Prep for entrance to public schools

[Comparedotcom]

Can anyone advice wether it would be better to purchase Bondonline for entrance exams to indie schools or do you think Galore park books or schofield and simms would be better ? I'm really confused, and about to shell out £50 on bond online.

thanks

[Comparedotcom]

Why does nobody ever answer this thread ? Is the question breaking some rule or something ?

[vickyconfused]

Try bofa online. You can just subscribe per month. The top level is tough but there are explanations. Hth

[lefol]

Bond are good for maths and English comprehension , but we also used the CGP books for our local indie exams for ds1 a few years ago and he did pretty well and got offers in all the schools he applied for .

Try bofa online. You can just subscribe per month. The top level is tough but there are explanations. Hth

[Kingfisher]

Why does nobody ever answer this thread ? Is the question breaking some rule or something ?

Give us a chance! You only posted 2 hours ago! Someone in the know will come along soon.

My personal view is that they are all rubbish, but I did not think you would want to hear that so I did not post. No malevolence behind it.

[Comparedotcom]

Thanks for all your replies. I got impatient because i had started a very similar post about a yr ago, and there wasn't a single reply! i wondered if i had broken a rule, but tried again today for second son, and no reply after 2hrs i thought the same thing was happening again.

I've never heard of BOFA, but will try it.

Kingsfisher - I don't mind at all both views good or bad are welcome. Can you expantiate a bit further why you feel they're rubbish?

[Daogroupie]

You had a post up there for less than two hours! Members are giving up their own time to help you free of charge. I also don't rate Bond. It is simply not challenging enough. Compare a Bond Comprehension paper to a Manchester Grammar paper or a North London Consortium paper or a Whitgift, Trinity or Reigate paper and you willl see what I mean. Which indies are you applying for? Is it just English and Maths. Is there a sample paper that will give some idea of the format? DG

[sherry_d]

I have used GP for KS3 extensively and they give solid thorough grounding. GP used to be owned by Nicholas and he sold it last year to Hodder who seem to be pushing other things. The specialty and niche of GP has always been common entrance at 13+ but now they have IGCSE too.

The one thing to bear in mind is the books are meant to be used in schools so they don't always provide detailed explanation so the books may not be a complete stand alone resource. They provide detailed sample chapters on their website. Have a look at these and see if that is what you are looking for. GP books can be a bit dry sometimes, definitely take a peak. Is it 11+ or 13+ you want these resources for? For 11+ I don't think they are a must but for 13+ GP really is the place for common entrance because there aren't other resources specializing in admission in that age range. For 11+, you get plenty of resources and a wider range because of grammar school admission exams at that age too.

Oh and the books are pricey. You need a separate answer book too for most of their books. That means you are spending £30 for just the Maths SYRWTL alone. I think its sneaky of them selling answer books separately but I suspect their core market don't really care much about price.

[Comparedotcom]

Sorry to sound a bit thick but does GP stand for 'galore park'? and what is CGP?
yes it is for 11+ .

[HappyCow]

Can anyone advice wether it would be better to purchase Bondonline for entrance exams to indie schools or do you think Galore park books or schofield and simms would be better ? I'm really confused, and about to shell out £50 on bond online.

thanks

When are you sitting the exams?
Not familiar with Bondonline but am sure it is similar to Galore Park and S&S (including a lot of other material available) - these are all good to create base knowledge for Independents.
Following this - do all the papers (plus more) that are available on - almost all the Independent Schools' websites.
Answering DG's questions will enable Users to provide you with better information.

Why does nobody ever answer this thread ? Is the question breaking some rule or something ?

This is just down right rude on a forum such as this.
Virtually every single post gets answered and at the end of the day - it is about give & take.....you are just having a go at the very same people who are likely to offer the best advice!!