When to start preparing for 11+
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Orson
To the guest from Dec. 5th.
Generally, as I have outlined before, children seem to benefit most from the steady, hour-a-week-for-a-year approach. Some, however, can 'cram' and still pass the test. These children are in a minority, as there is a great deal to both cover and master, but they do exist!
To cram successfully, the child needs to be bright (obviously), able to grasp concepts very quickly, able to retain the majority of what is tackled (you don't have the luxury of being able to go over methods again and again) and able to work for relatively long periods of time.
'Average' (sorry to use this word
) children cannot do ALL of the above at the same time - and there's no disgrace in this. The 11+ exam is not designed to be a breeze. The whole purpose of it is to challenge children and facilitate a situation where those who are more able 'reasoners' come out on top.
I have worked with children in the past who have received one week's tuition and gained a place at a grammar school. They are a rare breed, though. 25-30 hours of intense one-to-one tuition in 5-7 days is not for faint-hearted 10 year olds.
One CAN get children through the test with cramming but for MOST it is not the best approach.
And the most important thing to remember is this (cliche-time) - 'you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear'. Grammar schools do not suit about 75% of children and if your child struggles with VR or would be better off elsewhere, face up to that fact and don't push it! It is infinitely better for a child to be 'achieving' at the local comprehensive than being bottom of the heap for 7 years at some grammar school he/she has scraped into.
To GemB (Dec. 8th)
I say go for it! You don't know what your child is made of until you investigate. You do not want to look back in the future and wonder, 'what if?' If your daughter one day asks, "Why didn't you push me a bit and try to do the best for me?" how will you feel? I think you're fortunate to have a grammar school nearby (there are only 160 in the UK) and you ought to consider aiming to get your daughter in.
Start preparing in the new year and work steadily towards your goal. Place little emphasis on it with your daughter, telling her it will help her school work and that it will be fun! A good tutor can tell you after 2 or 3 months if she is grammar material; if she is - great, carry on and if she isn't - well, at least you KNOW.
Don't leave it to chance; practice is absolutely essential if you want your child to give it her best shot. Techniques, use of time, confidence etc. must be addressed or you're probably wasting your time.
Your comments about talking to your daughter's teacher made me smile
. Always a waste of time, this. I think they are all drilled with the same mantra - 'Grammars are bad and we must be as non-commital and unhelpful as possible'.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
To Jah (Dec. 11th)
It's 2006 (nearly 2007) and I cannot believe that anyone still genuinely thinks that children do not need at least some tuition to prepare them for the 11+ (sorry, I'm not saying that YOU think this!)
I'm very interested to read that where you live, several children leave their primary schools at the end of Yr. 4 to spend two years preparing for the 11+ at private schools. Madness! And what a waste of money! All you need is a bright child (essential), a competent tutor, a spare hour or so per week for a year and about £1000.
You CAN get your child into a grammar school without going to the great lengths you speak of.
Anyway, my friend, I've gone on quite long enough. Fingers crossed for your daughter - I hope she gains a place. I've got a good feeling about it
.
Orson
Generally, as I have outlined before, children seem to benefit most from the steady, hour-a-week-for-a-year approach. Some, however, can 'cram' and still pass the test. These children are in a minority, as there is a great deal to both cover and master, but they do exist!
To cram successfully, the child needs to be bright (obviously), able to grasp concepts very quickly, able to retain the majority of what is tackled (you don't have the luxury of being able to go over methods again and again) and able to work for relatively long periods of time.
'Average' (sorry to use this word
) children cannot do ALL of the above at the same time - and there's no disgrace in this. The 11+ exam is not designed to be a breeze. The whole purpose of it is to challenge children and facilitate a situation where those who are more able 'reasoners' come out on top. I have worked with children in the past who have received one week's tuition and gained a place at a grammar school. They are a rare breed, though. 25-30 hours of intense one-to-one tuition in 5-7 days is not for faint-hearted 10 year olds.
One CAN get children through the test with cramming but for MOST it is not the best approach.
And the most important thing to remember is this (cliche-time) - 'you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear'. Grammar schools do not suit about 75% of children and if your child struggles with VR or would be better off elsewhere, face up to that fact and don't push it! It is infinitely better for a child to be 'achieving' at the local comprehensive than being bottom of the heap for 7 years at some grammar school he/she has scraped into.
To GemB (Dec. 8th)
I say go for it! You don't know what your child is made of until you investigate. You do not want to look back in the future and wonder, 'what if?' If your daughter one day asks, "Why didn't you push me a bit and try to do the best for me?" how will you feel? I think you're fortunate to have a grammar school nearby (there are only 160 in the UK) and you ought to consider aiming to get your daughter in.
Start preparing in the new year and work steadily towards your goal. Place little emphasis on it with your daughter, telling her it will help her school work and that it will be fun! A good tutor can tell you after 2 or 3 months if she is grammar material; if she is - great, carry on and if she isn't - well, at least you KNOW.
Don't leave it to chance; practice is absolutely essential if you want your child to give it her best shot. Techniques, use of time, confidence etc. must be addressed or you're probably wasting your time.
Your comments about talking to your daughter's teacher made me smile
. Always a waste of time, this. I think they are all drilled with the same mantra - 'Grammars are bad and we must be as non-commital and unhelpful as possible'.Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
To Jah (Dec. 11th)
It's 2006 (nearly 2007) and I cannot believe that anyone still genuinely thinks that children do not need at least some tuition to prepare them for the 11+ (sorry, I'm not saying that YOU think this!)
I'm very interested to read that where you live, several children leave their primary schools at the end of Yr. 4 to spend two years preparing for the 11+ at private schools. Madness! And what a waste of money! All you need is a bright child (essential), a competent tutor, a spare hour or so per week for a year and about £1000.
You CAN get your child into a grammar school without going to the great lengths you speak of.
Anyway, my friend, I've gone on quite long enough. Fingers crossed for your daughter - I hope she gains a place. I've got a good feeling about it
. Orson
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nishant
Re: When to start preparing for 11+
there are many suggestions about different topics. my son is going to sit for bucks's 11+ insep/oct2007.we haven't started on it yet (i know it is already bit late) the problem is i don't know from where to start i bought few practice papers from wh smith but not sure how to start working on it because he obviously won't be able to do all type of questions.although he is a bright kid he got 4a in year 4 sats (english and maths)and he is doing well in year 5 as well but he is too much of PSP+ps2 type child. the only hope for me is a good tutor who can explain him the techniques and do some practice as soon as possible. i keep on asking him to do read bokks (i work in library but its not any help) i take so many books but nothing has clicked yet. and i tried everything but he is determined not ot do any reading. i was thinking if he can go to 1 2 1 tution then it will help him a lot becuse he is blessed with:) once he listen and understand something he will never forget but if he is forced to do studies he will forget everything. so i think all i need is a good tutor. can anybody suggest somebody in or around MAIDENHEAD area.my son really wants to go to JOHN Hamdon but doesn't want to do any hard work(sadly). any suggestions most welcome.thanxnewguest wrote:My child is in year 5 and she is 10 when do we start to prepare for 11+
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nishant
where are you orson?
nishant wrote:there are many suggestions about different topics. my son is going to sit for bucks's 11+ insep/oct2007.we haven't started on it yet (i know it is already bit late) the problem is i don't know from where to start i bought few practice papers from wh smith but not sure how to start working on it because he obviously won't be able to do all type of questions.although he is a bright kid he got 4a in year 4 sats (english and maths)and he is doing well in year 5 as well but he is too much of PSP+ps2 type child. the only hope for me is a good tutor who can explain him the techniques and do some practice as soon as possible. i keep on asking him to do read bokks (i work in library but its not any help) i take so many books but nothing has clicked yet. and i tried everything but he is determined not ot do any reading. i was thinking if he can go to 1 2 1 tution then it will help him a lot becuse he is blessed with:) once he listen and understand something he will never forget but if he is forced to do studies he will forget everything. so i think all i need is a good tutor. can anybody suggest somebody in or around MAIDENHEAD area.my son really wants to go to JOHN Hamdon but doesn't want to do any hard work(sadly). any suggestions most welcome.thanxnewguest wrote:My child is in year 5 and she is 10 when do we start to prepare for 11+
Dear Nishant
I will reply to your post in the Bucks section.....further down the front page of the forum.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... php?t=1458
Patricia
I will reply to your post in the Bucks section.....further down the front page of the forum.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... php?t=1458
Patricia
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Orson
When to start preparing for the 11+/Where are you, Orson?
Dear Nishant
I'm based in Gloucestershire (not too near Maidenhead, sadly).
Your son needs a good tutor; one that can develop a real rapport with him and one that will command his respect. The tutor will need to make work as enjoyable as possible whilst instilling in your son the importance of being prepared for tests (which means a bit of grafting) and of reading plenty! He/you can't escape from these facts, I'm afraid.
Hopefully, someone with a knowledge of tutors in your area will come forward soon.
Best of luck
Orson
I'm based in Gloucestershire (not too near Maidenhead, sadly).
Your son needs a good tutor; one that can develop a real rapport with him and one that will command his respect. The tutor will need to make work as enjoyable as possible whilst instilling in your son the importance of being prepared for tests (which means a bit of grafting) and of reading plenty! He/you can't escape from these facts, I'm afraid.
Hopefully, someone with a knowledge of tutors in your area will come forward soon.
Best of luck
Orson
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Guest
I also have a child who loves his electronic gadgets. Does your son have a Nintendo DS. Our son got Dr Kawashima's brain training - how old is your brain for Christmas which has lots of quick timed maths questions in batches of 20 or 100. Its been great for the car and he keeps challenging the whole family to beat him on speed/accuracy. It only seems to cover addition, subtraction and multiplication but it sure beats some of the other games he likes to play and may introduce a fun element to speed in basic maths operations.but he is too much of PSP+ps2 type child.
Maybe the next stage for The Tutors is to negotiate a deal with Sony and Nintendo to produce their now legendary CD's in DS, PSP, PS2 format especially for workshy boys!!
Loulou
oh gosh do you realise what a good idea you have given to THE TURTOR and all free for charge.yeap i totally agree with you on this.can i ask you how old your son is? my son is going to be 10 in april.it seems like a very common problem for parents. yes mine son has got DS+PS2+PSP unfortunately. about the brain training game(?) on DS, so it has only basic maths operations actually my son is going to KUMON and he is way ahead in maths for his age so i am not sure if it is going to be right for him.is there any other interestin thing which can help him to improve his vocabulary please let us know. what about your lad has he done 11+ yet?thanx.
Anonymous wrote:I also have a child who loves his electronic gadgets. Does your son have a Nintendo DS. Our son got Dr Kawashima's brain training - how old is your brain for Christmas which has lots of quick timed maths questions in batches of 20 or 100. Its been great for the car and he keeps challenging the whole family to beat him on speed/accuracy. It only seems to cover addition, subtraction and multiplication but it sure beats some of the other games he likes to play and may introduce a fun element to speed in basic maths operations.but he is too much of PSP+ps2 type child.
Maybe the next stage for The Tutors is to negotiate a deal with Sony and Nintendo to produce their now legendary CD's in DS, PSP, PS2 format especially for workshy boys!!
Loulou
My son is in year 5 but has just turned 10. We have never done any Kumon so I expect your son is much faster than mine at maths and the DS game may not be much use to him. I do still think there is a market for something more academic for use on electronic gadgets- I know we would buy it!!
As for vocab I think the answer is read, read, read. There have been postings in other sections that will give you ideas of the sorts of books he can try if your stuck and Patricia/the tutors have posted some great words on this website.
Good luck
Loulou
As for vocab I think the answer is read, read, read. There have been postings in other sections that will give you ideas of the sorts of books he can try if your stuck and Patricia/the tutors have posted some great words on this website.
Good luck
Loulou
