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Howmuch time should we spend each day for 11+ Prep?

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 10:35 am
by Golden_Jubilee
Hello all mums/dads,

I am new to post to the forum.
After going through some of the posts in this forum, I whole-heartedly thank to all the forum contributors and I will try my best to contribute where possible. This is a learning phase for me as well as I am planning for few weeks to prepare my DD.

We are in Essex targeting Chelmsford and Essex schools. However, out of catchment for both Chelmsford and South-end. My DD will be in years 5 in Sept and hence I thought now (just before Yr5) is a good time to start for 11+ preparations. She wants to do 11+ but I do not want to push her too much though as I don’t want her to struggle in a GS if she is not GS type student.

We will do DIY at home only. I have fair understanding of the question types and course material from this forum and 11+ books. What I am very confused is: the time to be spent…how much time we should spend each day during holidays/school days? There seem to be different views on this.

Is an hour everyday during holidays too much? (30 min English and 30 mins math)
And during school days 10 mins English/10 min Math (using 10 min test books)?

(Lastly, 6 months prior to test, one full-length test each week)

Please advice based on your experience.

Re: Howmuch time should we spend each day for 11+ Prep?

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:53 am
by Stokers
Personally, and I know this isn't necessarily right for everyone, we did nothing in the summer hols between year 4 and 5 (not sure DD would have agreed to, even if I had pushed it). Next Summer, you will be busy enough so enjoy these 6 weeks. We didn't work during Christmas, either, but did work pretty hard through Easter as DD had the Mill Hill first round and a couple of mocks in the Summer term.

Re: Howmuch time should we spend each day for 11+ Prep?

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 2:56 pm
by SlighlyStressedMum
Hi. Also in Essex but a ds so we were just doing csse, I assume you are sitting cchs too? We didn't start at all until the September of yr 5. He then did one hour group session a week. In addition at home we read some classics, some like Alice in Wonderland, Wind in the Willows he read alone, we read others like Treasure Island and David Copperfield together. In the summer hols between yr 5/6 we additionally spent a couple of hours a week working through past papers together and in the last couple of weeks before the exam we did a couple of mocks, at home at the dining table. Good luck x

*edited for typos

Re: Howmuch time should we spend each day for 11+ Prep?

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 11:34 am
by Golden_Jubilee
Thank you SlighlyStressedMum/Stokers. Much appreciated. I was just anxious as most of DD's friends have been preparing for whole of year 4 with tuition. I am not planning for tuition as she already gets good homework from school (she is a prep school). So just wanted to confirm if I am doing wrong by not pushing her now.

I will relax and let her enjoy a bit now :D

Re: Howmuch time should we spend each day for 11+ Prep?

Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 12:39 pm
by Golden_Jubilee
I received couple of messages from other forum members today with some study tips and I really appreciate the feedback/helping nature in this forum. What a wonderful forum really this is :D I am pleased I am part of it now.

This is my first time 11+ experience with my DD.

However, I have been reading this forum for 6/7 months now to get used to the 11+ concept. It has truly helped me. I am quite relaxed now as I know what needs to be done. I must admit I would have been in a very stressful position without this forum.

Thank you to all of you.

Re: Howmuch time should we spend each day for 11+ Prep?

Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 3:02 pm
by essexa
Hi, my son started preparing one year prior to the exam. However, i would strongly suggest that the early years are spent reading. We found vocabulary the hardest part of the exam to prepare for as you can cannot easily remember thousands of possible words, their synonyms, antonyms etc. A solid grasp of the the English language and understanding of most words will prepare them to pass the comprehension, synonyms, antonyms , compound words etc more than anything else. I believe you can teach maths, you cannot teach vocabulary, it takes time, so start them reading early, a book week should be the aim from year 5. My son passed last year with high marks, i would put it down to lots of reading and now his vocabulary puts me to shame!! Good luck to all, all the effort is worth it, trust me...A.