11 Plus Exams Forum

DD having finished the first real exam of the year, my attention was drawn to a couple of things.

1. Importance of thinking ahead, what to revise a couple of days before the exam or even the week before. On Monday, dd refused to do any work saying that they had been advised not to study before the test, so that they are not left feeling confused and panicked. So, we just relaxed.

2. Importance of a reasonably clear plan of study for the summer - so that the whole 8weeks don't get wasted or overburdened.

Any thoughts anyone.

Hi wildwest

I DIY tutored my little fish (scored 213 on last year's 11+ - good enough for Handsworth - but a very long commute for us so we opted to stick with local comprehensive in the end).

My advice (presuming this is a question for Birmingham area) is try and do an assessment paper in each topic: Maths/ English/ VR/ NVR at start of summer - we did this over 4 days. Be a harsh marker - don't be soft (it does your child no favours). Take the total percentage for each paper, add the four together, and divide by 4 - this should give you a rough idea of how you're child is doing. 85% or better and they're doing well (no guarantee of course, but on a good day they should pass). <85% - there may be weaknesses there that need to be focused on. [we did this kind of thing about once a month - to just check how things were progressing].

We could see English/ VR was the issue - so we spent the summer doing a mixture of reading proper fiction (and discussing it - meaning of vocabulary/ characters/ plot/ etc...) and working through practice materials - free resources from various 11+ websites/ practice papers/ 10 minute bonds/ some on-line work. We opted for mornings (little fish's best time of day) and we'd work steadily until lunchtime, with maybe 1 or 2 breaks and plenty of healthy snacks.

I slipped into a routine of marking her work whilst she worked on something else and then going through wrong answers. Time spent discussing what you got wrong and what would be the correct method/ right approach is time well spent in our experience.

Personally you have to decide how much you want the 11+ to take over your life. I think it's worth finding a happy medium and allowing your child to have a bit of time to play/ see friends/ be a kid during this summer - after all there's no guarantee they'll pass on the day or score high enough to guarantee a place at the grammar you'd like them to go to.

Although we've opted not to go for Handsworth (because of long commute issues for us as a family/ little fish not liking the idea of travelling across Birmingham on her own - DH not liking the idea much either as little fish looks 8 years old) we have benefitted from this 11+ experience. Little fish was well prepared for SATs in Y6, she clearly was doing well generally and was rewarded for this - lot's of merit points/ special privileges etc... as a result of her consistently high quality work and she developed a work ethic. She learned along the way that putting the effort in does bring rewards.

Little fish and I would have loved it if she could have got into KEFW (that was our personal favourite) - but it wasn't to be. Despite that disappointment, we've found the process very beneficial and little fish is set to go up to senior school ear-marked as a 'high flyer' at her state comprehensive - which is no bad thing either. She's ready for senior school and up for the challenge - so success all round really.

loving your positivity oldtrout x

Old Trout has summed things up perfectly. Do not let it take over or ruin your life.

Work steadily and we found a 75-80% average across the 4 areas translated into a score on the day which meant a place at our school of choice.

Good luck.

Sorry I did of course mean 75-80% in assessment papers at home leading up to the test.

I worked for about 1 hour a day with my DD over the summer, except when we were on holiday, she did some tests and then we went through them together, We did quite a lot of maths as she needed to strengthen it, it was quite relaxed and my DD enjoyed it, she could feel she was getting better. We used to go to a room together I would often give her some sweets to eat while she was working and we both quite enjoyed it. Working over the summer doesn't have to be an intense slog, if you make it into a special time you are together working and throwing some sweets into the equation really helped. My DD passed comfortably her maths score was excellent and she still tells me how grateful she is for the time we spent over the summer and how helpful it was.
My advice is try to find the right balance, your child has to want to do it, don't become obsessed with it either.

Yes old trout, it is for Birmingham area. Thanks for your response. I've always found your posts very helpful and specific.

Guest, that's a good idea, I shall incorporate it. DD is good that way and she really wants to go for it.

Anyone considering or doing joint ventures... I have a friend who is suggesting that we get our DDs to work together to motivate the girls. I'm slightly unsure although quite like the idea of having a study partner. That way they can work a bit and play a bit.

Do you think it might work?

Trampolining in between revising is a definite must

Indeed ours is being delivered this week