11 Plus Exams Forum

Can anyone give me an idea on what kind of question will be asked during interviews .
Mathematical problem, will it be problem solving?

Sometimes candidates are asked some simple arithmetic to warm up then a more complex problem. At CLSG DD was asked a complex maths problem to do with a pyramid (can't remember details) where they are really looking at your approach to the problem more than expecting you to know the answer. She panicked a bit and went blank, other more confident DC (probably more suited to the school) would muse aloud about how to tackle it.

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In my experience the point of interviews is to confirm that the child's performance is commensurate with the formal written assessment , i.e those who just had a bad day or even those who have been over prepped can be filtered and exposed .

Schools like St Pauls, Westminster are specifically looking for candidates who would interview well 7 yrs hence at Oxbridge??

Catseye wrote:Schools like St Pauls, Westminster are specifically looking for candidates who would interview well 7 yrs hence at Oxbridge??

Gosh really? My eldest daughter who is at a super selective senior school (with a very high oxbridge success rate) was a dreadful, dreadful interviewee at age 11. ( I know as I sat in on one of her interviews for a scholarship place and my toes curled for the entire 30 minutes) She gave nothing but semi comprehensible one word answers. It was one of the most embarrassing half hours of my life, genuinely. I know she could answer the questions, but she got terrified and tongue tied and it was truly, truly awful. Had I not seen it I would never have believed it.

Despite this she was offered a 50% scholarship, based entirely on her exam results. Luckily after a few years at this school she has changed beyond recognition and could now out-interview almost anyone. Maturity and confidence have made the difference. So, I wouldn't panic too much if your child is academic but is not great at interviews, they are important, but no school will give a place to a low scoring child who is charming and articulate over an academic one who is nervous and quiet. Even top schools have many, many quiet children.

Great post, NLMum27. Very honest and encouraging.