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

csse has some old papers on their website that are free, actually.... if you sign up to the free atom trial you might be able to download/print their practice papers - i think they do them for a lot of schools and they are updated every year to incorporate syllabus changes.

@midlandsmummy123We are in Trafford so I think the CSSE papers will be of no use. Our tutors haven’t provided practise papers I know they do set mock exams in the summer holidays.

Thank you for that great tip, I’ll sign up to atom and see what I can find. I did manage to find some free papers online, there’s some you need to pay for which I might do nearer the time. Heres what my son scored;
maths 94.5%
VR 81%
NVR 83%

I’ve read between 80-90% is good but I don’t know. We don’t have an English paper in our exam but there will be a comprehension section so we are practicing that loads as that’s really his weak spot. Hope everyone else is getting on great, I’m getting so nervous as we get closer to September

@teachermum26 those scores are amazing. I’m in Trafford too my ds is sitting the consortium as practice but wants Ambrose.
You can buys packs of practise papers for the Trafford exams online at Newell tuition.
They are really good.

Last year on the consortium there were two comprehensions. One on a street vendor and one about a kite festival (older ds did it)

Can anyone advise on group tutoring in Islington area?

Thank you @troppibambini6I’ll check that’ website. Ambrose is a fantastic school! How’s your older son finding it? We are aiming for stretford grammar, we are quite local to it too.

Thats good to know about last years test, thank you. DS is not fond of comprehension so he needs the extra push.

@teachermum26im a glutton for punishment and have one in year 6 (starting Ambrose in September) and one in year 5 so I’ve been in 11+ hell for a while!
My two girls are at/went to Loreto so this is my fourth and last time of doing it.

Im sure you’re all ready sorted but the Newell mocks are also worth doing…. I promise I don’t work for them!

@teachermum26 try the Practise and Pass books/practice papers by Peter Williams - you can buy them on Amazon. He is a local tutor for the Trafford exams and is really good. I have three children who have gone through the Trafford entrance exams so know the process well! Good luck

@troppibambini6 oh yes my bad, of course hes still in year 6! I’m in awe that you’ve done this so many times, my first time has put me off already.
Lol I appreciate any and all tips you have, I need them!

@peacypopsthank you so much! I will be buying his books, they look promising. That’s incredible, how did your children find the test? I don’t know many people in my circle who have done/are doing the 11+ so I’m always interested to hear what people have to say

Few questions :

Mine is in Y4 but thinking to prep for NL Consortium now. Would anyone advise just slowly prepping rather than tutoring? It feels very early. Id also like to avoid tutoring but not sure if im mad. DD is excellent with maths, less stronger with other bits. I don't want to overstress them but also give a decent chance.

Exam papers : is there a source anywhere for lots of these?

If you tutor, when would you start?

Hello, I’ve two DCs and I started 11+ prep (for independent schools) at this point in Y4 ie around the Easter hols. Like you I wanted to do slow and steady - my kids would have hated an intensive crammer and we don’t in a grammar school area so there wouldn’t be any local to us anyway.

Is this too early? For my eldest I’d say it possibly was. Their exams were Jan of Y6 and the autumn term of Y6 was a real slog for him in terms of feeling fed up with it all. I had to resort to bribes, which worked well. Ended up with a 20% academic scholarship though so I do feel it was all worth it! 🤣

My youngest is aiming for different schools and the main test is early Oct this year. I’ve actually wondered if we should have started earlier because of this and because they’re young in the school year - at the point I feel there’s still quite a bit we need to get through before they get to a standard I know will be enough (and they’re at leaf as bright as their sibling). So since Feb we’ve upped the tuition from 1 hour per week to 2 (eldest had 1 hour a week all the at through). So overall I would say now is a good time to start.

Do you need a tutor? I’ve read lots of posts from parents who’ve managed without and whose kids have passed the exams. But honestly, I don’t know how I’d have managed it without our brilliant tutor.

Its an absolute joke to suggest NVR is a test of inherent ability- some of the questions are so hard that no-one in my immediate family (4 Oxbridge degrees and a PhD/professor of physics) couldn’t do them! But DC could, once they’d been taught.

Also, I think some kids don’t respond well to being taught by a parent and it can put strain on the relationship. It may depend a bit on how motivated your DC is to do the exams.

But that’s just my own experience, if you can find the time and energy to put into it yourself then you could certainly save a lot in tuition fees and have more flexibility with it.

I was discussing this issue of when to start with my children’s tutor actually. She said the ones who start early and consistently (rising to 2 tutor sessions a week) seem to get their first choice in biggger numbers than those who are doing an hour a day for 9 months and are exhausted and fed up come test day.

however, you can’t have them doing the practise papers/ exam praises in yr4- they won’t be at standard yet- so it can be hard to tutor yourself. CGP etc do books for 8/9 year olds but I’m not sure that’s a massively effect method if that’s all you’re doing.

@AquaPeer @TheWrongBus thank you both - my problem is im busy myself with work so the only time i have is in the evenings when everyone is tired. I wouldnt mind a tutor but later down the line. My worry is pushing too hard beyond their true ability but at the same time, ive been quite slack with my own life and floated along (albeit doing well) and id like to give my children a bit more of a push. How did you all find tutors? Did they come recommended?

@teachermum26 my two older children did the test when it was the CEM exam board (it changed two years ago to GL) My eldest did really well and passed for all schools and the middle one passed for two (but I think he was generally a bit slower at answering questions). Youngest did the test last year and did amazingly well (scores in the 390s) which was generally a reflection on how he got on with his mocks and practice papers. All three had a year of tuition (1 hour a week) and then probably did around 1 hour of homework in addition to this. They each did two mock exams - one in June and then one in August prior to the test. I think it's a tough test and preparation/exam technique really is key. We know quite a few kids who took it last year and didn't pass. If you have an specific qus just ask x

If you’re busy with work then I would definitely go down the tutor route. A decent tutor will also be able to assess your child’s potential fairly early on and give you a steer if they think your child has a decent shot or would need huge amounts of preparation to have any chance (ie: reconsider if it’s the right thing to do).

We had a tutor recommended by a friend with a child a year older than ours and she’s been fantastic - primary school teacher with heaps of 11+ experience. She’s based in Kent but we’re not so we’ve always done Zoom. Happy to share her details if you want to pm me, she tends to be fairy booked up but if you’re not looking to start immediately that may not be a problem.

I’ve found it’s much easier on everyone if you start early and stay consistent — that way your child can glide through the 11+ without the pressure of last-minute cramming or burnout. The feeling of pushing too hard often comes down to how the prep is approached. If you treat it more like a gentle, regular routine, it becomes less about pressure and more about building good habits.
I always recommend setting aside a fixed time each week — Saturday or Sunday mornings work well for many families — so they get used to the rhythm. Then you can plan something fun afterwards as a reward. It turns into quality time rather than a chore.
I work with a few children preparing for the 11+ (I tutor part-time). Getting a tutor can definitely help, but the real difference often lies in how the work is supported at home. Sometimes a tutor will set an hour of homework a week, but whether it’s rushed through the night before or broken into smaller chunks with support and encouragement makes a huge difference. If you can make the journey feel manageable and even enjoyable, they’re far more likely to stay motivated.

The tutor we used would only take children from year 5 onwards. We did one hour a week tuition and probably another hour of homework over that week too. I wouldn't have wanted my children to have started earlier or done much more than that. I think starting to prepare them in year 3 or 4 could possibly have made it more of a disappointment for them if they had not passed. As it was I felt that they were all sufficiently prepared and did go on to pass. Personally I think having a tutor worked best for us as I know they responded much better to someone else teaching them.

@peacypopsthank you for the insight, your children have done so incredibly well! My son started tuition last September and he’s been just doing the homework they sent plus vocab up until now. We started doing practice papers during these holidays and I’ve noticed he scores pretty high but doesn’t complete the test in the time allocated. That’s what we are struggling with right now. How can I help him become more faster? Is it just about of practice? Thank you!

@teachermum26 sounds like you are doing all the right stuff in terms of prep. I think that for now just focusing on practice and the speed will come as they get more familiar with the types of qus. My middle child was fairly slow at first but got there in the end. I think the Trafford exam is quite time pressured so it's important that the child learns to move on from a question if they don't understand (and put an asterix next to it to return to if they have time) Perhaps put your son in for a mock around June time - one that's in a classroom environment. Our tutor did open up his mocks to non tutees. You can then get feedback on performance and see what you need to work on. Will he sit the exam at Stretford? I

@teachermum26i agree with @peacypopsspeed definitely comes with practise.

Ds did a maths practise paper his tutor sent home this week. It’s only the second one he’s done his tutor teaches one area at a time so he’s mainly being doing comprehension and VR papers. I would say maths is probably his strongest subject so he was gutted to only get 66%. I know it’s early still but now I feel worried about it 🙈

im going to chat to the tutor and see if he can spend a bit more time on it with him.

On a more positive note he scored 84% on his last comprehension which I would have said was his weakest. Maybe I’ve got it all bloody wrong 🙈

@troppibambini6those are really great results, we still have a good few months he can easily improve on them! My son is scoring an average of 70% on comprehension, he does struggle with it. Hoping with lots of practice he can pull that up a bit.

@peacypopssome really helpful tips, thank you. It’s reassuring to read that they manage to get there in the end in terms of speed. I’ll be sure to book his mock papers in June too. I’m actually not sure where they sit the exam 🙈 I assume it’ll be stretford? I’ll be applying from their website

@teachermum26 you can choose which school to sit the exam - normally your closest one.

I'm now thinking of switching to Atom or a specific CSSE online offering, its a hard choice but tutoring is so expensive - I'm a single mum and I've realised today that I'll need every spare penny for January's tax bill, any thoughts on Atom for CSSE?

@Barbarella35 , my DS is in Tiffin Y9 and I coached him for both English and Maths 11+. No tutoring. He also passed the Sutton exams and was invited to apply for a place in a 3 Sutton schools including Wilson. I have a strong maths background, single mum, and I prep him from Y3 just to avoid the stress for both of us. I first focus on completing the Maths National Curriculum by the end of Y4. In your case, what you need to focus on is to ensure your DD has firm grounding on all Maths topics instead of prepping for a particular entrance exam. Therefore, practice books by Topics are best. DS practiced questions targeting GL / CEM and those targeting for private school entrance exams. I pretty much tried all publishers mentioned by parents on Mumsnet! Bond is my least favourite. Eventually, I stop using it. CGP is good to build the foundation and is the easiest (for my DS), I also used Schofiled & Sims and First Past the Post.

Each publishers have their own style of phrasing a question and level of difficulties will be different. Hence, they need to start working on questions from the easiest and build it up to the hardest for a topic. Not in 1 day thou! This way, you are building up their confidence. I chose to prep him this way to keep him on his toes. I believe DS will be able to stay calm, analyse and think how he can answer questions starting from first principle if the questions in the actual exams may be something completely different to anything he has seen.

Example: In Y3, he will practice Topic on Fractions that target Y3 standard. Once he is fine with Y3 standard, I gave him Y4 Fractions questions to practice. If he is good at it, I gave him Y5/Y6. Along the way, I will teach him more efficient way of solving a question after he finished the practice. Then I will pick up questions relating to Fractions from those "10 mins" practice books for him to try.

I did not have a strict rule that he has to spend 1 hour each day / week. IMO understanding the topics and practice to achieve accuracy are the most important at this stage. Often I only asked him to complete half a page questions for a particular topic. Once he is done, its done for the day.

Y5 Maths - this is all about practice exams papers. Up till end of March is not timed but again focus on accuracy. Post-March its timed so to work on speed and accuracy. 2 months prior to actual exams, he practiced Tiffin/Sutton mock papers to give him some familiarity.

English - He reads ALOT and very wide range of genre. I never test him on spelling, or test him in any way. However, I will always ask him "Tell me about this book you are reading / Who are the main character / Describe your main character to me / Do you enjoy this book? If not, why not?" Y5 English - he started working through books that covers Grammar, Vocabulary, Cloze and Comprehension in addition to timed exam papers. No flashcards, no memorising list of words etc.

2 weeks prior to his first sitting, he stopped working on any papers. I asked him to chill and watch Netflix and stop thinking about exams. 4 weeks before first sitting, I coached him on exam techniques and time management. For all his prep, I always teach him to go back to his first principle if he is stuck on a question. Spelling - phonetics.