New User - Confused...any help much welcome

[thedad]

Hello

First time forum user - asking/looking for some general advice please. My daughter is in year 4 & at recent parents evening her school recommended I look into applying/sitting her for the July '15 Walsall/Wolves/Shropshire 11+ as she is currently doing year 5/6 work. They recommend Queen Marys.

The school recommended various books which I wont name in case I am breeching forum rules but major shops stock them, then friends who are teachers are advising me of websites to use & online services and/or private tutors - in a nutshell I AM LOST!

My wife (RIP, we lost her 2 years ago) would have known what to do, but I am swamped but a friend said check out forums etc which I have been doing all weekend, and other online research but the online 'codes' is baffling - did anyone else feel like this when starting out?

I cannot believe their is a online community/forum - but than again why am I surprized?

Anyway where do I start, options etc...I cant get my head around the fact she will do an exam next July I/e July 15 to start Sept 16...

If you were starting again are there any tips/hints/do's/donts you might recommend? (ie don't post a long winded intro post)

Books....Tuturs. when to start etc

Basically I am lost any advice much much welcome & thanks

thedad

[KenR]

Suggest you start by reading through the advice and material on this site:-

Start with advice

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/advice

then tips

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/advice ... neral-tips

Then CEM 11+ sections (Shropshire is now CEM)

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/advice/11-plus-CEM

When you have done all of that you can start on the preparation section and work you way through that:

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/preparation

[thedad]

KenR

Thanks for the reply -I have been researching & so glad found this site, now I know a little more, such as QM follows CEM so currently looking at resources/books etc for these.

thanks for the hyperlinks will explore these - my mind is buzzing, this is hard stuff to get around!

TD

[Natalie74]

Ahh what a super dad you are. Looks like you have a bright little one to be doing that level of work in year 4 already. I think you're doing the right thing by researching all you can at this stage. You're also so lucky to have stumbled across this excellent forum so early on. My son took his exam last September, and I only discovered the forum in October. Everyone is so friendly and supportive. Especially as results day approaches - I honestly don't know what I'd of done without it. Sounds like you're doing all you can for her. Bet her mom would be so proud of you both. Will PM you about something my son did. (As you say not too sure if we're allowed to openly talk about names of books/organisations on here).

[peter5]

Few years back I was preparing my daughter for the 11+ .We could hardly afford tuition but we sent her as we understood that Grammar school education was a way out for her .She was doing quite well at school,even though Ofsted said her school was failing, .To cut the story short I came across this site few months before the exams.I realised I was wasting my money at an institution that was teaching a curriculum that was outdated by about 12 years .I started researching further and also got help from members and former members.I also downloaded hundreds maybe of past papers and other materials.I also purchased some very good non-verbal papers from here and elsewhere.
In the end my daughter was very well prepared and did quite ok in the exams and also the private exams.She is now doing extremely well at Grammar school.Without this site I don't see how she would have gotten a place.
I must add however that if I had the money I would have sent her to tuition and make sure she did a mock exam as that is good preparation.But to anyone who cannot afford it ,this website and its various contributors is more than a blessing.

[kenyancowgirl]

thedad - I have responded to you on another thread too.

Just to reassure others - there are lots of free resources online, on here or through libraries. Please do not feel mocks are essential - yes, if your child is very nervous, it might help them to go through the physicality of sitting a paper in a strange place with strange rules, cd instructions, invigilators etc but you can do "mock testing at home" if you get them to focus on the paper, not their surroundings - ie to concentrate on their desk, their work - frankly they could be sitting the test in an empty room then. Certainly neither of our children did mocks and most of the people we know didn't as they are not readily available in this area and we, in line with most people I suspect, would never have considered traipsing halfway round the countryside to sit a mock!

Ditto tutors - some tutors are excellent, worth their weight in gold, but there are other equally shocking tutors or centres who rely on panicking parents into paying for services that frankly they could do themselves for nothing. If you do go down the route of a tutor/centre try and use a personal recommendation of someone/somewhere that has proven form of getting children into the school you are targeting. And always remember that your child is a child first and foremost and should be running and jumping and laughing and playing!

[thedad]

Thank you all for the replies, words of advice and direction & hyperlinks etc.

As stated I do feel lucky finding this site so early, I have nearly a year to provide support that my daughter would need and hopefully am battling my way through the fog of the jargon and differing resources etc, in the short time Ive found this forum ive found it useful. so thanks to all

I Have ordered the whole range of CPG CEM 11+ Range and those arrive tomorrow, I have downloaded at least the same again with sample papers from Bond & the like & will use these to help my daughter build a foundation, CLOZE Is still a bit of a mystery to me & this weekend is exploring that further.

I have spoken to a few private tutors and will visit some this weekend but am surprized at the range of knowledge out there, one provider who I wont name was not aware that Walsall offer CEM testing? I was very surprized they didn't know this.

Tutoring im not sure about yet, but I will explore & if anyone could recommend please pm me...

Still getting my head around the whole process & industry that goes with 11+ Im quite amazed by it all really - that said my wife said I was so laid back I was horizontal so I shouldn't be suprized, but when its down to oneself I have hopefully pulled my finger out - to try to give my daughter the best opportunity.

anyway thanks again for warm welcome & advice

TD

[um]

There are two main types of cloze in the CEM exam:

1) Multi-choice cloze where a child chooses the correct word to make sense/banana/beautiful/gobbling in the passage. (i.e. choose the correct word there)

2) Missing letters cloze where the child adds the m_ _ s _ ng letters to the pa _ _ _ ge.

A few years ago, finding material to revise this test format was very difficult, now there are a number of publishers who do offer this.

[thedad]

Um

thanks for the reply - ive researched this & ive found loads thanks, its as much as dynsterifying the terminology from a parents POV as much as anything, my daughter has done loads of these I simply was not aware these questions were CLOZE

Anyway trip to town tomorrow to look for resources, then ire build an action plan & get her rolling. as said before a mone of info this place!