Dear Parents

Parental nerves setting in for this years 11+ exam.

Last minute.com questions.

Are children allowed to take a basic digital watch (Casio type) with stop clock function and are they allowed use the stop clock option to time themselves for each section of the CEM paper e.g. 10 mins comprehension, 12 mins NVR etc etc.?

Also can the children take a quick glance at all the questions in each section of the paper to gage the amount of questions per section so can pace themselves accordingly?

I have read somewhere that children are not allowed to move onto further sections in the paper UNTIL told to do so by invigilator. I'm worried that quick glance to the end of a given section (to get an idea of amount of questions in that section) may result in accidentally skipping into next sections and therefore child may be penalised?

Am I stressing too much?

Sorry , the above questions have been bugging me of late and I thought I need some clarity.

Thank you for your help.

Hi mh1

I think the most important thing for your child to do is listen to the instructions. As far as I’m aware they are not allowed to turn the page until instructed.

As far as a stopwatch, I’ve no idea if they are allowed one. I seem to recall that the only watches allowed are analogue.

To be honest I think even if stopwatches were allowed they would just add an extra layer of stress for the child- remembering to stop and start and check it etc etc.

My child sat the Birmingham test last year. My only piece of advice was to work methodically through the questions; if they were stuck to guess and move on. I think that if they try to answer the ones they know and then go back to the others they risk getting out of synch with the answer sheet!

Good luck for your child!

I would check the instructions you are sent in advance - as far as I am aware stop watches are expressly forbidden - I think watches full stop may no longer be allowed (in-line with the new rulings for A level
And GCSE exams.)

I'm just imagining a whole room full of candidates each with a watch announcing their own personal version of the timings, along with the official one, supposing anyone could make out which one it was .

_________________
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx

Timing is really crucial. If I were you I'd make sure your child is able to listen carefully (or knows) how much time is available for each section so that they can do a quick estimate of how long they need to spend on each question, and practice so that they can do this in a calm way without panicking on the day. When one of my children sat the test, the time reminders were different than he expected and he was really nervous, he ended up not finishing some of the sections, even maths which was usually a walk in the park for him.