How do I obtain correct syllabus?

Eleven Plus (11+) in Kent

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guest5

How do I obtain correct syllabus?

Post by guest5 »

My child will join year 5 in September, taking 11plus in Jan of year 6. We will be in Kent scheme for grammar. I know I am starting early, but wanted to begin some preparation at home with my child in year 5. I am slightly confused as to who is best placed to advise me on correct syllabus to follow, i.e., types of papers sat in West kent. The area will be Tunbridge Wells/Tonbridge. Do I contact Education dept of local council, will they be able to give me definitive list of paper types, are the paper types revised every year? I do sound rather unclued up, any advice welcome. Just wanted to have everything in place when time comes. Child appears capable so far, but have been advised by teacher friend to tutor either myself or with outside tuition to gain exam technique, regardless of how capable child is. Many thanks

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chad
Posts: 1647
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:49 pm
Location: berkshire

Post by chad »

Hi, I am not in the Kent area but this might help

Kent Schools Information On The 11plus Tests
Choosing a school for your child is an important decision and the 11 plus exam (11+) will play a part in your choice of school. Grammar schools in the Kent Council area cater for children who are deemed selective under the 11+ exams prepared by NFER (National Foundation for Educational Research.)

Kent council provide an excellent booklet of advice for the parents of children who are about to sit their elevenplusexam. The booklet contains a wealth of information about selective and non-selective schools in their council area.

For entry to secondary school or grammar school in September 2006 children will sit their 11+ tests in January 2006.

Children will take the following eleven plus tests:

Verbal reasoning test
Non-Verbal reasoning test
Mathematics test
English writing exercise
The tests are marked, the scores standardised and results issued.

Schools are asked not to coach children for the assessment process.

Further information is available at www.kent.gov.uk.

Kent LEA
Mr Graham Badman
Strategic Director - Education & Libraries, Kent County Council, Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1XQ
Telephone: 01622 671411
Fax: 01622 694091
Email: E&LDirector@kent.gov.uk
Website: www.kent.gov.uk

Best of Luck
guest5

how do I obtain correct syllabus

Post by guest5 »

Many thanks Chad for your very helpful post. I shall get onto it after Easter so that we can consider our options!
Guest

Post by Guest »

If you need advice re particular schools and required test marks please let me know as I currently have 2 sons attending Kent grammar schools.
Guest

Post by Guest »

Hi Guest 5

My child is in Year 6 in the West Kent area and has just passed the 11+. The papers you need are Nfer Nelson as this is the Board that Kent uses. You can buy the packs of practice papers from newsagents, this site or Amazon etc. There are four packs and each one includes 1 paper on verbal reasoning, 1 on non verbal reasoning, 1 on maths and one on English (English is only marked if a pass mark is not achieved on the other 3 papers so don't worry too much about this one).

Good luck.
Guest

Post by Guest »

Another thing is that the tests in Tonbridge/T Wells area are in multiple choice format. This is important, as the practice papers are published in both.

Also, don't buy the mixed pack and then the separate packs for maths, vr and nvr, because the mixed pack contains papers from the other packs (hope that makes sense). Just bite the bullet and buy the separate packs from the start.

You can get lots of free sample papers from the internet which, although they are not the same as the NFER's, are great for practice. After all, if you are starting so early, your child will get through the NFER papers in no time.

Best of luck!
guest5

how do I obtain correct syllabus

Post by guest5 »

Many thanks to you all for your helpful posts, lots of food for thought. Will get organised over summer break and start preparation at some time in year 5.

Just wondered if anyone had taken their child to a tutor for independent? assessment prior to starting prearation for 11plus either with said tutor or personally at home. If so, what were/are the downfalls of assessments and is it just a way for a tutor to persuade you to part with your money and sign up for tuition? I was just wondering whether I should take my child for independent assessment so that said child is not put through needless stress to try and pass an exam, that they have no hope of passing. Said child, however, is sitting comfortably in class and I would never consider the 11plus if I felt child was hopeless, but perhaps assessment would confirm/deny my supposition/
Guest

Post by Guest »

Anonymous wrote:If you need advice re particular schools and required test marks please let me know as I currently have 2 sons attending Kent grammar schools.
Guest

Re: how do I obtain correct syllabus

Post by Guest »

guest5 wrote:Many thanks to you all for your helpful posts, lots of food for thought. Will get organised over summer break and start preparation at some time in year 5.

Just wondered if anyone had taken their child to a tutor for independent? assessment prior to starting prearation for 11plus either with said tutor or personally at home. If so, what were/are the downfalls of assessments and is it just a way for a tutor to persuade you to part with your money and sign up for tuition? I was just wondering whether I should take my child for independent assessment so that said child is not put through needless stress to try and pass an exam, that they have no hope of passing. Said child, however, is sitting comfortably in class and I would never consider the 11plus if I felt child was hopeless, but perhaps assessment would confirm/deny my supposition/
I would save your money and not bother getting an independent assessement. I suggest you do a similar exercise to what I did with my two children, who both passed the 11+ with fairly high scores.

As suggested in the comments above, buy the NFER packs from WH Smith, they cost around £15/£16. Let your child work through the questions in their own time. Let them do what they can and miss those they haven't a clue about. Check their answers against the answer sheet. If they get around a third to half or even more correct, then IMHO it's worth the effort taking the 11+ and all the hardwork it entails.
kentmum1

Post by kentmum1 »

I started tuition with my son at about the same time as you are planning. I started with the "How to do Verbal/Non-Verbal reasoning" books by Philip Kay (from Amazon, etc). I would highly recommend the "How to do 11+ Maths by Bond. We used this more as a revision tool at the end but I will use it earlier with my next son. These are all books of ten minute tests just to get them started. He used to do one every morning before breakfast. I also bought the Bond books. This is all we did until the end of year 5 when my son started a 6-month tuition programme, using both the Bond and NFER Nelson test papers. He was given an assessment, purely on the basis that the tutor will not simply take money and will only teach those he feels would suit a grammar school. This lasted six weeks and he passed the tests. He then was tutored up until the tests, using the NFER test papers more and more extensively. Our tutor always used the hour for teaching and not just supervising a test paper. My son always did these at home. However, there are some tutors who set the children work and then get on with other things. Always go to a recommended tutor. Our one has a 2 year waiting list! However, I do feel I could have tutored him myself. If you have the inclination, it can easily be done. The tutors all use the same material as what you can buy in the shops. I simply wanted my son to have a bit more expert tuition on maths, than what I thought I could give at the time. I think no matter how able a child is in school, they do need practice of the technique of the test papers, timing, etc! I have a second son in the same year as yours, so it will soon be starting all over again!
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