11+ support thread 2026

[11plus2026]

Not sure if anyone is around yet but thought I’d open one.

Has anyone started any practice questions yet? Mine will be starting tutoring in September, she’s had an assessment to see where she’s at currently and now just enjoying the sunshine ☀️

@Annithebell which 11+ region /exam is your DC taking

Bexley

Unfortunately I don't know about Bexley.

Last year, Bucks didn't have any spatial on their exam which my DC had always struggled with. Consequently my DC got a really good score for that section.

Sometimes your DC can get lucky with the paper

I’m not familiar with Bexley but do they have verbal and non verbal in one paper? If so, she will have a better chance of passing if she does well in verbal reasoning.

Thanks for replies!
Yes the test involves VR as well and her scores are OK for English, maths and VR. The problem is her NVR score is so low atm that it makes her total score quite low.

To add to my stress Bexley announced in March that they were going to use Quest as their test provider instead of GL but the test will still be paperbased. Because of this nobody seems to know exactly what type of questions to practice, unfortunately it seems like there will be quite a lot of spatial NVR .

We’re borderline in terms of catchment so I’m wondering whether to just stop ,I keep changing my mind . Ah well rant over, hope everyone else is doing better than us with the prep!

Hi all,

We have been slowly working through atom and various books but like an earlier poster, we are doing it alone. Im now petrified that we are at a complete disadvantage now. We are trying NLCS, Mill Hill, HB and SHHS. DD has heart set on the latter which is leaving me scrambling around for ideas on how to get in/cope if she doesn't get it

We also don’t have a tutor and it’s really hard to get a benchmark on how they’re doing. We’re doing atom but not sure how reliable their benchmarking is - my girls’ scores vary quite wildly on their practise papers and the tracking line. We did do an in person mock today which might give some useful information. They came out very happy but one cheerfully said she’d had to guess at a load of the maths answers at the end as she ran out of time!

@chillipopcorn1 I was thinking whether to do an in person mock. Atom scores us around 100. Where did you sit yours?

Yes same! Between 98-106, never over. Which doesn’t feel like enough. There’s definitely some maths they’re not secure with yet eg. On the mock today radius came up and that threw them. NVR they’re both quite fond of (weirdos).

@chillipopcorn1 where did you do your in person mock, we were thinking to do one but not sure too early.

Taking the exam at Henrietta because its local so worth a shot but much more focussed on December exams.

I’ve just looked at the tests as my gc is probably sitting the 11+. I was shocked by how hard I found the VR questions. I was a teacher and have two post grad qualifications but struggled!

I am currently feeling rather stressed by the whole process (this is my third time). DD has had weekly tutoring since starting year 5 in September, all seemed to be going well, VR and English more straightforward than for her two older brothers, although she finds Maths trickier. Did a mock at the tuition centre beginning of June, 50% overall, (pass mark is likely to be around 71% in our area). I thought on the day she seemed spectacularly unengaged, came out saying she'd run out of time and guessed loads of the answers. Tutor says she's got the ability to pass but varies wildly in motivation and concentration levels and they could see the mock was a bad day. We've run through the mock papers with her. Maths and English were full of silly mistakes, she should have easily got 70-80%. VR was an especially tricky paper with a few question types she wouldn't have seen for ages (I looked over her CGP books that the tutor sets for homework), and other types that she's not come across before.

The tour and open evening for the local girls' grammar were back in February/March so although she was keen then, it's been a while since we saw the school. Since the mock result she's been saying she's not sure if she even likes the school. The other options for schools are fine, but having done tours and taster days she's not especially keen on any school, just says she doesn't want to leave primary.

She's always been a child who changes her mind with the wind, so at the moment I'm keen to press on with 11+ prep, practice papers over the summer then maybe another mock in September before we decide whether or not to press on to the actual exam.

It doesn't help that she has a friend in current year 6 who passed last year, apparently with two weeks of practice papers in the summer holidays and no other prep. So laid back she didn't even know that the scores aren't ranked here, DC qualify or not, then it goes on siblings, catchment etc. Parent of the opinion that 'if you have to have a tutor you will struggle at the school/don't deserve to be there' stuff. DS1 and DS2 had tuition, passed, and not struggling at grammar. I'm finding it rather unnerving though and wondering if the attendant stress (which I'm trying to hide from DD) means it's not right for her.

Can’t believe it’s been over a year since I created this thread..! Mine has had 3 mocks and I think we’re done with mocks and now we’ll focus on tackling her weak areas.
Careless mistakes seems to be a theme for us too, in fact they’re still so young I don’t feel it’s fair to expect them to be switched on all the time!

Anyone planning holiday over the summer? We’re away for a week so we can all have a break from this, and hopefully when we’re back we can do our final prep, take the exam and move on!!

We are going away for 2 and a half weeks at the beginning but we are planning on taking books with us so we can keep some prepation going.
Our group tuition runs twice a week so we along with most children are now increasing to both days in the summer holidays. They are also running an intensive week the last week of August.

We have done 3 external mocks as well as multiple papers at home. We are seeing some improvement but not quite the level needed yet. We have our last external mock at the end of August.

DD went for a tour last week and really loved the school which I think has given us a bit of a boost.

This thread is for parents going through the eleven plus. Not people using chat gpt to shill a product.

Thanks for flagging up. It’s quite funny how obvious it is when people use ChatGPT

Anyone got any tips for those maths questions where it asks, for example, ‘if July 3rd is a Tuesday, which of these dates will be a Saturday in August?’ I can only find extremely time consuming ways of working it out and feel there must be a quicker way!

Hi. A quick tip is this every 7 days will fall on the same day & the only important part is the remainder. So from 3rd July to end of August there are 28 days remaining. Saturday is 4 days from Tuesday so the total days are 28 + 4 which is 32. Divide 32 by 7 days which gives you 4 remainder 4. It’s only the remainder that matters. So add 4 days to Tuesday which is Saturday. So the first Saturday in August will be the 4th. I am not very good at explaining so just asked my son how he works it out. He’s also preparing for 11+.

This is really helpful, thank you! Just got back my DCs first mock results - 60% overall, and slap bang in the middle of the cohort that took the test. The report was pretty detailed and basically said that if they can improve they have a chance, but certainly not a shoe in. I know this company do let parents know explicitly if they feel the kids don’t stand a chance, so that’s something. Feeling a bit beleaguered at the thought of an uphill couple of months ahead of work!

@GarlandaChynoweth
We had a similarly disappointing mock last year. Our 2DC was very blase and just thought he would sail through because his older brother who had previously passed 'didn't do any work' - he did, but just got on with it.

The summer is a critical time. Have a week or so off but then back to it.
For both our DC at the beginning of summer we said we would reward them for the effort they put in (not the result) for the last push of 11+ work. We agreed a work schedule with them which basically came to about an hour a day which had to be done before anything else AND they had to have the right attitude - proactive, engaged and willing to work on mistakes whilst celebrating the positives

We said it could be a trip or a treat or present - in the end they both got a switch. Whatever entices your DC. We gave them the present after they took the exam on the same day

This last bit is a slog. My 2DC was 'failing' at the beginning of the summer but ended up with a solid pass - good luck

Thank you, some good tips! Yes we’re doing about an hour a day and they’re pretty amenable, will try and make sure I’m being as positive as I can to buoy them up. Like the idea of a treat to reward the effort!

We are also plodding along. Well done to your daughter, the mocks aren’t easy at all. My son did the Sutton/wallington/wilson ones. Still waiting for Wilson’s result. He did okay but can can see how tough it is as so many kids are so very good. We will keep going.

Are people doing timed tests at home? DD still takes time with her reasoning so her tutor says don’t bother timing just yet.