Where to begin?

[fynnty]

Hi All,
I'm delighted to find a forum such as this as looking online is a minefield and I've no idea of the best place to start. My eldest son is just going into year 5 which from reading various posts seems like a good time to start preparing him for the 11+. We are in Buckinghamshire and I believe we only need to do the Verbal Reasoning aspects of the 11+ but where should we start? There are so many books/assessment papers etc. out there that I haven't got a clue. We also have a child entering year 3 that will probably enjoy doing an age appropriate equivalent so any advice would also be welcome there.

Many thanks,

Fynnty

[chad]

Have a look in the bucks forum....

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... m.php?f=12

There are a few 'permanent' posts at the top that will give you a good start.

Especially this one....

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 82&start=0

[First-timer]

I'm not in your area but I'm sure someone will be along soon from Bucks to help. I used the Letts papers and the Bond books. The county consortium for selective schools also provided a sample paper. Bond VR was not exactly on all fours with the VR in my county (Essex) but I still found it useful. Some of the Bond type questions do not appear in the Essex paper - but you can be selective about which types you spend a lot of time on if this also applies to Bucks. Bond also do ten-minute test books which are a good way to fit practice in around your DC's other activities. This website also offers papers (Tutors). I didn't use them but others seem to have found them helpful. There is also a website which provides free resources to download but I'm not allowed to mention it on this forum. It does VR questions by type as well as whole practice papers. I found out about this site after my DS took his 11+, so wasn't able to use it. I think it would have been beneficial. You have lots of time. Good luck!

Oops, forgot to add that Bond do books for different age groups. You could start with these for your younger child.

[nosy-parker]

I have been helping my daughter prepare for her exam in Sept. I would highly recommend the Bucks forum. There is a great "Sticky" with DIY tips which got me heading in the right direction. We started back about November time with the IPS pale blue "starter" book which is a really gentle intoduction and covers the right material and question types for Bucks.

After a slightly rocky start, (mother/daughter relationship and child motivation!) things have settled out really nicely and I would recommend doing it yourself if you feel you can. There is plenty of good advice and material around.
Good Luck.

[Snowdrops]

I would always recommend learning the techniques needed for Verbal/Non Verbal Reasoning. Send me a pm with your email address and I'll zap some papers across for you which sets out the techniques.

[nosy-parker]

Bucks is verbal reasoning only. We nearly started doing some non-verbal reasoning practice which would have been a waste. Also forgot to mention the IPS "techniques and methods" book which was useful for starters.

[fynnty]

Thanks to you all for the tips so far - It's so good to find something like this, really helpful

Fynnty