Hi All,

My son is just about to finish year 4 and he has been attending a tutor for the past 8 months. This is within a group NOT one to one.

Does anyone else's children receive tutoring like this, and has it been beneficial?

I'm not sure if I should just DIY it. It's quite difficult trying to make the right decision.

We have just received his results from optional SATS, and he got 2 4A's and a 4C so we are very pleased.

Does anyone know how difficult/easy it is to prepare for the 11+

Thanks in advance

Which region are you in? Different areas have different 11+ exams. If you post in the relevent "region" forum you will get sound advice .

AndyB

my children have done group tutoring. I've heard it's as, if not more, effective as one to one. Certainly my boys have always been happy enough to go. It's also very much cheaper! But we only did it from year 5, not year 4. Those marks sound very good, sounds like he's a bright lad.

Can only offer my own experience here. I was (am?) opposed to tutoring as it creates an uneven playing field. However, where I live, almost all, if not all, the children who are successful at 11+ have been tutored, some intensively, some for years! We tried a group tutor, who I must say seemed to take an instant dislike to my son, and obsessed about his untidy handwriting. I did not like her; she upset my child; we did not carry on. I know that many in my area use her and love her - it is a matter of personal taste. We therefore did not tutor. A teacher at my son's school offered to go through some papers with him so he knew what to do. All his teachers, his head, this lady, thought he would 'fly in' to GS. He did not. He passed 11+, but missed by 1 mark the school we really liked. As things stand, the school have suggested we appeal as he did so well without tutoring, and is academically very able. Not sure what to do really - he is actually very happy now to go local and it will save a lot of logistical hassle.

Moral of the tale: it is a terrible, unfair system, but if you are going to buy into it, then you have to buy into it hook, line and sinker - not like us! I have another child, if anything even brighter than his older brother, and I genuinely do not know if I will put him through all this again. My eldest, a girl, is not at grammar and is very, very happy and achieving very highly. It is a minefield, and I suppose I grudgingly have to admit that tutoring, in whatever form suits your child, is the body armour. Good luck to you!

what I would say in favour of tutoring is not just the poring over bizarre VR questions but the nudge to the intellect. My boy was doing well at school but in state primary the thing is to bring all the children up to the level 4 required by SATs. Already at level 5 in y5 meant that he was going to take a back burner while the teacher concentrated on other children.

Rather than nag at the school for extension work (he just does extra if finishes early if working from a book) I found that the VR work really appealed to him. He liked the problem solving, he bounced out of his sessions with the tutor alive and buzzing so even if he hadn't got in I would have considered it time well spent.

PS I wonder if we're talking of the same tutor. She is a stickler and not for everybody but I think she's fab. Each to his own!

I would not necessarily be against tutoring, BUT I cannot get my head around why there would be any need to tutor for 1-2yrs in advance? 6 months max I would say, I just don't understand anything over this at all. Surely if children are very bright then 6 months would be plenty??

I was discussing this with the OH last night, I also wonder just how bad those children who have been 'in training' for 1-2yrs feel if they were to then fail??
As most of you may know that I am the newest person to all of this and my son has only had 3 week's of practising at home with me before his test's because I just didn't know about the whole thing which I do agree is clearly not long enough, so my opinion's may not count for much with the little knowledge I have

Do you think it is the pressure from some parent's who started doing it alot earlier because their children were not necessarily in the 'very able' category that then force's everyone else to up the anty aswell?

I started looking at 11 plus papers and doing extra maths work with my dd2 about 9 months before the test, we couldnt afford a tutor. Luckly she passed, but the work I did with her would have been worth it even if she hadnt passed as her maths was below average in the class and the extra work we have done brought her up to top table level.

dd1 is in yr 10 now and did go to group tutor "11 plus club" sessions, so i didint do work with her at home. She passed and as we speak is stressed with her mock gcse's

I think to even out the playing field, so to speak, the schools need to prepare the kids for the test from maybe 6 months before the date. They prepare them for the SATs so i cant see why this would be a problem and it would mean those children from poorer familys or with less "motivated" parents would stand a chance in the test.

I know of a few bright children at my dd2's school who with a bit of 11 plus practice and help with problem solving could have made a good attempt at the test but as it is never even did it. Its a shame.

Milla, I couldn't agree with you more, and if like with my DC. it is a small village school with a mixed year 5/6 class, the bright year 5s really go by the wayside as they try to get the year 6 SATs takers up to scratch. Without having a tutor to keep the grey cells ticking over I think children may go backwards which is the last thing you want in the year running up to the dreaded test! Particularly when a lot of the private schools are doing a bit of hot-housing.
We did group tutoring and both children loved it, and we will do the same for no 3 with no qualms whatsoever.

Well said!!!