11 Plus Exams Forum

I'm being shamelessly/shamefully nosy lol!

1. I'm curious as to how many people are going down, or have gone down the DIY route in Essex, without any outside tutoring, or professional, educational expertise or training themselves, ie they're teachers, tutors, lecturers, LA's, TA's etc?

2. How many DIY'ers were able to successfully get their DC's into GS?

3. If you DIY'd, is it something you'd recommend to other parents?

4. Are you glad you DIY'd or do you regret making that decision and if you had your time again, you'd choose the outside-tutor route?

I have teaching experience so don't count under your definition of DIY but when I thought about your question, I realised that I don't know anyone who sat the 11+ with only 'amateur' help. The candidates I know have either paid for tuition, gone to an indie school or had a teacher for a parent.

That said, I really do believe that it can be done by a motivated and interested parent without any educational qualifications.

Hi Bravado,

I DIY'd both my DD's. They were both successful, thankfully. It's a tough journey and I think moved once described it as like 'teaching your DC to drive'. Not for everyone and depends on your child's motivation and learning style as to whether it is right for you.
It certainly added pressure to their perception of chances as all their friends had tutors (to varying degrees) and some perpetuated the myth that you cannot succeed without a tutor. I was certainly very nervous that I would let them down, although I knew they were capable.

I wouldn't change anything, but that's easy to say with hindsight having been successful and not having had to pay a tutor ! If my children hadn't been motivated / wouldn't or couldn't deal with me guiding them or if I had been unsure of their chances I would probably have gone the tutoring route. They were both offered tutoring when they panicked, but both chose not to.

I still have one to go in a few years. I'll see how things look before making a decision for the final time.

Good luck to all those in final preparation for this years exam!

One piece of advice I forgot - use this forum ! There are certainly different books, etc that I hadn't been aware of (I used Bond, GL & past papers) that I will definitely look at next time round.

Many helpful & supportive people here, do use their free advice !

Hello,

I have 2 DC's at Colchester Grammar schools who came from a state primary (with anti 11-plus HT) and who had no professional tuition. I have no teaching qualifications although I occasionally give clinical lectures to Bsc/Msc healthcare students (not sure if that helps with 11 plus though!)

I take no credit for DS1's success as the decision to sit the 11 plus was only made at the CRGS open day, so we had 8 weeks to cover the basics of VR. Maths and English, he just did the previous 2 years past papers (one of which was the Tess paper!) Luckily he made it in and has thrived ever since.

With DD, I decided to be a bit more prepared and so did DIY tutor her from the xmas of year 5. I never regretted the decision and a professional tutor was never an option. Working at home we were able to adapt to her "mood".We never had a strict timetable, if she was keen to work we did bond books or practice papers and at other times we read together and played lots of scrabble and boggle. On a couple of occasions she decided she didn't want to continue and "gave up" for a time, before deciding herself to continue. She can be quite a worrier and so for me the most important thing was to keep it low key. Knowing that money had been spent on a tutor, would for her, have added to the pressure.

With regards to the future and DS2? I haven't decided yet (still too young) but if he wants to sit the 11 plus then I would DIY again.

I would say go for it. I didn't feel confident enough to tutor my children for the 11+. However, on reflection I think I was more than capable. Don't be influenced by all the horror stories you hear. Check out the 'Myths' threads and go with your instincts. Good luck to you and your DC.

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far
Having not been a prolific poster, perhaps I should have made it clear that we're now nearing the end of our 11+ tutoring journey? I was getting curious - perhaps very nervous.

First-timer - Many apologies, I didn't mean to close-down the discussion to only those who had no professional expertise in education - your observation about the candidates you know, is fascinating

mclm - I can certainly identify with your fears regarding whether you'd let your DD's down with the DIY route - I feel the same. All the children DD2 knows, who are taking the 11+, have a tutor , some have tutors. It doesn't make her feel pressure, as far as her perceptions of her ability to pass but it does shake my confidence.

minesatea
I'm so pleased to hear that you've never regretted your decision, and for us too, a professional tutor was never an option financially. In addition to that, we'd had a shocking experience with a teacher and felt we could only trust ourselves to do the tutoring necessary - a holistic approach, if you like lol!
Both DD's are worriers DD2 slightly less than DD1 and I know that like your DD, spending money on a tutor would have added pressure in her eyes - she's said as much, bless her! She only wanted me to do it, for a whole raft of reasons and the flexibility we've had as a result of our chosen route, has certainly worked for us. Sometimes we've started to learn something in maths and then we find we go off on a tangent, with something slightly related but still equally important - sometimes even more pivotal.

Fran17
The myths can really dent your confidence and belief in yourself, can't they?

Thanks to everyone for the luck
I hope that I haven't given the impression that I'm knocking the tutor route, or a combination of tutor and parent support? Everyone does what suits their DC's and personal circumstances

This site is truly amazing and long may it continue to provide a wealth of support and information for every parent and child doing the 11+ or entrance exams

I'd welcome thoughts from anyone on this

I'll also let you know whether my DIY method has proved successful

At the end of the day, even if DD2 doesn't gain a place, what we've learned together, will enhance both our lives and she's told me numerous times that she feels it's brought us much closer together and strengthened our bond Who could ask for more?

No need to apologise. I didn't think for an instant you were knocking anyone.

The beauty of DIY is that it's inexpensive and incredibly flexible. Invariably DIYers only go through the process a few times and can feel inadequate compared to tutors with impressive success rates. I suspect though, that the professionally tutored candidates most likely to succeed are those whose parents are also involved. The bottom line is that if a child is well prepared, it doesn't really matter who prepared them.

I am going down the DIY route too. My decision was not necessarily financial (could have found a way) but more that I didn't want to put too much pressure on dd. She is bright and I hope she will be successful with the work we've done. Thankfully all my children (dd y6, ds y4 and ds y2) treat the bond VR and Maths books like puzzle books and they do them most days and even take them away on holiday, I've brought them for their age. The English comprehension is the weakest which I have realised has been a result of reading beyond their years since they began primary so not actually grasping the story. I can do things differently with the 2 ds.
DD is quite relaxed about sitting the exams and we haven't talked about what will happen if it goes belly up as this may frighten her. Our local Comp is beyond rubbish but we do have a few other schools out of catchment which are accessible so I'm not too worried.

I wish all the children sitting the test on the 22nd well. It's a big step for our 'babies' and each time I think about her growing up and going to secondary school, I want to bawl. It's gone so quickly.

Difficult for me to say. When DS took the 11+ I just left him to it. However, I was a teacher before he was born, had a long break during his early childhood and then went back to teaching.

But I have always been a teacher, whether running a business or working in publishing.