Which books to buy

Discussion of the 11 Plus

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

Post Reply
11 Plus Mocks - Practise the real exam experience - Book Now
nefertete
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2014 2:18 pm

Which books to buy

Post by nefertete »

1. Can anyone advise me which books from Bond are worth buying: assessment papers or no nonsense books, I am looking for 7-8 , 8-9, 9-10 (lower age groups would be for my younger dd) and higher age groups. They come in maths, English, vr and nvr, so if I wanted all of them, that would be over 30 books of just bond itself! Do you think they are worth buying, your advice and experience are very appreciated.
2. do you think it is best to have as many various styles of papers as possible, from all sorts of publishers. What I mean, I looked a lot at this forum and there seems to be so much, bond, athey, gl, s.daughtery, Walsh, first past the post, cgp, etc, etc, plus they all come in vr, nvr, maths, English. It would cost a fortune to buy them all. Do you have any advice how to prioritise, which ones are more important, which ones could be left out. Or is it best to close your eyes and buy everything to expose your child to variety of materials.
3. I also came across the ISEB past papers and alpha series. Are they relevant for cem ?

My dd will be attempting for redbridge exams and latymer in Enfield. Because there is cem exam there from what I understand it s best to prepare in all areas that is vr, nvr, maths, English (since voab and comprehension are a part of vr ).
Any advice will e greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone has any books/materials for sale, let me ow pls. I have some, but still a way more to be purchased.
LoveIsBeautiful
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:43 pm

Re: Which books to buy

Post by LoveIsBeautiful »

I would also like to know the answer to this! We are preparing for the Eton pre exam early next year (2014 Autumn) and have been told by an insider contact to get hold of the 'IQ practice test books from Smiths'

whatever those are?? There are zillions of books. Apparently Durham University create the Eton test and a company called GL provide similar books? Anyone know??

I can tell you that we have bought the Bond 11 + practice papers (which are a killer - get the 10 + first if you are not yet 10 like us!) and they are very good but apparently not as hard as the Eton test.

Before I get loads of abuse for applying to Eton it wasn't my idea, but his father (my ex) went there and various ancestors and my son really wants to go there so as to feel that he belongs inside his father's family. It was rather foisted upon me. I went along against my prejudices and was impressed. What can I say? It's a great education and a very well run school. Luckily I'm not paying. If he goes we'll try and improve matters from the inside ;) Anyway, having tried the 11 + practice paper I'm not feeling confident.
Reh
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:27 am

Re: Which books to buy

Post by Reh »

Nefertete, you mentioned you are preparing for Redbridge (same here) Are you aware that they have moved to CEM too. Hence the prep for both latymer and redbridge should be the same...key areas being vocab, comprehension, cloze, maths and nvr. The traditional vr books probably aren't that relevant.
Joyce
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2014 1:01 pm

Re: Which books to buy

Post by Joyce »

Hi Senior members,

I am looking to buy some books or online practice metrials for Latymer, DAO and HBS. Can you please suggest the books(English, Maths,VR and NVR) or online pactice papers which are the closest to thier exams. I am preparing for 2014 exams.

Thanks in Advance
Joyce
nefertete
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2014 2:18 pm

Re: Which books to buy

Post by nefertete »

Does it mean that vr in cem exams is completely different than the old vr from nefr? I though they are some similarities and hence doing traditional vr might help, or at least expand the vocabulary.
Reh
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:27 am

Re: Which books to buy

Post by Reh »

From what I have read and understood, the vocab is def important eg synonyms and antonym and generally too for comprehension cloze etc. The traditional vr types are not really required.
2Girlsmum
Posts: 1034
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:41 pm

Re: Which books to buy

Post by 2Girlsmum »

DD2 sat GL Assessment VR (Nfer doesn't write papers anymore) and also CEM at Latymer last September, which I didn't have time to properly prepare her for as it was her 2nd choice and she resisted working until last summer. She scored 141 standardised in her GL VR paper at St Michael's, and only 118.3 standardised the next day at Latymer. If you are not doing GL don't waste your time on it. If you are doing CEM don't waste your time on Bond. Teach up to mid Y6 Maths with comprehension style tests(free on Habs Boys) and old Latymer Maths papers. Teach Vocabulary. work through some hard NVR like GL and IPS. Buy the CEM books and work through them. Look at Birmingham and Warwickshire forums as they have had the test for years. Good luck!
Reh
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:27 am

Re: Which books to buy

Post by Reh »

2girlsmum, for the latymer exam is it VR 50%, Maths 25%, NVR 25%.

Does your child recollect any words that came up in the paper or any maths type questions.
2Girlsmum
Posts: 1034
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:41 pm

Re: Which books to buy

Post by 2Girlsmum »

Look at the threads about it last year. It was VR 112 questions, NVR 41 questions and Numerical reasoning 44 questions last year, though that could change slightly. They are individually age standardised so all have equal value as the standardised scores are all added together then divided by 3.
Post Reply
11 Plus Platform - Online Practice Makes Perfect - Try Now