11+ sep 2027 (current year 4)

[Danascully2]

Hi,
Having taken the 2026 thread off on a bit of a tangent, I thought I'd start one for 2027. Even though it's so far away I could really use some moral support... Having been through it with my older one (although he was successful) I am dreading the whole process for my younger one. We haven't started doing anything yet but am contemplating a gentle start soon. We are in a grammar county where the 11+ is MCQ only. At state primary with minimal homework. DC2 is an amazing reader and pretty good at mental maths but has illegible handwriting (has diagnosed ADHD). It may be that grammar isn't the right choice for him but we will make a start anyway. Although from a purely logistical point of view it would make my life very much easier if he goes to the same school as his sibling and can pass on uniform, know how it all works etc...
With older one we did a combination of Atom learning and CGP books. He never really fully got the hang of NVR though...

Anyway, bit of a ramble but maybe some other people might like to join me here?

(It's completely ridiculous to classify 10 year olds based on a 2 hour test on stuff they haven't done at school but that's a whole other thread....!)

Joining here - we're not in a grammar county but are thinking of moving to either the Kingston area or Sutton. The pressure has already started to mount up!

Hi, thank you for joining me :). The 11+ is such a stressful process with no guarantees regardless of tutoring or equivalent DIY preparation. I'm sure you've though of this but if you are moving into a grammar area I would definitely advise researching the non grammar options too to check what they're like. If I could move anywhere in the country for secondary I would be looking for a catchment based school that would suit my children rather than grammar.

Sorry that wasn't meant to sound negative about your plans, I just really dislike the system as it works here anyway...

Joining too. I’m interested to see how your son gets along following his ADHD diagnosis. Our daughter has autistic traits so we’re now wondering whether grammar school is the right environment for her.

It's a fair point - I'm looking around a whole range of schools but have no idea what I'm looking for or how to compare comprehensive to grammar. However the clock is ticking and we will need to make a decision soon if we do decide to move.

Hi, good to see someone else to keep us company. It's early days to decide what school might suit him but I think the MCQ format of the test will suit him so we will start some preparation and see how we go. I don't envy you making that decision about moving - I found it hard enough making decisions when I could visit the schools in person never mind trying to do it from a distance.

Joining in too - eeek ! DS in year 4 and am debating on the whole 11+ prep journey He is good enough at Maths to give it a go but English is considerably weaker including poor handwriting ! He is summer born (August), on the SEN register (no EHCP) since Reception and was very behind in everything but has rapidly gained momentum to go from near the bottom in year R and Y 1 to now one of the top in Y4 with regards to Maths, he just seems to get it. I am hoping we see some improvement in English this year as our local grammar does English and Maths, with the English being a MCQ (stage 1) and a creative writing piece (stage 2). At the moment no one will be able to read what he's written with that handwriting ... Glad to see others starting to think about the journey ahead

Hi, it is tricky when they have uneven skills isn't it. Is there a reasonable adjustments process for your 11+? Would there be options of eg a scribe or typing instead of writing? Especially if that is his usual practice in the classroom day to day? Mine seems to sometimes type longer pieces of english rather than writing by hand. Our test is just MCQ so handwriting isn't an issue for the 11+ specifically but does make me stop and think in terms of whether he will keep up with the work at a grammar. But I think at secondary (grammar or not) they tend to get them to type if their handwriting is illegible and they definitely don't care if it's cursive or anything.

Hi there. We are considering whether grammar schools might be a good fit for our Y4 DS. We live in a full grammar county and are in catchment for two great schools. We are lucky to live around the corner from a really good upper school too, so feel relatively relaxed about the outcome of the 11+. DS is ND but is academically strong, so we aren't doing very much in terms of preparation yet, just the odd Bond book and lots of reading/discussion. We are keen to look around the schools we have in mind to learn more about the ways they support ND DC without EHCPs.

That sounds like a great position to be in Pandora with a good non grammar option. It is good that your son is willing to do the Bond books - I struggled to get my older one to do book-based stuff as they're just quite dry aren't they. He got on better with the Atom learning website as it had a bit of a fun element.

Hi, thanks for starting this thread. We have a current Year 4 daughter we just started in group tutoring for 11+. We're in Liverpool where there is only one grammar school, and the test is split into two parts (with the first part being in the spring of Year 5). We're also fairly new to the UK (and completely new to the UK secondary school system) so we really have no idea what we're doing!

Hi, thanks for joining us. Oh gosh I didn't realize some had a bit in year 5! In some ways I think it's better to spread it over more than one part as otherwise there's so much riding on one two hour test. But on the other hand it must put the pressure on to start preparing when they're still really young.... Hope you are settling into the UK.

Thanks :) We are thrilled to be here and absolutely love Liverpool. We're never moving again (we moved here from the US)! But yes, the test prep at such a young age is new to us. Part one in year 5 is the first weeding out-- 400 applicants make it to round two 😶
Thanks again for the welcome and for starting this thread. I hope round 2 of 11+ is as pleasant as possible for you!

I'm pleased the move has worked out well for you. I can imagine the school system is very different in the US.

We've made a gentle start just doing the odd 5 mins of an 8-9 NVR book and continuing with a yr 4 National Curriculum maths book to make sure he knows the content, again just 5-10 mins here and there. So far the level seems about right and he seems happy to do it - I'm hoping that by starting a bit earlier than I did with my first we might have a more gradual and gentler run up, but on the other hand it may backfire and he may get fed up with it before we get to the second half of year 5... Who knows, fingers crossed....