11 Plus Exams Forum

My eldest DD took her 11+ last week and here I am now wondering what plan of action to put in place with my next DD who follows a year later!

I think we will all have a few months off first!

I have a friend who has done 11+ twice in nine months as her daughter took it in January and her son took it last week! She now has a three year gap before her younger son takes it. I have a two year gap fortunately as I really have had enough of those codes and silly diagrams (which my DD was better at working out than me anyway!).

Yes this year it was my son next year my daughter. Very different characters, very different challenges. At least I have one years 11+ experience which is useful to have behind you.

Gosh twice in 9 months must have been stressful, especially with all the changes that went on this year! I too have had enough of the codes and silly diagrams which is why I am having a few months off before starting with DD2!

I am also hoping that the experienced gained this year will help me prepare next year, assuming it doesn’t all change again!

My fingers are crossed for DD1 and everyone awaiting results.

I have 4 years to go before my daughter is due to take the tests - at the moment I'm not sure i can face it! She can do the VR and NVR from the bond books for her age but is much slower with maths.

She is at an independent school and by the time we get to yr 5 she will gave homework each night - not huge amounts but enough for me to be reluctant to make her do more work on top of it. The school do cover some 11+ stuff, but as i discovered to my cost when we started looking at papers at the beginning of the summer holidays it's not really at a high enough level - my poor son had to work really hard over the summer to get up to speed.

I'm tempted to put her in a state school and tutor her myself for the 11+. I moved my son out of the state system because of the lack of art/pe/music etc but we could always use the money we have saved to send her something like stagecoach i suppose. Can anyone recommend a more creative state primary school in the Sidcup/Bexley area?

Sorry, this has turned into a general woffle about what's going on in my head and so has gone rather off topic! (and also rather out of area - sorry)

That's way behind me as a mum, (one in year 11, one in 2nd yr at uni), but now I am a tutor I have multiple anxiety every year, I have no fingernails left!!

2childmum wrote:I have 4 years to go before my daughter is due to take the tests - at the moment I'm not sure i can face it! She can do the VR and NVR from the bond books for her age but is much slower with maths.

Goodness me!!! 4 years to go and already doing verbal and non verbal!!! Surely you won't have to worry about what school she is at if has been doing vr/nvr for 4 years...
I'm afraid this is where the system is wrong as it is testing children who have been 'practising' for
1. a couple of months.
2. a year or so
3. 4 years!!!
How can it be indicative of a child's true ability?

On topic - my dd did her 11+ last year and my ds is next year, have just started to buy some bond books in preparation for next september!

Someone told me at football practice last Friday (ie, the last day of the Kent 11+) that you could get VR and NVR practice papers for Y2 children (where my older son/third child is). Just the thought of it gave me the heeby jeebies - but then if I did get withdrawal symptoms from those stoopid diagrams and annoying codes, I do have another DD in between DD1 and DS1 who I can sit down and do them with!

Anything like that you can get for 4 year olds?!

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