11+ mock exam

[OnePinkButter]

I can only afford one 11+ mock exam at a centre. When would be the best time to do this? Mostly debating between June, July or August. We’ll do practice papers at home too of course, but I’m not sure which month is best to do the centre mock in.

6 months before the exam is a good time. They should know the majority of the content by then and it will give you enough time to address any issues.

Do you have a centre in mind? Typically they have fixed dates when mocks can be sat.

Yes, they’re offered every month from March-August. Should it not be closer to the exam? It’s really for the experience of being in exam conditions, hall etc. We’ll be doing practice papers every month from after Xmas, so I’m hoping we’ll figure out areas of weakness from that.

@OnePinkButter I agree with you that doing a mock test closer to the exam is more useful. The main purpose is to familiarise your DC with the mechanics of the exam - the big room, keeping to time, managing the separate question and answer paper, coping with distractions (another child kicking the chair leg or muttering or crying) etc.

A mock exam set by an external provider is not necessarily a close likeness to the actual paper, so it's not worth obsessing about the results of a mock. If the mock is an official one written by the same company that produce the actual paper, that might be different, but that is very unusual.

In terms of when, you can decide whether you think your DC would most benefit from sitting the mock, based more on their personality/nerves than their readiness for the real exam. My DC sat two mocks, one in June and one in August, and achieved similar results in both. If I had another DC I would only bother with one mock, perhaps around July?

I run 11+ mocks. I’d say do the June one. They will have learnt everything by then, but it still gives you lots of time to then focus on what they have found the hardest. Good luck!