Hello. My son is hoping to the 11+ test in Sep 2016. I am not going down the route of a tutor and instead i am trying to help my son as much as i can at home.

My son has been working on the test on the Bofa website. I was just wondering if anyone else has used Bofa? My son likes the format as he knows how well he has done straight after completing the test. However i am just wondering how these tests compare to the real 11+ ones. He will have to sit the GL tests in maths, english and VR.

I will also get the past papers but i didn't want to do it too early.

Has anyone else using Bofa or used it in the past? I wonder if the scores are a true reflection of how well he could do on the actual paper?

Thanks!

Sorry haven't heard of Bofa. We mostly home tutored with two mock tests to help with technique and identifying weaknesses. Key is a child who wants to do it and knowing what the tests are where you are. This site helps a lot there so take a look at the relevant region thread. GL in some regions can be exceptionally tight on time.

Whilst test papers and online sites are helpful you need to use them to identify any weaknesses and then focus outside of a test paper on those skills in other ways.


How well you need to do also depends on whether you just need a pass or a superselective score. None of the tests that DD sat were computer ones so good old pen and paper and getting used to juggling question paper, working out paper and answer sheet are important. I have heard nightmares where children get out of sync between question and answer paper and it can have catastrophic results.

Good luck to your son.

I subscribed to Bofa for a couple of months before DS took the 11+. He wasn't interested in doing paper based practice but would happily sit in front of the computer for 20 mins. Whether it taught him anything, who knows (and that wasn't the aim), but it helped keep his brain ticking over during the summer holidays

JD

Thank you for your replies.

I am mainly using Bofa to identify weaknesses & get my son used to the speed required.

My son has also been doing the bond books as i am trying to vary things a bit.

I haven't got any of the GL papers yet, as i didn't want to get him doing them too early. However from your experience when would be best to start?

I'm not sure what superselective means. We only have one grammar school in our area & the top marks in catchment get in. Some do get in out of catchment. But we are in catchment so hopefully if he passes he should get in. But passing is another thing!

My son is keen to do it, which is good but the alternative school is actually very good if he doesn't pass. But i want to give him the best opportunity i can without a tutor.

That sounds like a good plan regarding ysing Bofa over the summer as i can see how that would help.

Thanks again!

Superselective describes a grammar that selects on top scores. Some grammars select based on a pass (so scores can vary hugely) and then oversubscription criteria like distance. Some regions like Kent have both superselectives and regular grammars. Areas like Bromley have just superselectives.

I started with familiarisation at start of Y5, but only little bits. We spent the most time only in the summer holidays prior to the tests with half an hour a day five days a week. DD already had good vocab and maths so it wasn't a big hill to climb so depends where you are starting from. In my area many sit three tests, Kent, Bromley and Bexley - all are quite different. I bought the GL papers and DD did one of them and was throughly unimpressed with what it taught her so we reverted to just doing our fun half hour bursts so it depends on what works for you. Every child is different. DH is good at maths and found all sorts of opportunities to challenge her including tasks like working out how much it costs us to print a page in black and white ink, cost in fuel to visit a cousin, how long I have to work to pay to pay for a specific object etc etc.

From what you have said i think ours must be a superselective then - they do select the top scores, it isn't just based on a pass.

My plan was to wait until the summer to do the practice tests and just work on areas which need improvement until then. That's a good idea about throwing maths scrnarios into everyday life. I do this a bit, but i may try a bit more. I have heard that the maths paper includes things which are not covered in year 5 so i think i may need to make maths the priority for a bit.

DD didn't find there was anything she hadn't covered but some in her class who were in the same top set said there were things that they hadn't covered. I can't quite square how this can be except DD says that the ones who struggled (despite being in top set) were good at what they did at the time but then quickly forgot things they'd done the previous term so if recall is an issue then revision of core concepts might be in order. We also didn't do a thing once DD went back to school in September as we felt if she didn't know it by then it was too late to learn anything by then. It also gave her a sense of calm and confidence rather than last minute panic.

The Indie I work at advise the parents to use BOFA, even subscribe to it for each pupil, so it can be used by the pupils to practise for 11+. The exam recently changed from pure paper to computerised exam in maths, comprehension/VR and NVR with a single creative writing paper.

I am not sure how close it relates to CEM or GL though.