Preparing my nephew for 11+ exams
Discussion
Hi Folks
My nephew who is 8 years old is quite bright academically. I am thinking of getting him to sit the 11 plus exam.
Is it possible that I can teach him the relevant topics by buying relevant text books and using resources which are available online? Or do you think I should get a private tutor to teach him?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
My nephew who is 8 years old is quite bright academically. I am thinking of getting him to sit the 11 plus exam.
Is it possible that I can teach him the relevant topics by buying relevant text books and using resources which are available online? Or do you think I should get a private tutor to teach him?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Went through this with our daughter last year. We bought lots of papers, did lots of practice at home. She is also bright (highest ever SATS scores for year 2 that the school has ever seen), but only passed by a few points.
Without doubt, a tutor will fine tune the skills and improve the score.
There'll be girls at the same school who were heavily coached, and it's well known they flunk as students within the school
Without doubt, a tutor will fine tune the skills and improve the score.
There'll be girls at the same school who were heavily coached, and it's well known they flunk as students within the school
There was a chunky thread on this recently - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Get some practice papers and then:
1. Slow down and relax - they panic and rush
2. Read and read and read the questions again - they miss things
3. Explain everything - they don't appreciate stating the bleeding obvious
4. Do ALL of the above again and again, as they'l still rush to finish, miss things and then not realise why they have to explain everything.
1. Slow down and relax - they panic and rush
2. Read and read and read the questions again - they miss things
3. Explain everything - they don't appreciate stating the bleeding obvious
4. Do ALL of the above again and again, as they'l still rush to finish, miss things and then not realise why they have to explain everything.
Brainpox said:
The pass mark is quite attainable if you are good at problem solving so I think if you need private tuition to pass them you don't want to be going to a grammar school.
Our local one passes around 24-25% of those who take the exams. They will let anyone take it whether their school think they will pass or otherwise.The Grammar schools apparently had a sizable proportion of the tutored pupils leave, due to not keeping up with the work that they have tried to make the, "tutor-proof".
Right now I should be marking the 91 papers I have sitting on my kitchen table. I have done two.
My advice echoes the above: past papers. But try to get them marked. I don’t think a little one-to one tutoring is a bad thing for any child, personally.
Best of luck whatever the decision. I do feel sympathy for the kids taking them.
My advice echoes the above: past papers. But try to get them marked. I don’t think a little one-to one tutoring is a bad thing for any child, personally.
Best of luck whatever the decision. I do feel sympathy for the kids taking them.
OP - there are a lot of good websites on the internet (which worked well for my kids). I think they really help if you haven’t got the time to sit with them. As long as they understand the basic principles it comes down to practising questions.
IIRC I used 3 different websites and they gave 6-12 months access for about £40 ea.
IIRC I used 3 different websites and they gave 6-12 months access for about £40 ea.
If the child is bright enough and in the 'right' way for grammar they will be able to pass the exams without extra tuition. However, doing a good few practise papers will be beneficial as it will help them understand the style and format of the tests beforehand.
I'm not sure what more tutoring can achieve given the style of papers, well certainly the ones my kids took.
'Forcing' a child to go to grammar when it's not right for them is a mistake , the child will not be happy.
I'm not sure what more tutoring can achieve given the style of papers, well certainly the ones my kids took.
'Forcing' a child to go to grammar when it's not right for them is a mistake , the child will not be happy.
My lads passed with out special coaching or tutoring
But neither went to grammar school
1st was a low pass and we decided best to be top class at a good school rather than bottom set at a grammar
2nd did not like the grammar when on a visit so went in top set to a state school, not the same one as his brother
Know of a lad same age as my youngest who scrapped a pass in bottom set and hates the grammar school
But neither went to grammar school
1st was a low pass and we decided best to be top class at a good school rather than bottom set at a grammar
2nd did not like the grammar when on a visit so went in top set to a state school, not the same one as his brother
Know of a lad same age as my youngest who scrapped a pass in bottom set and hates the grammar school
This morning our daughter just received confirmation that she passed her 11+ that she took a week or so ago; she needed to pass it in order to get offered a place in the Senior School of the Junior School she already attends.
It was quite a bit of work of ours and hers to get to the point where she was confident enough and capable enough for her to be able to walk in and out smiling from the exam.
We got by with 11+ books on English, Maths and Verbal and non-verbal reasoning that you can buy from Waterstones, starting off with a half hour session once a week back in September and working up to two half hour sessions a day over the Christmas break (we're not pushy parents - we gave her Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Eve off) and up to the exam day.
The specific issues our daughter faced were initially speed issues on the English and exam technique on the Maths and Reasoning; we overcame speed issues by gradually encouraging and increasing her speed and better time-keeping out on the English (she needed to stop answering the Comprehension questions after 30 minutes to ensure she had 30 minutes for the creative writing) and by helping her understand to skip the hard and time consuming questions on the Maths and Reasoning to pick up the easy marks and go back to the other questions later if she had time.
She understood the weight and implications of the exam result but I'd like to think our slow and steady start from September really helped her avoid sleepless nights and too many anxieties that I understand many children suffer during their preparations.
The books contain marking schemes to ensure you can accurately assess how the tests/exams are going, and by starting early enough you can identify any issues and hopefully address or mitigate them.
It was quite a bit of work of ours and hers to get to the point where she was confident enough and capable enough for her to be able to walk in and out smiling from the exam.
We got by with 11+ books on English, Maths and Verbal and non-verbal reasoning that you can buy from Waterstones, starting off with a half hour session once a week back in September and working up to two half hour sessions a day over the Christmas break (we're not pushy parents - we gave her Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Eve off) and up to the exam day.
The specific issues our daughter faced were initially speed issues on the English and exam technique on the Maths and Reasoning; we overcame speed issues by gradually encouraging and increasing her speed and better time-keeping out on the English (she needed to stop answering the Comprehension questions after 30 minutes to ensure she had 30 minutes for the creative writing) and by helping her understand to skip the hard and time consuming questions on the Maths and Reasoning to pick up the easy marks and go back to the other questions later if she had time.
She understood the weight and implications of the exam result but I'd like to think our slow and steady start from September really helped her avoid sleepless nights and too many anxieties that I understand many children suffer during their preparations.
The books contain marking schemes to ensure you can accurately assess how the tests/exams are going, and by starting early enough you can identify any issues and hopefully address or mitigate them.
Admittedly I’ve led a sheltered life but are “Rogue Uncles forcing their nephews to undertake the 11+ against the will of their parents” a common thing now? 
My guess is Uncle knows nephew will be sitting 11+ and wants info that he will share with the parents. It could be that parents don’t have the time, or aren’t clued up about how competitive the field is for grammar school places, or umpteen other reasons.... why do people always assume the worst?
My guess is Uncle knows nephew will be sitting 11+ and wants info that he will share with the parents. It could be that parents don’t have the time, or aren’t clued up about how competitive the field is for grammar school places, or umpteen other reasons.... why do people always assume the worst?
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