11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi

I'm a newbie to this process. DS to sit the exams in 2014, and I'm hoping to get some advice from those already through the process

We are planning holidays and whilst I appreciate a lot of effort needs to be put in, I also want DS to have some downtime. What do people suggest in terms of study over the summer holidays, and the weeks back at school just before the exam?

Really appreciate any advice.

Many thanks

Hi and welcome to the Essex forum.

My DS began 11+ prep late February 2012, we had a 3 week holiday in August and he took the exam in Sept 2012.

We took 3 practice papers away with us on holiday and DS did 1 per week whilst away, so he did have downtime but as we were so close to the exam we felt it was appropriate to keep him on top of his practice.

On return from holiday he carried on with covering specific question types for a week or so. He then did 2 mocks over the last 3 weeks then the actual exam.

I think you reach a point with about a month to go where there is no point in cramming, but just go over maybe specific areas of weakness and mock exams to refine exam technique.

Hi Redtabby

Thank for your response and ideas That's really useful re exams on holiday. I think I shall have to resort to bribery with the iPad

The thought of even doing a paper is a bit scary at the moment, but hopefully come summer we're in a better state and can actually concentrate for a length of time. It all seems so daunting - especially when I read all the current posts for those waiting on results - it makes it all v real.

I have now been through it with two children and strongly believe that working throughout the summer makes all the difference. Both times we took books and papers away on our two week August holiday and they worked nearly every day - but not to excess. It was long, hard and painful but paid off. We eased off the couple of weeks before and kept things ticking over but stopped doing papers. Six weeks is just too long, the tutor we used recommended work to do even though sessions were not on but had a mock exam at start of holidays.

Good luck

Hi Helpmehenry and welcome. We were newbies before DS1 sat the CSSE exam in Sept 2013. We were away from the UK for the whole of the summer holiday and we did work out a work schedule. Never more than 5 days a week and no more than 2 1/2 hours a day. I was terrified to read other posts suggesting we should be doing 5 hours a day !!!

With DS1 bribery worked, not just financial bribery but time.. I get three hours with mummy.. and her alone.. to do some fun things, or just sit and fish.. because I have done 5 days of my agreed work.

We can all make suggestions but the most important thing is that you agree a schedule of work. Perhaps you could come up with some ideas of what to do each week, put some rewards on it and agree to it.

It all sounds very tedious and structured but you really need to have an idea of what do do on holiday, as actually even doing 20 mins when you have sun and a pool can seem overwhelming.

Hello and welcome!

I personally believe that downtime is quite important. It can be very difficult to strike the right balance between feeling that you've done enough (which you probably will never feel) and not doing enough.

What we did last year was we made sure that dd had one full day every week (during term time) where she didn't do any work at all. She worked most days during the half terms and the Easter holiday as well. We kept to our one day a week of no work. During the summer holidays we felt that she really needed a complete rest so we took the first week of the holidays off and went away. No work was done that week and no one was allowed to mention the 11+!


After that it was back to our working 6 days out of 7 routine. Unfortunately, I work so dd had to go to child care during the holidays which meant that she only did about about 2 hours of 11+ work per day, I would have preferred for her to do 4 hours a day but it wasn't an option.

We also took the bank holiday weekend in August off and went away but dd still did 2 hours of 11+ work each day over that weekend, we took it with us!

When we went back to school after the summer, we stuck with our 6 days out of 7 routine and she did a couple of hours every day after school. The Friday before the exam was spent doing nothing. She went to school as usual but she just came home and relaxed afterward. My feeling was that if she didn't know it by then, she would never know it.

It's not easy deciding what is enough and what's too much but I am reasonably happy that we got it almost right.

Thank you all so much for your guidance. The further we get into this, the more daunting it becomes.

What I'm taking is that I need to be quite structured from now until the exam and set some guidelines and rewards with (some ) downtime factored in.

We have holiday over Easter & Summer, so I will be looking to find some books with short tests in. Now that VR paper has been removed, it does make it a little harder in terms of the 'type' of work we'll need to do.

It's really good to hear from people who have 'survived' this process, as I am already swinging from 'oh, it will be fine' to 'OMG we don't stand a chance, and how will I ever get DS to actually CHECK any of his work '

I'm sure over the coming months my visits to this site will become increasingly regular - it's great that everyone is happy to share their tips and thoughts.

Thanks again

We kept up with 11+ lessons over the Summer holidays probably attending 4 out of the 6 weeks, he would then do his homework from the tutor which was about an hour a week. We decided right from the start that there was no good reason to do hours of work each day. We strongly feel that if you need to do 2/3 hours a day just to pass the test then you are going to struggle with the workload/level of work when you get to GS.

My DS took 11 plus in September 2013. We allowed him one week off study at the start of the holidays (and noticed a significant drop in performance after only a weeks break) after that he did approx 10 mins maths VR and English 6 days a week with most Sundays off. We also did a long division/multiplication every day. He did one external mock in mid August where he did not know anyone or the location which was a worthwhile experience as it gave him an idea of how the nerves might feel and that he could overcome them. He then had a mock every week once he started back at school. I think you have to keep them ticking over they seem to lose so much otherwise.

Good luck....although we still have national offer day to go I don't envy you, glad I have a couple of years before we go through it again!

StephiB - my heart agrees with your sentiments - it's such a pressure on young children and sooooo competitive! DS loves history & science and quizzes, so I try to mix it up and keep his interest in different ways - it's all learning for the future, rather than it being about a half day exam. I don't know that I'm doing the right thing, but I try to balance his 'strops' with what I think he is capable of (typical lazy boy)....only time will tell, I suppose....

Bikkigirl - interesting that you noticed a significant drop off with only a weeks break. I have also followed your advice and arranged an external mock over the summer, so fingers x'd that rids the nerves and provides some insight to the 'real thing'.
I'm sending all my luck to you for the offer day - hopefully all your hardwork will pay off and corks will be popping - keep me posted