatYouPam We have just done the Trafford 11+ and did it solely with CGP resources, they are the best. My son passed very highly, so our approach worked.

Our tutor did interactive lessons then set paper homework from CGP books (and other older resources he had). We then added in CGP 10 min tests and practice papers in the Summer term/over the holidays.

Also Top Dog Tutoring You Tube channel is very good. We used this for concentrated practice on NVR in 10 min bursts.

I'd chat to your tutor, personally I think 1 hour per week and homework from the tutor is enough at this stage. I did CGP books at home on my own with my son in Yr 4, but nothing additional once the 121 tutor started.

Re: Bond books, if you read the 'mad' 11+ forum, some people say Bond are a bit easy. I would be looking at other publishers if you want to add in more, but I don't think it's needed at the mo.

Thank you @yoshiblue. We also just used CGP for my oldest who's just started Y7 and really liked them. Our tutor doesn't set homework so I was using the CGP books just to go over any harder bits of the topics he was covering again at home, but it seems a bit pointless now that I've realised she is teaching solely from CGP books and I am essentially showing my son the exact same questions at home (many of which he remembers the answers for so doesn't have to work them out)! Maybe we will do some of the 10 minute tests instead as I suppose they cover a range of topics so anything he's struggling with will come up again at some point or another.

Thanks for the Top Dog Tutoring recommendation, I've not heard of that so will definitely have a look.

Well done to your son! Hope you're enjoying the post-11+ calm!

Joining!

I am on this years' thread with DD1 and joining this one for DD2.

@IsThatYouPam I can't believe you aren't getting homework from your tutor! There are other publishers, even GL direct sell resources, I've just seen several people avoid Bond for being 'easy'

Yes, the calm is amazing! One day soon you can join me! 😀

@yoshiblue tell me about it - no homework or feedback in general unless absolutely pressed! Unfortunately my son has settled quite well with her though so I'm reluctant to move him and will keep up with trying to work through bits together at home instead for now. Thanks for the useful info re. Bond though, I'll try something else instead.

Hi @slaybell , how did your DD1 find everything this year? Hopefully it's not too stressful having to go straight back into it!

@IsThatYouPam She's coped really well with it all (me on the other hand...) she's very bright and studious so it comes naturally to her. Missed her first choice by a couple of marks but luckily they have a 'review' process so just waiting to hear on that. Passed for two other Grammars though.

DD2 is a different story. Bright, but far from studious so it's a real battle to get her to focus and apply herself.

Can I join? In Kent, so we are getting our heads round the Kent test. The tension/competition is already palpable at the school gates so god knows how we are going to protect DD from it all this year.

Second time round for us with DC2. Very different experience so far. Just seems a bit more of a drag. Y5 is such a slog

Hi mind if i join.

My DS has been in tears this weekend saying he doesn't want to do it anymore, he feels like he's being punished and made to do extra work that there not even doing in school. I get it!

We've been doing prep since about Easter. He was really up for it, enjoying it even. But I think it's taken its toll. Hes very good at maths, but the reasoning doesn't come as easy and English is a bit hit and miss (he's good at Grammar, less so at other bits). He takes it really hard every time he gets something wrong, even though I have explained how difficult the questions are.

I am tutoring him myself with some help from a friend. His school have said he has the right potential, I don't think I'm deluded!

We're in a slightly unusual position that we live right next to a grammar school and the nearest comp is a decent bus ride away. There will be a significant difference to his quality of life if he gets in.

Oh and we tried the bond books and thought they were not great, CGP are far better. Both in lay out and quality of questions.

@supercalifragilistic123 poor ds it's so hard on them. Could you maybe take a break for a couple of weeks and when he's had chance to calm down a bit have a conversation with him? Did he say at the start he wanted to do it?

Yes he was so up for it at the start. We've been and looked round the school and we both really liked it. His best friend isn't doing the 11+ so I think this is where a bit of the resistance is coming from.
He is a sensitive child who excels in STEM subjects. I really do think that the grammar school will be the best place for him.
He has already had a break as he's been unwell. We've agreed to try doing our sessions in the local cafe instead so it feels more like a treat.

The 11+ system feels so unfair and I wish we weren't a part of it. I didn't go to a grammar myself. I have been dreading year 5. To the person who said it feels like a slog, this is so true!

Mine is also very resistant to the homework… I’ve resorted to bribery! We pay £10 pocket money upon completion 🤣 (or this week have arranged a cinema treat).

Honestly though, it is tricky isn’t it… I don’t want to overwork her too hard. But at the same time, she has had a very easy ride from Covid times until now, we’ve never really forced her to see anything through and I do think she has to learn these skills of knuckling down somewhat… (without tears, ideally)

@supercalifragilistic123 I'm be tempted to stop until January. It's the worst time of year for tiredness, dark nights and pre Christmas commitments.

Why not take a step back and say let's have a break and discuss how you are feeling in the new year. Although it may feel counterintuitive to stop, by carrying on you could make things worse.

Ultimately, if he won't put in the extra work, he may also find it harder at grammar too. I think you have to be sensitive to how much studying he naturally wants to do. The last thing you want is him passing and then struggling to keep up with the work demands.

Absolutely not a stealth brag, but my son always got on with weekly 11+ work without any issue. There was a bit of push and pull over the final stage of Summer holiday practice, but we were both fed up by that point.

You do really have plenty of time, so taking a pause could be really beneficial.

Good luck!

Thank you. It's helpful to see it from another perspective. You're right there still is plenty of time.

He wants to do some work, but not necessarily the areas he needs to work on. He will do maths workbooks for fun, If it was simply a maths test he'd be flying!

He also gets good school reports and feedback from teachers both in effort and attainment. I honestly do think the grammar is a good fit for him. In some ways in would be easier if it wasn't!

Not having a formal tutor arrangement makes it harder to see these things. We just cannot afford it at the moment. The prices are eye-watering.

Thanks again, this has been helpful.

@supercalifragilistic123 Assuming you are not in a super selective area, it is perfectly reasonable to self tutor with CGP and a small number of mock tests/practice papers nearer the time.

When do you do the work? We had a regular Saturday am slot so my son knew what to expect. It was also better than after school when he was tired. Also don't do too much, we tended to do up to one hour max covering three subjects.

Hi all!!
@supercalifragilistic123 so sorry for your ds. He sounds ALOT like my ds, he's fed up with doing all this work. Especially English, which is not his strength. The tutor we had went back to full time employment mid way through and we haven't had a replacement since. I feel my ds has ALOT to cover, but he does not want to continue. So we are using the cgp books the 10minute practice and atom. He doesn't mind doing those, although may not be enough. We have exams next week and the week after. So we'll just have to hope for the best.

I’m so glad for this thread. Are there any additional resources recommended for super selectives like St Olaves? DS is bright and motivated but having gone through the sample papers it appears one has to be a mini genius to ace both rounds.

London, Kent, Berks/Bucks Barry enormously in their set ups so I would definitely suggest doing your homework re: which grammars and comprehensive options.

Hi all and sympathy for the lack of work- same here. Had an argument with DD at the weekend as she just couldn’t be bothered to do anything. Couldn’t do a CGP VR 10 min test. Had to Amazon prime the 9-10 book on the basis I assume 10-11 must be too advanced. I’m starting to doubt she has the work ethic to make the most of this opportunity

We are having major issues with listening to feedback about how to improve. So my DD will do a 10 mins test and think that's it, get distracted and wander off. We call her back to talk through how to improve the score and learn some techniques she nods through it all but then the next time we try to do a test she doesn't apply any of it.

We did nets to cubes a few weeks ago. Spent half an hour watching videos about how to do them, practiced some, got her to explain it all back to use. Then the week after she gets all the nets wrong and hasn't done any of the techniques we went through. It's exasperating!

@AquaPeer You might find moving down to the 9-10 books in the short term helps. We've done something similar. We are currently using the CGP practice books at age 10-11 and working through those together (literally only just moved up to them from the 9-10 level) but for now keeping the 10 minute tests at age 9-10 as DS obviously scores better at this level and therefore it keeps the motivation up and he's more willing to do them if he doesn't think he's going to get frustrated because they're harder.

Once he's got his confidence with the 10-11 practice books I plan to start introducing the odd 10-11 10 minute test and slowly increasing them as the summer gets closer.