Struggling with the maths help!!

[Skylark]

MSD - £30 may not be much to you but some people have to feed their families on that.

How many of these tutors are qualified teachers? We are not just talking about preparing for the 11+ here but learning to be a mathematician and think mathematically.

I am still trying to decipher how you have managed to link my original statement of certain books being "reasonably" priced and "good value for money", to me not valuing £30 enough. Anyhow, I shall skip your other questions as they are not relevant to this discussion.

While we are discussing Schofield and Sims mental arithmetic books, I highly recommend them to all future 11+ parents, alongside other Maths resources targeting CEM. They were certainly our number 1 source for tackling mental arithmetic problems in quick times.

We have found them very useful. Actually, I am a huge fan of Schofield and Sims in general and not just for 11+ prep. Their progress papers are fantastic too.

[Skylark]

Parents - I'd advise looking at free resources first.

The issues I have found of using free resources, is the effort it takes to find something appropriate and at the right level. This might be easy for a maths teacher, but as a parent with less confidence of what might be required, this might not be as straightforward. Now that our eldest is done with his 11+ examinations, I am more aware of what sort of level is require. Having the books at varying levels makes this possible for the parent to assess/improve without a tutor and more confidence to tackle the 11+ again.

But I agree, if you know what you are looking for and difficult levels, there are a plethora of free resources online.

[Guest55]

That's why I started a thread with recommended resources - I've just revised it and it should be uploaded by a mod in the next few days.

Schofield and Sims last revision was in ???

[MSD]

Parents - I'd advise looking at free resources first.

The issues I have found of using free resources, is the effort it takes to find something appropriate and at the right level. This might be easy for a maths teacher, but as a parent with less confidence of what might be required, this might not be as straightforward. Now that our eldest is done with his 11+ examinations, I am more aware of what sort of level is require. Having the books at varying levels makes this possible for the parent to assess/improve without a tutor and more confidence to tackle the 11+ again.

But I agree, if you know what you are looking for and difficult levels, there are a plethora of free resources online.

+1

Despite knowing my Maths stuff, I never looked at the free resources available I must admit. I am trying to jog my memory to remember what our tutor recommended my children use back in the day. The 6 Schofield and Sims Mental Arithmetic books and your usual age banded Bond books come to mind. Those were the primary resources apart from the material she wrote herself. I also remember in recent years Birmingham CEM Maths moved to more Schofields and Sims like mental arithmetic questions, rather than the longer multiple format problem solving ones they used to have back in 2012. Those were certainly more challenging - not sure if they are still using the individual question style or they have multiple sub parts.

[MathsMonster]

Sorry for late reply- haven’t logged in for ages. I wouldn’t advise buying all 6 books, as 1-3 are not a high enough standard for 11 plus. I would suggest trying the entry test, and if they are not up to standard yet, if you are aiming for 11 plus start on book 4 and just do ten minutes at a slow pace and help them through it if you can - it will be slow to start and they may only do a few questions - but there is no point practising questions at too low a level if your aim is 11plus. If they really are struggling, then maybe go back to book 3 if really needed. Just make sure you don’t rush them and make it a relaxed ten minutes with no deadline or aim. I would advise giving aims later on when they become more confident and quicker.
Personally, I wouldn’t use the free resources, purely becuse of the structure not being there, plus Sims is so good, but that is my preference.
As for 30 pounds- that’s if you buy all books. Start with 4 or 5 (and do get the answer book too), each book is 3-4 pounds. Best value ever, and genuinely good preparation for secondary maths whatever their results.

[Reborn]

As a Maths tutor myself, I use these books:

CGP
Schofield and Sims
Letts
Bond

In order of difficulty, Bond is harder than the others, but that is why it's so good. Once your child can do well on the bond papers, they'll find the actual exam easy. Work all the way to stretch papers and even 11-12 year old.

For independent schools, use the same as above but add on the Galore Park books. Then go do past actual 11+ independent school past papers, as much as you can. It's advantageous to learn algebra to a proficient level (form expressions from questions and solve) as there are plenty of questions in the independent school exams that require it, particularly the challenging scholarship types.

The 10-minute tests and assessment papers don't teach the concepts. They cover the whole curriculum for that year, so you'll need to teach them the skills as they go along. I prefer teaching at least the majority of the topics before moving on to 10-minute tests and assessment papers for that book year.

Hope that helps.

[MathsMonster]

As a Maths tutor myself, I use these books:

CGP
Schofield and Sims
Letts
Bond

In order of difficulty, Bond is harder than the others, but that is why it's so good. Once your child can do well on the bond papers, they'll find the actual exam easy. Work all the way to stretch papers and even 11-12 year old.

For independent schools, use the same as above but add on the Galore Park books. Then go do past actual 11+ independent school past papers, as much as you can. It's advantageous to learn algebra to a proficient level (form expressions from questions and solve) as there are plenty of questions in the independent school exams that require it, particularly the challenging scholarship types.

The 10-minute tests and assessment papers don't teach the concepts. They cover the whole curriculum for that year, so you'll need to teach them the skills as they go along. I prefer teaching at least the majority of the topics before moving on to 10-minute tests and assessment papers for that book year.

Hope that helps.

Totally agree- bond is harder, and particularly good for those capable of higher grammar scores. The letts and bond papers are great, probably letts more like the standard of the real thing? But bond great for pressured time practise.