How to Prepare Your Child for the 11+ Entrance Exam

This 11+ guide for parents will be fundamental to all parents who are considering sitting their child for the 11+ or know that their child will be sitting the 11+ examination. Whether you are starting your child off early or a little closer to the 11+ examinations, this guide will provide all of the answers that you need. This blog is easy to read and will provide relevant and current information. You will gain so much just from reading this blog. If you then have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, we would be delighted to answer any of your questions (email office@creativemindstutors.com)

In this blog, you will learn about the following: 

• Why parents ask for support and guidance for the 11+

• If private tuition is recommended for the 11+

• Why it’s important to familiarise yourself with the schools to which you will be applying

• My own final comment about the 11+

Why do parents ask for support and guidance for the 11 Plus?

Many parents ask us for support and guidance for the 11+ examinations. Some parents already have experience with the 11+ as some of their other children have already sat and passed examinations and would simply like to know updated information for their child or children who now need to sit the 11+. 

Other parents have no experience with the 11+ examinations and perhaps have only heard more about it through what they are told by their friends and family. A lot of the times this can be incredibly overwhelming because of all of the information shared. It goes without saying that all schools at 11+ have their own processes and when you choose Private Tuition with Creative Minds Tutors, we will guide you as to the processes involved for the schools that you would like your child to sit assessment for. All schools have different requirements and our team of teachers will be able to guide you and support you by providing you with all of the relevant information that you need to know about. 

There are already a lot of guidelines out there for individual schools and of course you can speak to us directly if you would like any further support with particular schools that you will be applying for. 

This guide has been written with the purpose of supporting parents with how to best support their children’s learning at home. These are my own personal opinions and also opinions that I have heard over the years from clients who have already had their children sit these examinations. My intention as I write this is that I would love to provide guidance to someone who may perhaps currently feel lost or overwhelmed with the whole process or perhaps simply would like some further information.

Creative Minds Tutors 11+ Tuition in progress  

Is private tuition recommended for the 11+?

First of all, I do highly recommend private tuition if your child is sitting the 11+ examinations. Being guided by someone who has years of experience with these examinations as well as years of experience within a classroom setting will provide incredible support to both you as a parent and to your child as the student. We have over 15 years’ experience tutoring children for the 11+ with incredible success for all of our students. 

Over the years, I have personally noticed that certain things remain the same and other things do change. Mostly this is so parents don’t know what exactly will come up each year. These schools are looking for children who are able to tackle exams with relative ease and of course it is a numbers game. All schools have their own criteria but the one that we follow is that when doing practice papers, our aim is for our students to achieve at least 80%. If they don’t achieve 80% it is up to us as their educators to fill those gaps. 

This means analysing the papers and seeing areas that individual students need further support with. It then means sending through home learning for the child to work through at home and then going through these in the lessons so as to reinforce what has already been learnt at home. Parents can also contact us throughout the week if they feel that their child needs additional support or if they simply haven’t understood something. It is an ongoing relationship between the tutor, the parents and the student. In this way, we can maximise our efforts and ensure that all of our students are achieving to the highest of their potentials. 

Creative Minds Tutors 11+ Tuition in progress 

Why is it important to familiarise yourself with the 11 plus schools that you are applying to? 

I would advise parents to spend time looking through the school’s websites and familiarising themselves with the schools that they will be applying to. A visit to the school is also highly advised. If you can bring your child with you, even better. Getting the children excited about the schools that they may eventually go to, will motivate the children with their studying, especially when things get tough. I have taught so many students who had such a strong desire to attend a particular school that they persevered even when tasks were incredibly challenging. 

They told me things like, ‘It’s okay that I don’t get it now because I am going to study until I do!’ or ‘I am open to getting things wrong so that I can learn more!’. It is also important to know a lot about the schools because at second round (if the school you’re applying for has a second round) the students and even the parents may be asked specifically why they want to attend that school. Of course, you can also speak to your tutor if you have any other questions about a certain school and your tutor will also prepare your child for the second round interviews. 

We will always be more than happy to guide you with the processes. I personally recommend that students start preparing for the 11+ from as early as year 3. We have students who start in year 3 and we have students who start in year 5. Of course, all children are different and unique and will require differing levels of support. However, when children start in year three, this gives us nearly 4 years to prepare for the 11+. There is more time to ensure everything is covered to a very high standard and that students can gain mastery. 

If a child begins in Year 5 but already has significant gaps in their knowledge and understanding, then a vast amount of the lessons will need to be dedicated to this. If a student in year 5 has already mastered most areas of learning, more time can be spent immersed in practice papers and really understanding how to answer questions to maximise the amount of marks that they can eventually get on particular papers. More time can be spent on mastering areas of learning that they have already grasped and understood. 

Creative Minds Tutors 11+ Tuition in progress

Final comment about the 11+ examinations

Finally, and I will end on this very important note. Consistency is key. A little everyday will be far more effective than leaving everything to the last minute. You need to build vocabulary from a young age and really enjoy learning new words and their meanings. If a child has limited vocabulary, this will limit them in their ability of being able to answer all of the questions in all papers. Read consistently every day for 20-30 minutes at a minimum. Write stories once a week. Edit and improve them. Get into the habit of reading those stories out loud to anyone who will  listen! Be proud of your child and their hard work and effort. It will all pay off in the end! I’ve seen it time and time again. 

Written by Maria Mazarese

Creative Minds Tutors Director

For further information about tuition for the 11+, please contact:

office@creativemindstutors.com

07956677783

www.creativemindstutors.com