11+ What are the schools looking for?

[Baloobearme]

About to dive into the 11 plus exam period and thinking about what schools are looking for? Anyone here with experience of Henrietta Barnett, SPGS, SHHS, NLCS and Channing? Are these girls geniuses? Dd has taken/will be taking these entrance exams this year, some just for the experience, some we genuinely like. Not tutoring. For info, our head said DD would suit CLSG but I felt it was too far and didn't apply.

Mine is at an indie, near the top mostly but so hard to tell as the school itself is not a prep. Sporty but doesnt play for any county, likes a bit of music but only starting out with piano. Enjoys learning.

Don't waste your time and energy taking exams for "the experience"

@Baloobearme Don't let your child go in without some prep.

My son didn't do tutoring but after the first exam realised he needed to 'learn' how to answer the questions. He did a month of online prep (Atom) for the next set of schools which helped him secure a place at his first choice school.

A very high test score!

100% agree with this - plus you will be wasting a registration fee if the schools are indies. It is not really a fun experience. 11+ can be intensely competitive and quite stressful for a 10 year old. Some laid back kids will be fine but for many it is a big deal.

Hi - just to clarify, we are looking more at specific schools but see the others as more practice if we dont get through.

You will need to prep for any of the schools you are applying for. Top schools such as St Pauls or NLCS are looking for top marks. They will have a general cut off. Your extracurriculars are a bonus, but do not matter if you don't pass the exam cut off. But even then you don't need to be country level or grade 8 piano. They just want to see you are doing something in addition outside of academics. They want to see you will be happy at their school. For example, well rounded children, who are well read and score well are most likely to be offered a spot.