Surrey/Sutton grammar schools

[RationalityRules]

Hi there

My DS is also in Year 5 and will be sitting the exam in September, but I am not in your area. We have probably done a total of about 15 papers (of proper exam-length) so far, but have also spent time working on the different question types for Verbal Reasoning and doing some practice of those.

I am planning to try and do two VR papers a week in the summer holidays with my DS, plus some maths to keep that ticking over out of school time. I am wary of 'peaking too early' and am hoping that he will build up steadily towards mid-September, which is when his exam will be.

We have kept things pretty gentle as we have gone through this process (we started in January). There is fierce competition for school places in our area but I think it's important not to get too carried away with the hype. The number of papers you do may seem important, but more important (to my mind) is how much time you spend going over mistakes and practising weaker areas. Of course you know the standard your child is currently at, and that will help to guide you on how much support and practice they need. We are aiming for consistent 90%+ scores on both Maths and VR across a variety of papers, assuming that this is what he'll probably need to score on the day for our first choice school. Do you know what you need to aim for?

I wish you and your children the very best of luck. RR

[Reading Mum]

My DD is also sitting her 11+ in the Autumn in another area.

We have gone through the VR types and done some 30 min papers (IPS) but so far the only full length papers she has done were the Sutton Mocks for which I don't yet have scores. We have done very little NVR as yet - no Maths is required unfortunately. I am planning to try a full length paper for the first time this week but its hard fitting it all in as she gets quite a bit of homework. I am really relying on the summer hols to give us some time but even then its getting pretty booked up with stays at grandparents etc. She is just going to have to take papers with her to do with them - that is going to be sooo popular

[SlummyMummy]

hi Laretta, I took your advise and DD sat the Mock test this weekend at a short notice. Thanks for that, most helpful. Waiting to see the results now. DD found Maths quite easy but struggled with Comprehension a bit. We certainly need more practice on VR and English now.
I've also ordered Walsh and they've arrived, so hope to make a start next weekend.

[SlummyMummy]

We live in west London, are in catchment for Langley but would prefer Non Such or Tiffin if she gets it. We're open to moving closer to the school.
With just three months to go, it's a very mixed feeling. Can't wait for it to be over and at the same time still have so many more tests to do. Someone quite rightly said on this forum that it's like being 6 months pregnant
Other than tests, are there other ways to improve VR and English skills?
DD likes to read, but doesn't find much time these days with all the other tests she has to do. Would love tips for working on VR and English.

[laretta]

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/assets ... tricia.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/assets ... tricia.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hi sm
Good news that your dd sat, as the mocks are a great experience.
The links above will bring you to Patricia's list of useful vocab and compound words, you can print them off and go through them daily also, there is a lady on here called jaysdarlin who has posted a link to some lovely material she has worked on to get her dc into tiffin. Lots of flash cards and games to make the learning fun.

Good luck, it does feel like forever, but once it has passed it will hopefully have all been worthwhile.

X laretta

[laretta]

Hi sm
I think this is the right link.
When the page opens you need to scroll down until you get to the 11 plus stuff.
Regards
Laretta


http://www.scribd.com/inspirity" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BusyQueenBee]

SlummyMummy...being six months pregnant was way better than this.

[SlummyMummy]

12 weeks to go to the first exam now. is it just me that feels there's still so much to be done.
Because we're taking a range of exams we need to prepare VR NVR Maths English, everything. It's getting quite hard to balance our time between all of these. Focused on VR for now, as Maths is the naturally stronger area for DD.
how do you know how much is enough?

[SlummyMummy]

BusyQueenBee, agree with you that being pregnant was way easier.