Your Essential Guide to the 11+ Exam 3
The 11+ exam: an introduction The 11+ is a selective entrance examination for secondary school, used in those areas of the UK which still have grammar schools, and also by selective independent schools across the country. It is taken towards the end of Year 5 or the beginning of Year 6 at primary school and is used to identify the most academicallyable children. The content of the 11+ exam varies between different areas of the country, but generally it will focus on a combination of the following four subjects: English Maths Verbal reasoning Non-verbal reasoning/spatial awareness There are two main exam boards for the 11+ exam: GL Assessment previously known as NFER, GL Assessment develop and administer 11+ exams in the majority of grammar schools in the UK. CEM developed by the Centre for Evaluation & Monitoring at Durham University. Although they cover broadly the same topics there are differences to the way the GL and CEM 11+ exams work. To help you prepare your child for the 11+, we ve summarised the key differences between GL and CEM. Where is the 11+ taken? Correct at time of printing: CEM regions: Berkshire, Bexley, Birmingham, Buckinghamshire, Devon, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wirral, Wolverhampton GL regions: Dorset, Kent, Lancashire & Cumbria, Lincolnshire, Medway, Northern Ireland, Wiltshire GL and CEM regions: Devon, Essex, Hertfordshire, Trafford, Yorkshire Which subjects are covered? GL: English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning/spatial awareness (schools can choose any combination of these to best suit their selection policy) CEM: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and numerical reasoning ( verbal reasoning encompasses many of the skills tested in the GL English exam, including comprehension. Numerical reasoning includes the core maths skills needed for the GL exam.) Which skills will be tested? In both GL and CEM 11+ tests, there is a strong emphasis on English and maths core skills. For English, this will include grammar, punctuation and spelling, but particularly reading comprehension and vocabulary. For maths, strong arithmetic skills and the ability to apply mathematical learning to problem solving and data manipulation. For tests that include non-verbal reasoning/spatial awareness, logical skills will be sought, perhaps testing the ability to crack codes, visualise 3D shapes, etc. Top tip Applying to a grammar school: a brief timeline Year 4: Ideally, you ll decide in this school year if you want your child to attend a grammar school. This will give you plenty of time to research schools and to start developing your child s core skills in English and maths. Beginning of Year 5: Visit potential schools with your child and get a feel for if they re the right environment. Year 5: September: Create a 12-month preparation plan to get your child ready for the 11+ exam (see p.4 of this guide). Year 6: September/October: Most 11+ exams are taken. Year 6: October: 11+ exam results are issued before you will need to complete your Common Application Form the application form used to apply for state secondary schools. If your child has passed the 11+ exam for your chosen grammar schools, you can now list them in order of preference on your Common Application Form. 2 Your Essential Guide to the 11+ Exam
Preparing for the 11+ exam The format of your child s 11+ exam depends very much on where you live and what schools you are applying to, so the first thing you must do when preparing your child for the 11+ is find out exactly what exams your child will be taking. The best way to do this is to contact your favoured grammar schools directly and ask them about their admissions process. Once you know more about the exams your child will be sitting, you can start creating a preparation plan for your child. Here is a suggested 12-month preparation plan based on one created by 11+ tutor, Michellejoy Hughes: Months 1-3: Decide which schools you re applying to and research what the 11+ exam for those schools consists of. Speak to your child s teacher and find out their results in any CATs/PIEs/PIMs or other tests that they may have taken. Ask whether they think passing the 11+ is achieveable for your child. Use the Bond Placement Test to assess your child s strengths and weaknesses. (You can download a free copy of the Bond Placement test from the Bond 11+ website: www.bond11plus.co.uk/free-resources). Make notes of any problematic areas and create a learning plan weighted towards these areas. Start working through the Bond Assessment Papers for your child s age group. Use the Bond series to support any unknown topics or areas your child is struggling with. Work with your child to create a system of rewards and incentives to keep them motivated throughout the year. Your Essential Guide to the 11+ Exam 3
Months 4-6: Continue to work through the Bond Assessment Papers for your child s age group. Strengthen problem areas with spelling lists, reading, Bond puzzle books, etc. Based on how your child is progressing, revise your learning plan. Months 7-9: Continue to work through the Bond Assessment Papers. Gradually introduce strict exam timings. Based on how your child is progressing, revise your learning plan. Months 10-12: Revise work in bite-sized chunks for daily revision, or use the Bond 10 Minute Test series to achieve this. Tighten exam timings to allow additional time for checking work. Start using Bond 11+ test papers to prepare for the actual exam and the exam format. Do a series of mock exams at home to get your child used to working in exam conditions. Bond Assessment Papers for GL and CEM exam boards Bond Assessment Papers 10-11+ years (Subjects available: English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-verbal Reasoning) Price: Bond Assessment Papers for CEM 10 11 years (Subjects available: English & Verbal Reasoning and Maths & Non-verbal Reasoning) Price: 4 Your Essential Guide to the 11+ Exam
Developing exam skills For many children, the 11+ exam is their first experience of a formal exam under timed conditions, so it s really important that you spend time developing your child s exam skills before the actual exam. Timing Time management plays a big part when it comes to succeeding at the 11+. If a child works too slowly during the exam, they may end up running out of time and not completing the test. Likewise, if a child rushes they could end up making careless mistakes that will lose them vital marks. Here are some top tips to improve your child s time management: 1. Beat the buzzer first and foremost, if your child is still struggling to complete practice papers in the recommended time (45 minutes for most Bond test papers) start using a kitchen timer and encourage them to beat the buzzer and complete the test before the buzzer goes off. Perhaps start on shorter, ten minute tests to build their confidence, then progress up to longer tests. 2. Read ahead particularly if your child is doing the CEM 11+ exam (where there are typically more questions to answer than can be easily completed in allocated time), it s a good idea to get your child into the habit of spending a few minutes at the start of the test going through the paper and highlighting the questions that they think they will struggle with. They should then go back to the start of the test paper, work through all the questions they re confident with, then move on to the highlighted questions. This means they won t spend too long on questions they re struggling with, and miss answering the questions they can do. 3. It s ok to skip many children struggle to complete tests in the allocated time because they spend too long trying to answer questions they re stuck on. Your child should understand that it s ok to skip a question they have difficulty with, they can always come back to it at the end if they have time. 4. Time to check when you re doing practice tests at home, try to find time for your child to get into the habit of finishing with 5 minutes to spare in order to check their answers. 5. Find the clock get your child into the routine of finding the clock when practicing at home so that they do this as soon as they enter the exam room. Exam habits Completing practice tests and mock exams at home not only improves subject knowledge and time management skills, it also gives your child the opportunity to develop good exam habits, which will help them cope with the actual test environment. 1. Exam routine encourage your child to establish a routine so that they develop good habits ahead of the real exam. Get them used to gathering together a sharp pencil and eraser, having a drink of water and going to the toilet before they do a mock exam at home. 2. Dealing with distractions some children struggle when they go into an 11+ exam room because it s a different environment than they re used to. Although the exam room will be quiet, for children who are used to practising in total silence, noises such as coughs and sneezes or squeaking chairs can be really off-putting. A good way of combatting this at home is to vary the places where your child does their practice tests, so that they don t start to feel that things need to be just so before completing a test. A bit of background noise or walking past whilst they re practising will also help them get used to any small distractions that may occur in the actual exam. Bond 11+ Test Papers for GL and CEM exam boards Bond 11+ Test Papers Price: Bond 11+ CEM Test Papers Price: Your Essential Guide to the 11+ Exam 5
Exam day The night before Get everything ready together, pack up everything your child will need for the exam (pencils, eraser, water bottle, inhaler, etc.) and pop it by the front door. Do something active try and get your child to do something physically active the night before to help diffuse any nerves and make sure they re ready for a good night s sleep. Resist the temptation to cram earlier in the day, you might have gone over a final few facts, but now you should find something relaxing to do so that your child gets plenty of rest. Immediately afterwards Do ask how it went whilst you don t want to spend ages doing this, it s a good idea to hear from your child what went well and what questions they found difficult particularly if you have other entrance exams still to come. You ll also want to know if anything disruptive happened in the exam room, e.g. the fire bell went off, or another child was ill, just in case it becomes pertinent in the case of an appeal. Have something fun planned (for both of you!) it might not be for the same day exams do tend to take it out of children but it s good to have something fun to look forward to after all the hard work you ve both put in. On the day Have breakfast make sure your child is up in time to have their normal breakfast. Don t be tempted to change what they normally have for something that s meant to be brain food, the main thing is that they eat something to give them the energy to get through the exam. Check the traffic just in case, and make sure you leave with plenty of time to spare. Exam habits - go through their exam routine with them: remind them to go to the toilet beforehand and find where the clock is when they first enter the exam room. Good luck! As you wish them well, remind them of how much practice they ve done, that they re ready to take the test and that you re confident they will perform to the best of their abilities. 6 Your Essential Guide to the 11+ Exam
Results, applying to secondary schools and appeals The results of most 11+ exams are returned before the end of October, when you must submit your Common Application Form with your list of preferred secondary schools. If your child hasn t passed the 11+ you can now select your school preferences from your local, non-selective secondary schools OR you can still list your preferred grammar schools on your Common Application Form. In this instance you will be required to appeal in March on the grounds of non-qualification and prove that your child s performance in the 11+ exam was not indicative of their academic ability. If your child has passed the 11+ this still doesn t necessarily guarantee them a place at your first-choice grammar school. If your first-choice grammar school is oversubscribed, additional criteria will be used to allocate places, including the distance between the school and your child s home address. Appeals On National Offers Day in March you will be told by letter whether you ve been successful in obtaining a place at your first-choice school. If your application was unsuccessful you should automatically receive details of the appeals procedure. Things to think about before appealing: At the heart of the appeals process is a balancing of the child s needs versus the school s. In a successful parental appeal, the panel will be convinced that it would be more problematic for the child to be denied a place at their preferred school than for the school to take on an additional student. The appeals process can be very time-consuming and emotionally draining. Before deciding to appeal, you should consider: The appeals policy for the school: if a school is oversubscribed, criteria are put in place to select pupils. You will find this information in the school s prospectus. The pass mark: if your child only just made the pass mark, or missed it, you will need to prove that your child s performance in the 11+ exam was not indicative of their academic ability. Why is this particular school right for your child? At the appeal, you will have to prove why this school and not the others on your Common Application Form is right for your child. Your Essential Guide to the 11+ Exam 7
Books and resources for 11+ exam success Bond 11+ Assessment Papers for CEM and GL Assessment Realistic practice questions for the 11+, with practical tips to help you guide 11+ revision. How To Do Guides Understand all the different topics covered by the 11+ exam and learn how your child should answer each question type. English: Assessment Papers: 10-11+ years English: Maths: Assessment Papers: 10-11+ years Maths: Verbal Reasoning: Assessment Papers: 10-11+ years Verbal Reasoning: Non-verbal Reasoning: Assessment Papers: 10-11+ years Non-verbal Reasoning: Bond 11+ Maths and Non-verbal Reasoning Assessment Papers for the CEM 11+ tests: 10-11+ years CEM English/ Verbal Reasoning English and Verbal Reasoning: Assessment Papers for the CEM 11+ tests: 10-11+ years CEM Maths/ Non-Verbal Reasoning Bond 11+ Test Papers for CEM and GL Assessment Realistic 11+ timed test papers, designed for practising under test conditions. Bond Online Unlimited access to thousands of 11+ practice questions, for both GL Assessment and CEM 11+ exams. Each question is auto-marked and accompanied by instant feedback to promote independent learning, whilst progress reports help you monitor your child s progress. Mixed: Standard Test Papers Bond Online Monthly: 5.99 (Subject to a minimum monthly subscription period of 3 months) Annual: 50.00 CEM: Test Papers Parents Guide The essential manual for all parents whose children are about to embark on their 11+ journey. The Parents Guide to the 11+ 12.99 3