Hi all, I have started to think about my middle sons (year 5) school options. We are in Bracknell and the majority of senior schools are dire so I am looking elsewhere. He is exceeding at school in English and Maths and has always been very bright so i'm wondering whether to try and get him through the 11 plus.

Would you recommend getting a tutor or do you think just doing lots of example test papers will be enough? Also, does anyone know if there are help with reduced transport costs with a bus please? He could get the public bus from just outside our house to Reading but would have to leave so early and it would take over an hour to get there. I suppose these are the things you need to be prepared to do to get your child into an excellent school.

Any help and advice would be great from anyone please.

Thanks

Firstly is the train a better, quicker option? I guess it depends how far from the station you are. An hour is quite a long bus ride for an eleven year old. Obviously it will be more expensivethough if cost is an issue. I know there are girls at Kendrick from Bracknell who travel by train.

Free school transport is very limited, and usually only available if you are going to your nearest school or couldn’t get a place there (so you needed to apply and get turned down). I think some LAs offer to children qualifying for GS if they get fsm. You would have to check with Bracknell.

I have a colleague based in Bracknell. He was of the same view about Bracknell schools so understand your point there. St Crispins used to be an option for some, but not since the catchment changes a few years ago. My colleague opted for private school, but obviously that choice isn’t for everyone.

As for tutoring. If you feel capable and have the right sort of relationship with your son, there is no reason why you can’t successfully tutor him yourself. There are plenty of CEM materials available (we have a shop on the website). You can get plenty of advice here on the forum too. I personally DIY tutored my DD for Kendrick a few years ago and others on the forum have too.