GL Preparation - Starting out (DIY)

Discussion of the 11 Plus

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

Post Reply
jas8085
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2016 10:53 am

GL Preparation - Starting out (DIY)

Post by jas8085 »

Hello everyone,
We are starting our preps for 2017 tests. Target schools: Newstead wood, Bexley and Kent

Newstead wood and Kent are both GL tests. If you've recently helped your child prepare for GL (DIY route), could you please kindly share your knowledge?

For VR, I plan to start with AE tuition's spelling and vocab books. Once we finish them, I plan to follow the instructions on the first post on this thread : http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... =3&t=30178" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(the post was written in 2007! Can someone pls confirm if its all still relevant?)

For NVR, WHERE TO START ??? /WHAT TO DO? :?:

Please feel free to post any relevant advice. Thank you.
Minniemooface
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2016 4:09 pm

Re: GL Preparation - Starting out (DIY)

Post by Minniemooface »

My daughter has just sat her 11 plus last couple of weeks. I started her about a year before. She had to tutoring once a week for an hour, not for the full year though, only during school terms. For the first 7-8 months it was all about getting used to the questions and becoming familiar with them and understanding them. About May/June time, she then started to do proper tests under timed conditions to get her used to the exam , only once a week though. Then at the beginning of the summer holidays , I bought the GL assessment multiple choice packs, and she did them through the summer holidays. I also used AFN tests as they had 100 questions per test, as I was told the exam had 100 questions in it ( this was incorrect is was 80 questions in 50 mins for VR).The nvr test has 70 questions, in five sections, roughly 30 secs per question.

We also joined bofa 11 plus online, approx 5.00 per month to do tests and practice questions online, they also has short ten minute tests as well.

My advise is the slow and sure approach , get them used to the formats first, before you even start to test them. At the beginning, daughter said she would never be able to answer the questions in the time , but towards the end she could do 80 questions in 20 to 30 mins.

We also tested her a lot with the GL papers that were not multiple choice and she had to work the answers out herself to get her thinking and understand. The multiple choice tests are then a lot easier as the answer is in front of you .

Bond books and tests are good for different techniques if you want to cover all questions, and you can't go wrong with short 10 min tests.

Also there are questions with words that are opposites, words that are similar and odd ones out. So I used to play a game with her and pick out a word, and she had to tell me what it meant, similar words etc, you get the idea.

Hope this helps you in some way, and good luck
equilibro
Posts: 109
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:07 pm

Re: GL Preparation - Starting out (DIY)

Post by equilibro »

jas8085 wrote:Please feel free to post any relevant advice. Thank you.
I have sent you a PM.
PettswoodFiona
Posts: 2134
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: GL Preparation - Starting out (DIY)

Post by PettswoodFiona »

We did the self taught route and DD started at her chosen school this September. DD sat the same tests you list.

Firstly your DD needs to really want it.
Vocab for Bexley is very important
Speed and timing for Kent is important

Although breadth and familiarisation of all possible areas of the test are good, to be efficient with time it is best to identify which areas your DD is struggling with and spend a bit more time on these. You can do this by reviewing results from things like the ten minute test books but we found most helpful doing a couple of mocks. They sent results through grouping the types of questions and saying for example that DD got 3 out of 3 for one type and 1 out of three for another type. We then knew to invest the most time in the type where she didn't do so well. We spent an hour a week in Y5 sometimes in two half hour blocks and then half an hour a day in the summer holidays prior to the tests. On top of this DD would devour books and ask us about any words she didn't know.

Good luck
neuralc
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2016 4:40 pm

Re: GL Preparation - Starting out (DIY)

Post by neuralc »

jas8085 wrote:
For NVR, WHERE TO START ??? /WHAT TO DO? :?:

Please feel free to post any relevant advice. Thank you.
Minecraft.

Seriously, NVR is easiest - useful as a break from "proper" 11+ study
hanaF
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 11:13 am

Re: GL Preparation - Starting out (DIY)

Post by hanaF »

We also DIYed with books, mock tests, and some online questions. We started late (after Feb half-term!) but DS was determined and he already had excellent core skills before any coaching.

For verbal and non-verbal we used the "Understanding..." from Schofields & Sims, combined with the Rapid Reasoning tests of the same publisher. I have also used their Mental Arithmetic books to ensure that core maths skills were up-to-date. Towards the end of the summer holiday, we did some GL tests from Letts. For CEM (Bexley) we used more of CGP's books and their 10 minutes tests. I also dipped into Eureka and First Past the Post, but we didn't enjoy doing those so they were left gathering dust. DS was doing Bexley, Kent and St Olave's, he found the timing for Kent very hard esp for NVR, and Bexley kind of easy compared to the others. That said, I hadn't prepared him very well for the Kent test (focussing on CEM and higher-level maths for St O instead). If Kent is your main target then it is essential to put in more timing practice during the summer.
Post Reply
11 Plus Platform - Online Practice Makes Perfect - Try Now