Slough 11+ preparation
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Kim
Slough 11+ preparation
Hi, my son is currently in Year 5 in a Berkshire primary school and will sitting the Slough 11+ in Autumn 2006. I would like to purchase some materials to familiarize him with the types of questions he will be required to answer and was hoping that someone would point me in the right direction. He is currently attending Our Lady of Peace and they don't appear to coach them as apparently coaching is not recommended. I am new to all this as he is my eldest and would appreciate any feedback. Many thanks.
Hi Kim,
My son took the Slough 11+ last year and will go to Slough Grammar in September.
The exam board for Slough is NFER and the question format is multichoice for all three subjects (Maths, VR and NVR). It is imporatnt to practice the right question types and right format, particularly in Verbal Reasoning.
The Slough grammars recommend using the NFER Nelson 11+ practice test papers. This is good for reference and to test your child closer to the exam, but you probaly need extra practice with other papers
In Maths, I used the IPS papers: 10 Practice Papers and Daily Practice papers. I found them both very good, may be a bit harder than the NFER Nelson , but otherwise very similar.
I also got the 6 AE tuition workbooks that I used as reference.
For Non Verbal reasoning, I got the Bond "How to do verbal Reasoning" and The Learning Togeteher Practice Papers. There are more question types in these than in the NFER-Nelson that only have about 7 types. I ddin't use them a lot and not susre how good they are. I mainly practiced with the NFER papers. NFER VR tests are divided into 10 mns sections, and I found that doing these regularly was extremely useful. Just before the exam I downloaded some E-papers from this site. The '11+ Exam' papers re close to the NFER types in term of content and level (may be a bit harder). Thought that the MW were too different.
For verbal reasoning, I also used the IPS practice papers and extra practice questions. I would also recommend them, but you need to be aware that they include questions types that are not, in therory, needed for Slough.
If you need more advice about verbal reasoning, read the posts from Patricia in the Verbal reasoning and Buckinghamshire sections. She is an 11+ tutor in Bucks where the only subject is VR. (Bucks 11+ has the extra question types that are not needed in Slough).
This is just an overview. I am more than happy to answer to any more question.
Best of luck
My son took the Slough 11+ last year and will go to Slough Grammar in September.
The exam board for Slough is NFER and the question format is multichoice for all three subjects (Maths, VR and NVR). It is imporatnt to practice the right question types and right format, particularly in Verbal Reasoning.
The Slough grammars recommend using the NFER Nelson 11+ practice test papers. This is good for reference and to test your child closer to the exam, but you probaly need extra practice with other papers
In Maths, I used the IPS papers: 10 Practice Papers and Daily Practice papers. I found them both very good, may be a bit harder than the NFER Nelson , but otherwise very similar.
I also got the 6 AE tuition workbooks that I used as reference.
For Non Verbal reasoning, I got the Bond "How to do verbal Reasoning" and The Learning Togeteher Practice Papers. There are more question types in these than in the NFER-Nelson that only have about 7 types. I ddin't use them a lot and not susre how good they are. I mainly practiced with the NFER papers. NFER VR tests are divided into 10 mns sections, and I found that doing these regularly was extremely useful. Just before the exam I downloaded some E-papers from this site. The '11+ Exam' papers re close to the NFER types in term of content and level (may be a bit harder). Thought that the MW were too different.
For verbal reasoning, I also used the IPS practice papers and extra practice questions. I would also recommend them, but you need to be aware that they include questions types that are not, in therory, needed for Slough.
If you need more advice about verbal reasoning, read the posts from Patricia in the Verbal reasoning and Buckinghamshire sections. She is an 11+ tutor in Bucks where the only subject is VR. (Bucks 11+ has the extra question types that are not needed in Slough).
This is just an overview. I am more than happy to answer to any more question.
Best of luck
Dear Patricia,
No I am sure, that's why I included "in theory". Many tutors in Slough prepare for Bucks as well, and this could be why they do all the types, but in fact I don't know. I have always assumed that Slough didn't have the HIKNOS because there are three subjects unlike in Bucks and because the grammar schools recommend the NFER papers, but I realise now that these are just assumptions.
Thank you for pointing this out. I don't want to give misleading advice.
No I am sure, that's why I included "in theory". Many tutors in Slough prepare for Bucks as well, and this could be why they do all the types, but in fact I don't know. I have always assumed that Slough didn't have the HIKNOS because there are three subjects unlike in Bucks and because the grammar schools recommend the NFER papers, but I realise now that these are just assumptions.
Thank you for pointing this out. I don't want to give misleading advice.
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Tearing Hair Out Mum
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:01 am
- Location: Slough, Berks
Hi Catherine,
I was intrigued to see the link to Brian regarding the 11+ Bucks results from the schools. Do you have anything similar for Berks. I posted this in the Bucks section "only just starting" as I wanted to see how our school was doing, not well I think.
I have just heard from the Tutor with whom I have had my sons name down since nursery, yes nursery that she will not be able to tutor him for the 11+ Next November 2007. I am desperately looking for a new one to one 11+ tutor in Slough. If you or Patricia can recommend anyone or any courses I would be most grateful, I have a private e-mail address you can use if you want to.
My daughter went through the 11+ two years ago, whilst I was heavily pregnant, and I must admit that I left most of the work up to the tutor who was the one my son was due to have had. She was very very experienced and my daughter scored 141 in bucks and 130 in berks. Her nfer scores at the end of year 5 refected similar results.
My son has scored 116 Maths, 111 verbal and 120 non verabal in recent year 4 nfer tests. I have kept all my daughters work, thankfully. But do not feel confident (or clever) enough to do it all myself. I would be grateful for any advice that you or Patricia can offer me. We are in Slough as I mentioned above and we do the Bucks and Berks exam, thankfully as it means we get two chances of getting a grammar school place.
Thanks
I look forward to hearing from you
I was intrigued to see the link to Brian regarding the 11+ Bucks results from the schools. Do you have anything similar for Berks. I posted this in the Bucks section "only just starting" as I wanted to see how our school was doing, not well I think.
I have just heard from the Tutor with whom I have had my sons name down since nursery, yes nursery that she will not be able to tutor him for the 11+ Next November 2007. I am desperately looking for a new one to one 11+ tutor in Slough. If you or Patricia can recommend anyone or any courses I would be most grateful, I have a private e-mail address you can use if you want to.
My daughter went through the 11+ two years ago, whilst I was heavily pregnant, and I must admit that I left most of the work up to the tutor who was the one my son was due to have had. She was very very experienced and my daughter scored 141 in bucks and 130 in berks. Her nfer scores at the end of year 5 refected similar results.
My son has scored 116 Maths, 111 verbal and 120 non verabal in recent year 4 nfer tests. I have kept all my daughters work, thankfully. But do not feel confident (or clever) enough to do it all myself. I would be grateful for any advice that you or Patricia can offer me. We are in Slough as I mentioned above and we do the Bucks and Berks exam, thankfully as it means we get two chances of getting a grammar school place.
Thanks
I look forward to hearing from you
Tearing Hair Out Mum
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Guest
Dear All
Please can anyone shed any light on the Slough 11+. I understand that they test Maths, VR and NVR. Does anyone know whether these tests are similar to Bucks tests that consist of 80 questions in 50 minutes. We live in Bucks however my son attends a berkshire primary school as we are on the border. Therefore he will be sitting both Bucks and Berks 11+ at the school. Please advise.
Please can anyone shed any light on the Slough 11+. I understand that they test Maths, VR and NVR. Does anyone know whether these tests are similar to Bucks tests that consist of 80 questions in 50 minutes. We live in Bucks however my son attends a berkshire primary school as we are on the border. Therefore he will be sitting both Bucks and Berks 11+ at the school. Please advise.
Hi Guest,
Here's a quote of my reply to a similar question (thread '11 + preparation')
Don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions.
Catherine
Here's a quote of my reply to a similar question (thread '11 + preparation')
The exam board for Slough is the same as in Bucks, NFER, and all three subjects are Multichoice.
The grammar schools advise to purchase the NFER-Nelson practice packs for all three subjects
The children are doing all three tests on the same morning. They start with 20mns NVR, a short break, then 50mns VR (85 questions). Then they have a longer break during which they can have a snack and a drink. They do the 50mns Maths test last (50 questions) . They arrive at about 9am, and leave around 1pm. It's a very long morning for children of this age, and I have heard that some loose concentration during the Maths test. The general advice is to do at least one practice session at home beforehand with the exam timetable.
The NVR test comprises two independent sections of 10 mns. Each section is similar to one of the practice sections of the Nelson-NFER practice paper.
The child score is the average of the three standardised scores. Each paper has equal weight (I thougth for a long time that NVR would have less weight because it's a shorter paper, but it is not the case!). The letter giving the results shows the three standardised scores and the final score.
I would advise you to have a look at the NVR and Maths practice papers now if you have not already done it. The Maths are much harder than the usual level in state schools at the beginning of year 6, harder than KS2 SATs. Even if you want to concentrate on Verbal Reasoning, you may want to do some small practice seesions in the other subjects. NVR needs to be practiced as well, and I found that a short section regularly (one section of the NFER-Nelson tests) can make a lot of difference.
Don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions.
Catherine
