The 11 Plus is an entrance exam used by grammar schools and select independent schools across the country to assess the academic potential of pupils in year 6 before they enter secondary education. 

For state grammar school applicants, the 11 Plus exam is typically sat early in the autumn term and independent school exams are usually sat between October and January of year 6.

The 11 Plus exam is not standardised, so schools across the nation will test in different ways and will in turn have different pass rates, however most exams tend to assess the following:

• Numerical reasoning – to assess a student’s mathematics capabilities
• Non-verbal reasoning (NVR) –  to test a pupil’s ability to analyse visual information, like shapes, pictures or diagrams to solve problems.
• Verbal reasoning – uses written passages to measure a student’s understanding of language and ability to form reason and logical answers.
• English – assesses comprehension and ability to use correct grammar, punctuation and spelling through a creative writing task.

Some independent schools, such as Harrow, Eton College and Westminster School, also have their own standardised 11 Plus assessment in place designed to measure a student’s ability and attainment. This is called the Independent Schools Examinations Board (ISEB) Common Pre-Test and results determine whether a student will then be invited to sit the Common Entrance for that specific school in Year 8. 

There is no specific assessment date for the ISEB but it is typically sat in year 6 or year 7 and will be run by the child’s school or at home. 

How To Prepare Your Child For The 11 Plus Exam

As every school has its own assessment criteria and pass rate, it can be worth checking with prospective schools in advance of sitting the exam to best understand timelines and any specific skills that pupils will be assessed on.

Every child is different and will learn at their own pace but (if feasible) we recommend starting exam prep 12-months prior to the 11 Plus. Some skills, like verbal-reasoning, may be unfamiliar to children, whereas other skills they will already have a firm grasp on but may be thrown by the exam format so it’s good to start preparing as early as possible.

Some schools may offer support for 11 Plus exam preparation from Year 5 but as the 11 Plus is not mandatory and some families opt out of their child sitting the exam, this does not apply to all schools, so it falls to parents to help their children prepare in their own time.

Fortunately, there are a number of excellent resources and tools available to help equip children with the skills and confidence they need to excel in their 11 Plus exams.

Practice Papers

One of the most common and easily-accessible resources available is 11 Plus practice papers. These can be bought easily online and from select stores like Waterstones and WH Smiths and allow your children to familiarise themselves with the style of questions they’ll see in the real exam.  

A bonus of using practice papers is that you can replicate a timed exam environment at home and use the results to gauge whether your child has any areas for improvement and if they’re able to get the results needed for entry to your preferred grammar or independent school. Links to practice papers can be found in our useful resources section at the end of this post.

Engaging an 11 Plus Tutor

At Hampstead and Frognal Tutors, we want to make senior school applications as simple and stress-free as possible. Our team of expert tutors have guided hundreds of families through the 11 Plus exam process and we know better than anyone that each student is unique. While some will benefit from a few intensive 11 Plus sessions, some may require longer-term support. 

Our tutors will help identify your child’s individual learning style and implement a bespoke programme of tuition to equip them not only with the skills they need but also with confidence in an exam environment so they are mentally prepared and can excel when the time comes. 

Reading at home

Whether or not a child is sitting the 11 Plus exam, reading at home is always encouraged to help with literacy skills and helping develop a child’s vocabulary. Reading regularly in the lead up to the 11 Plus exam can help strengthen the skills they need for the English element of the test in a more relaxed and engaging format than typical exam preparation.

Encourage writing at home

The 11 Plus exam will assess a child’s grammar, vocabulary and spelling so practising with creative writing tasks at home can be helpful. This could be something as simple as encouraging them to write a short story but provides an opportunity for children to practise the skills needed for the exam and inspire their creativity.

Managing Exam Anxiety

All the preparation in the world can be futile if children aren’t prepared mentally and emotionally for an exam environment as nerves, stress and anxiety can play a huge role in exam performance.

There are, however, plenty of techniques to help parents understand the causes, signs and coping techniques to help manage 11 plus exam anxiety and better a child’s chances of success when they sit their 11 Plus exam. 

Many parents have a clear vision in mind when it comes to their child’s secondary education, meaning both parents and children worry about the 11 Plus exam but, with the help of one of our specialised 11 Plus tutors, it really needn’t be a concern. 

For us it’s important to take the time to understand families and parents’ ambitions for their children. Contact us for more information and our 11 Plus tutors will work with you to establish what is required to raise your child’s academic attainment so we can provide you with the best tuition services and advice to support and invest in your children’s future.

Useful resources

• 11 Plus Exam practise papers
• Find out more about applying for secondary school and the assessment criteria.

The post The Tutor’s Guide To Preparing for the 11 Plus Exam appeared first on Hampstead and Frognal Tutors.

Many young people will have spent the past year, if not longer, preparing for the upcoming 11 Plus exams meaning children, tutors and parents alike are more than au fait with the likes of verbal reasoning practice papers. The summer holidays mark the “home stretch” of revision as well as a much-needed period of relaxation before the exams and the start of a new school year but for some, the sense of exam anxiety will linger.

Nerves, stress and anxiety can play a huge role in exam performance, meaning all the preparation in the world can be futile if children aren’t prepared mentally and emotionally for an exam environment. In this post we aim to help you understand the causes, signs and coping techniques to help ease your child’s nerves and better their chances of success when they sit their 11 Plus.

So What Triggers 11 Plus Exam Anxiety?

Exam or test anxiety is quite a common form of stress that occurs before, during and sometimes after exams. It is commonly triggered by:

• A feeling of unpreparedness in the lead up to exams
• Excess pressure to succeed or fear of disappointing others – either stemming from self-placed pressure or from family and teachers
• A feeling of inadequacy 

It can also be triggered by less obvious factors, like the manifestation of emotions following a big life transition. Whatever the reason, exam anxiety can take its toll mentally, emotionally and physically, which doesn’t put young people in good stead for a high-pressure exam environment. Spotting and managing stress can be crucial to your child’s success.

Tell Tale Signs That Your Child May Be Struggling With Exam Anxiety

You know your child better than anyone so will likely be able to spot if their behaviour is different than normal and establish whether something may be playing on their mind, like 11 plus exam anxiety. But a few tell tale signs to look out for include:

• A short temper or notably more irritable than usual
• Uncharacteristically quiet or withdrawn
• Skin breakouts or rashes
• A shift in appetite – either comfort eating or a sudden disinterest in food
• Nail biting or teeth grinding
• Difficulty sleeping
• Frequent use of negative language like ‘stupid’ or ‘rubbish’ to refer to themselves, eluding to a feeling of inadequacy
• Actively avoiding school

How can Parents Help Manage The Stress and Prepare Children For An Exam Environment?

Building up the knowledge and skills a child needs to confidently sit the 11 Plus takes time but implementing the following techniques can be done quickly and easily to help them manage exam stress, nervousness and anxiety, and put them in good stead for September. 

In The Lead Up to the 11 Plus Exam

Promote healthy study habits

We all want the best for our children so there can be a tendency among parents to overdo it with practice papers and excess revision, which only feeds into the stress and pressure to do well. Simple changes like the below will help promote healthy study and balance, setting your child up for success.

Take regular breaks

Ensure there are regular opportunities for breaks from study to give them time to reset an unwind in between papers.

Encourage exercise

This could be anything from a short walk outdoors to a very active sport like tennis but encouraging exercise can help boost energy levels, clear the mind and alleviate stress. Group activities that provide an opportunity to interact with others are particularly positive during a stressful period. 

Adapt to your child’s learning style

Some children find it easier to study with background music on or in an environment with natural background noise, where others prefer silence. Either way, remember to be flexible to your child’s individual learning style.

Keep practising

You’ll likely have been doing practice papers with your child for a while now but one additional measure to consider is giving your child the opportunity to do practice papers in a timed and silent environment. That way, your child won’t be unfamiliar with exam conditions and subject to additional stress when the 11 Plus comes around.

Positive reinforcement

This is a tip that should carry throughout the exam process. Children experiencing exam anxiety are more likely to manage their stress if they feel supported by parents, tutors and teachers.

Express yourself

Encourage your child to talk openly about how they’re feeling in the lead up to the 11 Plus. Expressing their feelings can help them to rationalise their nerves and gives you the opportunity to tackle matters head on and offer advice to help minimise their anxiety. If they find it difficult to express themselves verbally, encouraging them to write down a couple of lines about their concerns, or draw something that visualises their feelings can help as a first step.

Meditate

There are a lot of useful resources online that explain the best breathing techniques to self-soothe and calm nerves during stressful periods. Practising these with your child in the lead up to exams can be hugely beneficial as they can then implement these techniques and manage stress if nerves kick in in a test environment.

On 11 Plus Exam Day

On the day of the 11 Plus exam, children may need to venture outside of their beloved Coco Pops and have a more balanced breakfast that will sustain them throughout the exam. There’s not much that can be done by way of revision on the journey to school but there are lots of opportunities to give your child positive reminders that will help ease their nerves:

Remind children of their strengths

There’s no use in a child dwelling on the areas they feel less confident but pointing out the areas they excel in may help give them a confidence boost going into the exam.

Give a good luck charm

If possible, give your child a small good luck charm to take into their exam with them. Although there may not be a science behind good luck charms, having a token of good luck can help to increase confidence and self-belief during an exam. It also acts as a reminder that you’re thinking of them which is equally important.

Show your pride

It may sound obvious but remind your child that you’re proud of them regardless of how the test goes. This may sound obvious but as parents we often get caught up in wanting our children to do well that this simple step gets forgotten and the great weight of high expectations can often play a role mentally and affect exam performance. Helping to lift some of that pressure will in turn help alleviate 11 plus exam anxiety.

Use remaining time wisely

Remind children to re-read questions and answers if they have time to spare at the end.

A helpful reminder

Remind children that everyone finishes at different times but finishing slower doesn’t translate to poor performance.

After The 11 Plus Exam Is Done

Once the exam is over, the wait for results begins and that in itself can be just as nerve wracking. If your child is upset after the exam, take the opportunity to talk through the areas they feel they may have gone wrong so you can talk them through how to tackle future exams. This also allows you to identify areas where they might need the support of a tutor in future.

The end of the last exam is also a good time to remind your children and yourselves that dwelling on performance won’t help matters and if things haven’t gone to plan, that doesn’t mean the end of the line. 

The biggest thing you can do to relax your child(ren) after their last exam is to praise them for having done their best (because ultimately that’s the most important thing) and try to mark the end of the exams as a celebration to end this period on a positive note.

Useful resources:

Meditation techniques to self-calm during exams

Suggested breakfasts for exam day

The post Preparing Children For Their 11 Plus And Managing Exam Anxiety appeared first on Hampstead and Frognal Tutors.

The world of 11+ entrance exams can seem an intimidating one. When should children start preparing for the assessments? Do they need tutors, or can parents provide enough support by themselves? Do students sit standardised tests, or does each school assess pupils in a different way?

This blog post seeks to answer some of your questions and to show that entrance exams need not be as intimidating as they seem.

When should I start preparing my child?

Hampstead and Frognal Tutors recommends that children start to prepare for 11+ examinations in either Year 4 or Year 5. This gives ample time to familiarise them with the different assessments they will face and for children to develop the skills they need to succeed.

Much depends, however, on how quickly your child picks up new things. You don’t want them to be bored rigid with verbal reasoning before their ninth birthday. It is helpful to identify their strengths and weaknesses early on, therefore, and to home in on possible problem areas. Numerical reasoning, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, comprehension and creative writing are frequently tested at 11+ level.

It is a good idea to step up your child’s revision as the exam gets closer. If you do decide to hire a tutor, it is often beneficial to increase the amount of one-to-one tuition your child receives in the weeks coming up to an exam.

Do I need to hire a tutor?

Parents can make a valuable contribution to their child’s learning. If you have the time and knowledge to tutor your child, you may not need to bring in professional help. There are many parents who manage successfully without a tutor, particularly if both parents are not working full-time. However, if you are often at work, it can be difficult to find the time and energy to commence extra schooling.

There are many other reasons why private tuition is useful. If English is not your first language, helping your child with verbal reasoning, comprehension and creative writing can be daunting. An 11+ English tutor can help in ways that you feel you can’t. Similarly, if you are not a confident mathematician, you might find it difficult to prepare your child for numerical reasoning tests.

You may also like use a specialist tutor who, in the past, has prepared students for the same schools that you have applied to. These tutors will be familiar with the content of the various 11+ exams and know how to prepare students for the different assessments.

Online tuition can also be a fantastic and convenient resource. If you live abroad — or simply live outside of London — an online tutor can boost your child’s confidence and improve their exam performance.

What sort of tests should I prepare my child for?

There is no standardised 11+ exam that all school children sit. Instead, different schools assess children in different ways. Here is a selection of the admissions procedures adopted by London independent schools and English grammar schools:

The 11+ London Consortium (formerly known as the North London Girls’ Consortium).

This is a group of twelve independent girls’ schools in North London who collectively manage their admissions procedure. Parents typically apply for places at the same schools. The consortium seeks to make the process less arduous and more consistent across the board.

Assessment process:

• • A 70 minute cognitive ability test which is mainly multiple choice. This test incorporates mathematics, verbal and non-verbal questions.
  • A common reference form providing detailed commentary on a candidate’s academic performance.
  • An interview assessing ‘skill, aptitude and intellectual acuity’. The interviews are unique to each senior school.

• Girls sit the exam in the January of Year 6.

The schools which form the consortium are: Channing School, Francis Holland School (NW1), Francis Holland School (SW1), Godolphin and Latymer School, More House School, Northwood College, Notting Hill and Ealing School, Queen’s College London, Queen’s Gate School, South Hampstead High School, St. Helen’s School London, St. James Senior Girls’ School.

City of London School for Girls

City of London School for girls is no longer a member of the 11+ London Consortium. The school admissions process now puts greater emphasis on a child’s writing ability.

Admissions process:

• • There are no verbal or non-verbal reasoning papers.There is one Maths paper (1 hour and 15 minutes long) and one English paper (1 hour and 20 minutes long). In the English paper there are three sections — one reading and two writing.

• Girls sit the entrance exam in Year 6, at the beginning of January.

ISEB Common Pre-Test Schools

The ISEB Common Pre-Test is a standardised, age-adaptive test designed to measure a student’s ability and attainment. It is an online assessment consisting of multiple-choice questions in English, Mathematics, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. It takes 2 and a half hours to complete, however the sections can be completed separately. The tests can be taken either at home or at school.

A number of independent schools use this test to assess students before inviting them to take school-specific entrance exams at the age of thirteen.

Schools that use the ISEB Common Pre-Test include: Harrow, Eton College, Westminster School, Radley College, St Paul’s School, Brighton College, Bedford School.

The tests are normally taken in Year 6 or Year 7.

State Grammar Schools

There is no standardised, nation-wide test for entry into state grammar schools. Tests are set locally, either by individual schools or by consortiums of schools. If you have set your heart on a particular grammar school, therefore, it is advisable to check exactly what the exam covers.

For Henrietta Barnett School in Hampstead, for instance, there are two rounds of assessment. The first round involves verbal and numerical reasoning, whilst the second round involves an English and Mathematics test.

School admissions procedures are something of a maze. However, with the right information and support, it isn’t difficult to find the right path. Good luck!

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