Preparation for 11+

[MrPickles73]

Our son is year 4 and we are considering applying to grammar school for him to start in yr7. He is competitive so wants to do well but tends to rush and not read the question.
He is near the top of his class for maths and English.
The entry test is multiple choice maths, vr and non vr. When should we start preparing? Are bond books sufficient or does anyone recommend another type of book? Do we need a tutor and at what stage?

We live in an 11+ area. My DS is in a year 5 and we got a tutor at the beginning of Year 5. Some people get tutors earlier than this but I don't think it's necessary.

You can just do practice books. I have a tutor who is very familiar with the 11+ papers here. This is helpful as they understand the format of the questions.

Please get a tutor if you can afford one. They can advise on how to approach the exam and interview technique as well as the actual work. They will also be able to advise on which schools to apply for.

There is only one grammar we can apply for so that will be easy to decide 😜

Is it a grammar, super grammar or semi-selective? If super grammar or semi-selective it will be extremely competitive and being the top not near the top would be required. You say that he is competitive and that might just be his main tool to succeed. I personally don't think you need a tutor but he needs to be very secure in maths and you can practice VR using the books, it's not rocket science. If he is near the top and it's just a go standard grammar, he should be able to Wal into as it sounds like he's clever and naturally wants to do well. Good luck.

TheresaApril thankyou for your post. Honestly I don't know. All I know is it's a grammar and the only one in our county. He is at a prep so only 12 in his class so he is top 2 for maths and top 3 for English. Same at his previous school. The school will want him to stay til yr 8 so unlikely to assist.
How can we measure how smart he is? On a good day in the maths he can get over 90% in the bond book for his age group but is not always consistent. Should he be working at the year above?

I should add they have 3 or 4 applicants per place so I don't know whether that's good or bad odds?

I teach KS2. I have seen the very top child in the school, working easily in the next KS, get rejected from the top grammar in our area. He had years of prep AND a tutor!

As @TheresaApril says, it depends on how competitive the grammar is. In any case, now that the cost of living has gone up, many families who were hoping to go private, will possibly turn to grammars as an affordable alternative - I predict this will be a particularly over-subscribed few years.

So, I would absolutely say he needs to do past entry tests, timed, in test conditions (ask the grammar to supply you with their previous papers), and a specific grammar school tutor.

As the test is multiple choice maths, VR and non VR, it ought to be possible to prepare him at home. It's when the test involves written elements that it can be useful to have a tutor that knows what to look for.

@MrPickles73, do you know anything else about the test? Is it CEM or GL? Are there any familiarisation materials available?

DD took the CEM test last year, from an average state primary school, and we worked with her at home to prepare. There are several grammars in our region (West Midlands), but it's very densely populated and competition is fierce: about 1 in 5 that take the test get a place at a grammar, but the majority don't even take the test. DD got high scores so will be off to grammar in September (pending official confirmation on 1st March!)

The test might be different in your area, but here are some tips based on our experience:

• Little and often. In Y4 all we did was some general workbooks with no pressure, to make sure DD was secure in the concepts taught at school (and in lockdowns!) From January of Y5 she did 15-30 minutes most weekday mornings before school. Find a time that works for you, but keep sessions short. It was just part of DD's morning routine, so there was no drama. We didn't increase the pace during the summer either - she was ready so we felt there was little to gain from pushing further.

• Reading. The CEM VR element tests vocabulary and overall mature grasp of English. It's difficult to prepare specifically. Encourage your DS to read widely, provide varied and challenging books, have him read aloud to you and question him on vocab, nuance, predictions. Time spent on this will be better than bashing through vocab lists.

• We used a range of publishers, not just Bond. CGP books are excellent, also Letts, Collins, Schofield & Simms, First Past the Post. We worked through 9-10 to 10-11. 10-minute tests are nice for daily practice!

• Timing is key. Check which provider you have, but for CEM, speed is so important. Once DD was doing well with 10-11 books, we started to set timers. The maths, for example, is straightforward if one takes time, but the trick is to quickly understand the question, eliminate impossible answers and find the quickest way to work out the correct answer. I would periodically sit with DD and ask her to read a question and tell me quickly how she was going to tackle it. We also discussed alternative ways of approaching the same problem.

• Exam experience: DD did a couple of in-person mocks run by independent companies in the area, with quite a lot of children (100+) taking the test under exam conditions. She learned a lot about handling the separate question and answer papers, keeping to time and ignoring the distractions. These mocks were invaluable.