English papers for Essex

Eleven Plus (11+) in Essex

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milada
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:00 pm

English papers for Essex

Post by milada »

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Last edited by milada on Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: English papers for Essex

Post by Manana »

milada wrote:Hello all,

My son will be sitting the 11+ next year and I am trying to gather materials for his preparation. The VR papers seem pretty straightforward, but what are the best ones to use for English and Maths. For example are GL Assessment English papers and Bond close to the Essex exam papers?

Many Thanks

Milada
I wouldn't say they are very close. There is an 11+ company online that sells papers very close to the Essex ones-the best ones I've seen actually. Unfortunately we aren't allowed to mention them on here as this website don't sell them. I think this is a real shame as they were superb and money well spent.

The best thing to do is buy the most recent ones from the CSSE and then try to get hold of any past papers. We have all the English papers going back to about 1996 which proved really useful-DS was thrilled...not!
milada
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:00 pm

Re: English papers for Essex

Post by milada »

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Last edited by milada on Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
First-timer
Posts: 698
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:47 pm
Location: Essex

Re: English papers for Essex

Post by First-timer »

I think the Bond Assessment Papers are good for English and Maths. Nice variety of questions and lots of papers per book. Also, they are very easy to get hold of and give you the option of starting at a younger age level. The Bond English books don't replicate the Essex format but they do include comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar - all of which currently feature in the real exam. A dip into First Aid in English is useful too. If you buy the two past papers which are available now from the CSSE and then purchase the most recent paper when it becomes available, you will have good material for mocks closer to the exam. I wouldn't panic if you cannot source older papers as the format and level of difficulty has changed. Be aware that the format could change again without notice, as happened when the synonym section was replaced by the spelling section in recent years.
bravado
Posts: 468
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:28 am

Re: English papers for Essex

Post by bravado »

English: The company that can't be mentioned is highly recommended. We downloaded all 8 papers, including the pre-2010 format and the financial outlay was worth it. We also purchased the entire Susan Daughtrey Rules and Practice series on Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar - some of it wasn't needed at this stage but it was incredibly useful. It's aimed at the 11 - 14 age group but don't let that put you off, as you can dip into these books as and when you like. They're worth every penny.
We dipped into the "New Reading, New Thinking" series for developing inference-based skills - again - absolute gems.
Don't be afraid to search online for websites in the USA - they're really hot on grammar and punctuation and thus invaluable for our purposes. We also found their comprehensions useful; although not in the format you need for Essex, it was good practice for getting used to a much wider variety of text genres and writing styles.

Maths: Again, the company that can't be mentioned was extremely useful. We also downloaded the Louise Staples papers from this site, as they're very similar to the previous Essex Maths papers. Some questions are absolute stinkers so watch out!
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: English papers for Essex

Post by Manana »

Does anyone else think it's very silly that the company many of us Essex folk think is the best resource for the English CSSE papers cannot even be named on here. This is supposed to be a board to help Essex people prepare for the 11+!
milada
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:00 pm

Re: English papers for Essex

Post by milada »

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Last edited by milada on Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
bravado
Posts: 468
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:28 am

Re: English papers for Essex

Post by bravado »

Manana
Yes, I totally agree and struggle to understand the rationale, beyond the obvious "competition" factor, of course. But this site doesn't sell/offer CSSE style English - so it isn't competition as such. If anyone wants to PM me I'll tell them which company it is.

Milada
I forgot one really important caveat for the American sites - don't do the spellings questions and watch out for the US versions of words. I expect everyone is aware of that but I felt I ought to mention it. :D
The Bond Comprehensions books are good as are the 10 minute English Tests. However, I should mention that 11+ 12+ Bond Comprehension (Fifth) Papers are a challenge for many children and can prove demoralising
milada
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:00 pm

Re: English papers for Essex

Post by milada »

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Last edited by milada on Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
moved
Posts: 3826
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: English papers for Essex

Post by moved »

Manana wrote:Does anyone else think it's very silly that the company many of us Essex folk think is the best resource for the English CSSE papers cannot even be named on here. This is supposed to be a board to help Essex people prepare for the 11+!
There are good reasons, some of them legal. Sorry
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