How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. DIY)?

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sookipixeldust
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:14 am

How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. DIY)?

Post by sookipixeldust »

Hi there

I'm curious how much time other children spend working towards the 11+ exam outside of school. I'm DIY'ing and I always worry that other children who go to professional tutors are spending hours and hours more time preparing than my child is. I favour a little or often strategy, but I'm concerned I'm not doing enough to meet the demands of the test. I have DIY'ed before (my eldest scraped through) but that was CEM, so I feel like I'm having to start all over again with GL.

I've followed the advice at https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum ... 12&t=53382" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for which books to use (and I have a maths curriculum one that I'm going through as well, plus a 'how to' book for NVR.)

This is what my child does:

Every morning: on alternate days we spend about 10 - 15 mins either doing spelling tests (my child is has issues with spelling) or practicing maths foundation skills - multiplication/division/addition/subtraction/number bonds etc.

Evenings: we spend around 20 mins - 30 mins doing the following:
Mon: Non-Verbal Reasoning or Spatial NVR | Tues: Maths | Wed: SPAG (technical English) | Thurs: Maths | Fri: Verbal Reasoning | Sat: Comprehension | Sun: School homework

I worry that we're not going through the workbooks quickly enough, but I can't see how I could make him do more each day. I've decided not to try practice tests or work on exam strategy until August. I want my child to understand the material first before attempting it at speed!

Is this enough? I worry that I'm missing something out. It's so difficult to know for sure if your child is capable of passing the test or not - just thinking 'my child is bright' is not enough!

If anyone (DIY'ers or using a professional tutor) would like to share how much their child is doing/getting done each week, I'd be grateful.

Thank you
lea2124
Posts: 132
Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2017 7:05 pm

Re: How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. D

Post by lea2124 »

sookipixeldust wrote:Hi there

I'm curious how much time other children spend working towards the 11+ exam outside of school. I'm DIY'ing and I always worry that other children who go to professional tutors are spending hours and hours more time preparing than my child is. I favour a little or often strategy, but I'm concerned I'm not doing enough to meet the demands of the test. I have DIY'ed before (my eldest scraped through) but that was CEM, so I feel like I'm having to start all over again with GL.

I've followed the advice at https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum ... 12&t=53382" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for which books to use (and I have a maths curriculum one that I'm going through as well, plus a 'how to' book for NVR.)

This is what my child does:

Every morning: on alternate days we spend about 10 - 15 mins either doing spelling tests (my child is has issues with spelling) or practicing maths foundation skills - multiplication/division/addition/subtraction/number bonds etc.

Evenings: we spend around 20 mins - 30 mins doing the following:
Mon: Non-Verbal Reasoning or Spatial NVR | Tues: Maths | Wed: SPAG (technical English) | Thurs: Maths | Fri: Verbal Reasoning | Sat: Comprehension | Sun: School homework

I worry that we're not going through the workbooks quickly enough, but I can't see how I could make him do more each day. I've decided not to try practice tests or work on exam strategy until August. I want my child to understand the material first before attempting it at speed!

Is this enough? I worry that I'm missing something out. It's so difficult to know for sure if your child is capable of passing the test or not - just thinking 'my child is bright' is not enough!

If anyone (DIY'ers or using a professional tutor) would like to share how much their child is doing/getting done each week, I'd be grateful.

Thank you
Hello, our DS is off to AGS in September and we did nowhere near as much as you are currently. He was/is a big reader anyway and very good with spellings and comprehension. We literally worked through past papers from GL assessment to get used to verbal reasoning style questions and then made sure he had really mastered his times tables for maths and made sure he could really read the maths questions (has a tendency to rush through maths!). We did about an hour a week at most but it was on a very ad-hoc basis. In the summer holidays we actually backed off a bit - we needed DS to understand that life continues if he didn't qualify and I really don't like the pressure the 11+ can create when they are only 10 years old.
The week of the test we didn't do anything - literally just discussed strategies and made sure he was happy with the answer paper layout. He slept fine the night before and handled the pressure like an absolute pro.
Four weeks later we got the result and he scored 120.75!!!!!! Couldn't get much closer. He has subsequently passed the selection review.

If your child is happy to do the work and spend the time on those days i'd keep going with it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - perhaps we should have done more in the summer holidays but it is what it is. He passed. I might have to do more with our daughter though. Our son had good school evidence that he is at greater depth in every subject since year 3. I'm not sure my daughter will be at greater depth by the end of the year 3.

Hope that helps a bit
Tinkers
Posts: 7240
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 2:05 pm
Location: Reading

Re: How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. D

Post by Tinkers »

My DD wasn’t going for Bucks as we live in Reading. Also it was GL VR/NVR back then for us and not CEM. (I think CEM would need a bit more prep)

However we were doing less than an hour a week for most of year 5, in separate bits here and there.

Closer to the time we did a few practice papers more often (1 a week during the summer holidays).

The thing to remember is it’s quality of work not quantity that’s important.
sookipixeldust
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:14 am

Re: How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. D

Post by sookipixeldust »

lea2124 wrote:
sookipixeldust wrote:Hi there

I'm curious how much time other children spend working towards the 11+ exam outside of school. I'm DIY'ing and I always worry that other children who go to professional tutors are spending hours and hours more time preparing than my child is. I favour a little or often strategy, but I'm concerned I'm not doing enough to meet the demands of the test. I have DIY'ed before (my eldest scraped through) but that was CEM, so I feel like I'm having to start all over again with GL.

I've followed the advice at https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum ... 12&t=53382" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for which books to use (and I have a maths curriculum one that I'm going through as well, plus a 'how to' book for NVR.)

This is what my child does:

Every morning: on alternate days we spend about 10 - 15 mins either doing spelling tests (my child is has issues with spelling) or practicing maths foundation skills - multiplication/division/addition/subtraction/number bonds etc.

Evenings: we spend around 20 mins - 30 mins doing the following:
Mon: Non-Verbal Reasoning or Spatial NVR | Tues: Maths | Wed: SPAG (technical English) | Thurs: Maths | Fri: Verbal Reasoning | Sat: Comprehension | Sun: School homework

I worry that we're not going through the workbooks quickly enough, but I can't see how I could make him do more each day. I've decided not to try practice tests or work on exam strategy until August. I want my child to understand the material first before attempting it at speed!

Is this enough? I worry that I'm missing something out. It's so difficult to know for sure if your child is capable of passing the test or not - just thinking 'my child is bright' is not enough!

If anyone (DIY'ers or using a professional tutor) would like to share how much their child is doing/getting done each week, I'd be grateful.

Thank you
Hello, our DS is off to AGS in September and we did nowhere near as much as you are currently. He was/is a big reader anyway and very good with spellings and comprehension. We literally worked through past papers from GL assessment to get used to verbal reasoning style questions and then made sure he had really mastered his times tables for maths and made sure he could really read the maths questions (has a tendency to rush through maths!). We did about an hour a week at most but it was on a very ad-hoc basis. In the summer holidays we actually backed off a bit - we needed DS to understand that life continues if he didn't qualify and I really don't like the pressure the 11+ can create when they are only 10 years old.
The week of the test we didn't do anything - literally just discussed strategies and made sure he was happy with the answer paper layout. He slept fine the night before and handled the pressure like an absolute pro.
Four weeks later we got the result and he scored 120.75!!!!!! Couldn't get much closer. He has subsequently passed the selection review.

If your child is happy to do the work and spend the time on those days i'd keep going with it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - perhaps we should have done more in the summer holidays but it is what it is. He passed. I might have to do more with our daughter though. Our son had good school evidence that he is at greater depth in every subject since year 3. I'm not sure my daughter will be at greater depth by the end of the year 3.

Hope that helps a bit
Thank you lea2124 - that's very helpful and reassuring. I'm impressed that you can cover all the areas in an hour a week - I bet you're much better at narrowing down what is needed than I obviously am!

Funnily enough, my eldest child received a score of 120.63, which is why I'm doing slightly more with my youngest! Eldest got into a grammar school on a selection review, but had more academic evidence (+ read more and was better at spellings/vocab) than I think we'd be able to offer with my youngest. There is also one major difference between my first and second child - the first argued constantly about doing tutoring, whereas the second complies quite happily - so the amount we're doing has crept up. Usually we do around 30 mins a day split over the morning/evening, we only do more than that if it's taking a while to grasp the concept.
sookipixeldust
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:14 am

Re: How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. D

Post by sookipixeldust »

Tinkers wrote:My DD wasn’t going for Bucks as we live in Reading. Also it was GL VR/NVR back then for us and not CEM. (I think CEM would need a bit more prep)

However we were doing less than an hour a week for most of year 5, in separate bits here and there.

Closer to the time we did a few practice papers more often (1 a week during the summer holidays).

The thing to remember is it’s quality of work not quantity that’s important.
Thanks Tinkers for replying. It's GL in Bucks now, but I've no idea if it's harder or easier than CEM. You make a very good point about quality being more important than quantity - I do worry than I'm not challenging my youngest enough. It's good to know that an hour a week was enough for your daughter, & papers in the holidays.

Thanks again.
Last edited by sookipixeldust on Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Deb70
Posts: 340
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 5:00 pm

Re: How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. D

Post by Deb70 »

Hi, my DS is also starting GS in September. There are three things I would say:
* Spend time teaching how to answer the VR questions. There's a specific way to do them. I bought the parent's guide for this.
* Spend time doing the NVR in the time limit that will be in the real test. It's very difficult to do them in the time.
* Spend time on exam strategy. They need one. Don't leave it until last.

We tended to only get time for eleven plus work at weekends, so it was usually one or two GL papers most weekends.

Good luck!
Aethel
Posts: 1190
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 6:24 pm

Re: How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. D

Post by Aethel »

We didn’t do that many actual papers. It depends upon your child’s personality, how they cope being asked to do extra/different work, whether they are happy to go through answers with you (as that is the real value, I’ve found, correcting any mistakes together and identifying and filling any particular holes).

We found the CGP ten minute tests best, and from Sept year 5, we spent an hour and a half once a week (Saturday mornings) dojng a ten minute test and then marking it, and then in a different subject, doing a section of one of the CGP work books. Then finish off with a ten minute test of non verbal reasoning of some sort cos it was “more fun”, or a small crossword or similar word game.

We moved up to twice a week around march, and then took a break in May, and did two mocks (from this website’s standalone mock provider) . The first one was simply to gauge the setup for the exams and check which sections needed more work, , and the second one, while not as useful for me as a parent, made DD1 feel better prepared for the real exams as it “normalised” the act of sitting down calmly and doing them in a hall full of other kids.

We “ticked over” over the summer with one individual shortish mock paper a few times a week but had a 10 day holiday where the whole lot was ignored and continued twn minut tests the rest of the time every other day or so. Overprepping with millions of papers jus gets the kids bored and their marks actually drop a bit!

So not loads, and little and often seems to be the key.
sookipixeldust
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:14 am

Re: How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. D

Post by sookipixeldust »

Thanks Deb 70 for your advice, which is much appreciated. I'm nervous about introducing timings because my child tends to panic, but I'm hoping that once they are more confident with the material we can start timing the tests. You're right, I do need an exam strategy; I didn't really have one for my eldest child - it's amazing they passed! I'll start earlier than August. We are working on how to do NVR and VR, and I think the speed is gradually increasing.

Thanks and Aethel - I'm grateful for your description of what you did with your child. I also like the CGP 10 minute tests, and I'm hopeful that eventually it will take less than 20mins to complete them! I agree totally with finding the gaps and correcting mistakes; I used a 11+ website with my eldest to help with this (which had 40 mins test), and I plan to do the same from about May this year for my youngest. We didn't use many actual papers, but I need to get my youngest used to the answer sheets (and how to move on if they don't know the answer).

Thanks again to everyone that has replied so far - lots of food for thought.
Deb70
Posts: 340
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 5:00 pm

Re: How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. D

Post by Deb70 »

I think I spent too long on the actual material - my child was getting close to 100% - and was a bit blasé about the "panic". We had practiced timings, but doing timed papers at home just isn't the same. It may not be as bad for you if your child will be sitting the test in his primary school (if you're in Bucks), but in our case, we were sitting the test at a central venue because we don't live in Bucks. The whole situation was just too stressful for him, as it was his first time sitting an exam in a strange place. He panicked and came out very upset. Other children had told him that they had had a lot of practice with "mocks" and tests for several other school areas. He told me that the questions really weren't that hard but that he found it difficult to think and was worried. The outcome was that he didn't pass the test, although he was very close. He went on to qualify via selection review with no extenuating circumstances, but strong academic evidence. I really regret not preparing him better for the stress of the day, as his ability was not in question but it was my lack of preparation/coping/strategy that let him down. Some children may be okay with the whole exam stress situation, but I would say don't let the actual test be your child's first experience of test conditions. Hope this helps!
sookipixeldust
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:14 am

Re: How much time does your child spend 11+ tutoring (inc. D

Post by sookipixeldust »

Thanks again Deb70

Youngest child is definitely more of a worrier than our eldest, so while we got away with very little exam prep the first time, I will definitely have a think about how to prepare them better for the actual test. I'm trying hard not make it a big deal and making sure that they know that whichever school they go to, everything will be fine.

We are OOC, so we will be doing the test at one of the grammars, probably.
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