Congratulations - what method did you use

Eleven Plus (11+) in Wirral

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ChesterMum
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:19 am

Congratulations - what method did you use

Post by ChesterMum »

Congratulations to those whose children got a place at their preferred school today.

Can you please share some info for those of us a year or more behind you in the process?

Preparation: (tutor or home, how many hours, which resources, which school year)
Mocks taken: (number taken, in a tuition centre or at home)
Exams taken: (any selective exams taken)
Schools applied for:
School place achieved:
Any other info:
Top tips:

Many thanks, it’s really appreciated. I think Wirral is not as ‘super selective’ as some other regions on here and it would be good to get a realistic expectation of what would be a good plan.
KLJ77
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2018 4:39 pm

Re: Congratulations - what method did you use

Post by KLJ77 »

My daughter went to a group tutor, just one hour per week from the start of year 5, she did some mock tests with the tutor group which were really helpful to prep. Also the familiarisation sessions are great at the grammar school that you are interested in, these are free and held at the school to help the children become familiar with exam setting. She had weekly homework but didn't always do it, and we didn't push it as we wanted the pressure to be off.

She only did 11 plus (not the Catholic tests), got first choice Wirral Girls. I don't know where you live but going off people I know that applied the cut off distance may have been approx 7 miles but could be also down to preferences etc (that's just my assumption) quite a few didn't get in to Wirral so perhaps the numbers are up (they were down last year and didn't fill the places). Not sure how its looked for West Kirby or the Catholic grammars.

Good luck.
SofiaCerano
Posts: 108
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2018 9:57 pm

Re: Congratulations - what method did you use

Post by SofiaCerano »

Hi, we had a wonderful tutor (who is no longer living in the area). My daughter did an hour a week during term time, she did have homework from her tutor too. We didn’t do mock tests, we she did do practice papers at home which were off her tutor. This website has lots of free resources too.

My daughter always wanted Upton hall but sat both tests and passed them both so all our choices were grammars. We’re lucky in that we live about 2 miles from Upton and about 3 from Wirral so catchment areas were never an issue for us.

Good luck, I have a son in year 4 so I’m starting the search for a tutor ready to go through all again.
TheWisp
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2018 10:53 pm

Re: Congratulations - what method did you use

Post by TheWisp »

Different angle here....we did it at home with the bonds 11 plus books but also trawled the internet for extra papers/understanding. We had ‘Saturday morning’ club where we went through a paper together and then concentrated on the areas needing support. Only really started six months before test but my DD was sold when she went to the open day...

Top tips though

1. Go to open days and familiarisation sessions
2. Ensure they understand the exam look and feel. It’s multiple choice with a separate answer sheet so we spoke alot about not leaving any blanks when doing the test. Get a guess in for any you are unsure of with a minute to go
3. Use resources on-line, there is loads
4. Ease off pressure, try and make it fun between you..
5. Bring it in to everyday life, not just 1 hour a week on top of school. I.e. when out and about and they/you use a word try and see what other words they could use (synonym’s etc)
6. Get them used to ‘non-verbal reasoning’ early on - odd one out, next in order patterns. This was 20% of marks but not taught in schools. I understand the rest was split 60% english, 20% maths

They are really looking for ‘rounded individuals’. The grammar schools and some websites will say its hard to tutor for, i can see this in some ways (if they are good book readers for pleasure this would really help) but don’t go in blind without doing Non-verbal Reasoning (NVR). Treat them like puzzles and do them together..

We got in at Wirral Grammar, this was our closest and as South Wirral didn’t do Upton as thought about balance of school/home life if travelling up there....good luck!
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