Which practice papers book?

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custard
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:27 pm

Which practice papers book?

Post by custard »

I've been doing lots of practice with DS but we haven't done any full length test papers yet. I've been looking in the shop page of this website and the list of books is a bit bewildering. There is Daughtry, IPS, GL, Bond.. the list goes on. They all claim to be the most authentic and the closest to the real test. I also picked up a book of 4 tests by AFN publishing in Waterstones today. Which do you think are the best books of test papers?
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Which practice papers book?

Post by Daogroupie »

The answer to this question will depend on the format of the VR exam your dc will be sitting. I would use Athey, IPS, Walsh, Bright Sparks and the Tutors but that is preparing for a Moray House VR Exam DG
stroudydad
Posts: 2246
Joined: Sat Oct 08, 2011 2:25 pm

Re: Which practice papers book?

Post by stroudydad »

Hi Custard, assuming you are sitting the Gloucestershire test, then the GL Assessment are the closest papers (2 packs, with 4 papers in each).. We also did the Walsh ones though, as very similar..
Im sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I think the GL pack 2 is considered easier than pack 1..
custard
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:27 pm

Re: Which practice papers book?

Post by custard »

Thank you. And if your DS was doing the test this October and you were starting full length practice tests now, how often would you get him to do a test?
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Which practice papers book?

Post by Daogroupie »

In North London many students will be doing a English, VR and Maths paper every day at this point for exams that start in less than 30 days time, but this may not be necessary in your area. DG
RedVelvet
Posts: 546
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:06 pm

Re: Which practice papers book?

Post by RedVelvet »

We are in the same area as you, my boy took the exam two years ago. If I remember correctly we didn't see much of his tutor over the summer holidays (we were both away or different times). We did, I think, one paper a week over the summer. Starting untimed, and then worked on any errors in between times. He didn't always finish the papers in one sitting to start with.

In the run up to the exam we only did one set of two papers back to back. It worked well for us. We did keep things low key for my son, because that is what suits his personality. Looking back (and forward to boy two next year) he was very sound academically (consistent high scores) and I think we could have spent more time on stress coping statergies, timing and checking work. However he ended up in the right school for him and has had a fabulous year 7 both academically and socially.

Hope all goes well for you and your DS.
custard
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:27 pm

Re: Which practice papers book?

Post by custard »

Wow! Three tests a day sounds like a huge amount! :shock:
As the tests cost £9 for 4 he won't be doing them every day so I think I might get him to do one or two a week with some mental arithmetic or vocabulary practice on the other days.
steppemum
Posts: 480
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2012 9:27 am

Re: Which practice papers book?

Post by steppemum »

we are Glos and are doing one timed test per week, starting tomorrow! We will miss 1 or 2 weeks when we are away. ds did a timed test with his tutor before summer break, and will do more in September.

I know that ds weakness is time, so we have lots of question sets, with 10 questions of the same type. He does those against the clock (aiming for less than 5 minutes for 10 questions) We do about 20 minutes per day in theory, in practice about every second day. So he does 3 or 4 per day, using a stopwatch, depending on attitude and if he gets stuck.
Vio125
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:45 pm

Re: Which practice papers book?

Post by Vio125 »

I agree GL assessment reflects the exam with the 21 question types. The second paper last year included lots of question types my dd had seen on GL papers. I would practice daughtry bright sparks - these are slightly harder. Walsh and phi learning lab were very good because harder vocab and will help with the difficult paper. We also used AFN but very early on e.g April - they are too easy - the test is harder my dd was getting very high scores early on - good for confidence - too late to use these in August. We did a test three times a week and vocab practice in between in the holidays and then did less in Sept to minimise stress and concentrate on exam technique. The papers are costly I agree there are online papers to download that are cheaper. I will pm you the website. You can also download lots of free papers on this website as practice. Hope this helps happy to answer any other questions.
FluffyCat
Posts: 759
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2011 11:26 am

Re: Which practice papers book?

Post by FluffyCat »

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Last edited by FluffyCat on Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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