11 Plus Exams Forum

Anyone out there preparing for this year's exams? It's very quiet here on the preparation front and I could do with some tips and encouragement!

Dd really wants to take the 11+ so I've been encouraging her lately to do some cgp and bond stuff. She's a good & keen reader and I think she'll do ok on the English/verbal side of things, which is great - except that she completely freaks out when asked to do stuff under time pressure. This especially affects her maths and nvr, which she's weaker at.

I know that time pressure plays a big part in the exam and wondered if anyone else had had this problem with their dc. How can I encourage maths speed without knocking confidence? She's a pretty capable mathematician as long as there's no clock ticking!

do not practice speed until the last month before the test let her just answer the questions

the main aim at the moment should be them being able to the answer the questions correctly & knowing the correct formula to do it, no use for speed if the final outcome is not right

the main aim should be reading working on there vocabulary, maths, verbal & non-verbal reasoning

also a month or two before the test invest in quick 10 min test books & start timing them then

& work on there timings managing the test i.e if you come across certain questions you are not sure on leave them out do the rest then come back to the questions

& the main one which catches a lot of children out reading the questions properly in a timed setting.

this worked for all 3 of my children

good luck on the journey & hope your children gain the success they deserve

I completely agree with Dadybear.

Our last purchase was the 10min quick tests as well as the mock test papers.

When it came to late July last year and August we started to test my son more and more.

Just make sure your child knows how to work out the maths problem. Some of it they wouldn't have covered yet so it might be worth asking your child's class teacher for some extra work on that topic.

I'm currently in the process on tutoring another son who is in year 4...and again no time constraints at all.

Also consider when your child was born. I've noticed that although both my sons are quite bright my youngest was born August and he is having some minor issues with some of the work. Hence why I've started earlier with him.

Good luck and what's very important is to make it fun.

Hello Candel,
My DS will be taking the test in September. No advice really as I have no prior experience and I have picked up any of my 11+ prep knowledge from lurking here.

DS has been doing some timed short tests (CGP) and I think it has been beneficial for him to learn to cut his losses with some questions. To start with he would stick with a maths problem he was finding tricky until the time ran out. He also got addicted to Times Table Rockstars which they play at school and started to want to get his average time down. Prior to that being timed would put him into a flap!

Good luck with your DD's prep!

Thank you all for the tips and good wishes. I will keep the clock away from her for a while as you suggest.

Hi bofb - nice to meet a fellow traveller - we seem to be a bit thin on the ground this year. I have to admit to having done this before once - but previous dc was a completely different kettle of fish to this one. I thought we could just follow a similar approach to last time but obviously the dc have different strengths, weaknesses and perhaps more importantly, temperaments. Good luck with your prep too.

Caveman - I'm not sure I would call it fun exactly but dc1 looks enviously at us when we open a cgp book and asks if he can join in! Odd child.

Yes we are a bit thin on the ground. Any more lurkers out there? It is nice to share experiences as 11 plus prep is a taboo subject at my son's school.

Hello all
another 2018 sitter here. To be honest will be glad when it's all over (we have struggled). DD is a bit 'spikey' - whatever the outcome I'm hugely proud of her efforts.

It's a bit like childbirth isn't it? "I don't care if it's a boy or a girl - make it stopped! "

Hello Knitfast, I like the analogy! Make it stop indeed.

Hi Candel.
Our DD took the 11+ last Sept and starts Grammar this Sept 2018. We home tutored for the majority, however from May 2017 until Aug 2017 she did attend a tutor for 1 hr a week (within a group of 6 other children). The reason for this being that although capable she did really struggle with time pressure as she is a methodical child who likes to check her work (not necessarily compatible with the 11+ exam). Her school had confirmed that time management was an issue via parents evening! We bought a timer to use at home, and her Tutors really enforced the timing aspect of the test during their sessions. I guess my reason for posting is to say that every child is different and only you know what's best for your child - what works for some does not necessarily work for others. Best of luck with your preparations- hope everything goes well. Xx

Thanks nickmill - and well done to your dd. Yes, I absolutley agree that each child needs a different approach. The speed issue is currently knocking her maths confidence, which wasn't great to start with, so we'll forget about timing for a while though I know we'll have to reintroduce it in the not too distant future.

Hello again knitfast - I like the analogy too - ultimately a painful business but when it's over, you kind of miss the being pregnant part even though you felt tired and sick most of the time!