Preparing for 11+ (independent school) exams

[Taks]

Hello,

My son has recently sat his 11+ and waiting results. He is not too confident and I am also anxious due to increased competition this year.
I want to consider independent schools and wanted you advice on the schools and preparing for these. I have shortlisted Dulwich, Kingston Grammar, Reigate, Whitgift, Trinity and Kings (possibly)
I'd be grateful for any advice on how to transition prep from 11+ to these schools.
Thank you in advance.

I think you need to go to each school website and check deadline for registration and costs. Also, some schools give samples papers on their 11+ which is useful.

If you can afford a tutor but you need one who knows the different schools and what to prepare for. It does help a lot.

Definitely check the registration dates as some schools close registration during October (usually end Oct or early Nov).

Also check the entry timetable for each school as you may find some of these schools have their entrance exam on the same day. It is often possible to do both by asking for an alternative date but not all schools are flexible.

Most schools will include Maths, English (comprehension and creative writing), VR and NVR in their papers but they do vary so have a look at the sample papers on each website.

I think 6 schools is on the high end. It may get whittled down by exam clashes as mentioned above, but if not you might want to drop 1 or 2 from your list. Do you know your son’s academic level? Has he done CAT tests at all? If not sure then it might be worth having a conversation with a tutoring company as they can often do a one-off session to assess level so you aim for the right schools. Also can identify any weak points to work on.

good luck!

The schools are really far apart. Consider travel time. Do you want to travel an hour on the coach work and then come back home . In the GCSE’s year they will have an hours work each night as well. Need to consider ..

Where do you live? Travel is a big consideration at 11. I fear these schools, with the possible exception of Dulwich are just as competitive and academically selective as the state grammars.