How to Prepare Your Child for Their 11 Plus Exams

Many parents of children in years 4, 5, and 6 are thinking ahead to secondary school entry for their children. The procedure can be intimidating if you have never been through it before, especially if this is the first time supporting a child through the 11 plus process. At PFS we think it’s important that parents have all the information they need to support themselves and their kids through their formal education. So if you are asking yourself how to prepare your child for their 11 Plus exams, we have everything you might need below.

11 Plus Helpline: 020 4634 9455

What Is the 11 Plus?

The term 11 Plus (sometimes known as a secondary school entrance test) most commonly refers to written exam, or a set of written exams, that children in Year 6 sit to gain entry into grammar schools. Grammar schools, unlike state schools, accept candidates based on a pipeline of certain criteria, the first of which is often an entrance test (or few). A set of grammar schools in the same area are sometimes grouped into what is known as a consortium. This can streamline the admissions process – your child can sit one entrance test and that will count for their admission into any of the grammar schools in the relevant consortium.

Students can revise for the 11 Plus but not every test will assess the same content, and not every school will set the same test. This can seem confusing at first, but there are plenty of resources that can use to decipher where your child’s focus should be. For a general basis, the most common areas of assessment in 11 Plus exams are a combination of maths, English, non-verbal, and verbal reasoning, with the latter two not often included in the national curriculum. You child will sit their 11 Plus exam(s) on a date set by the school/consortium. These are frequently at the weekend, and may not take place at the school in question. You can find the specifics on the relevant school’s website.

Why You Should Prepare for the 11 Plus

As for any exam you are aiming to do well on, preparation is important. Because the 11 Plus is likely to be the first formal exam your child has taken, it might be a very unfamiliar, and therefore unsettling, environment. The more practice they have will help them feel comfortable with the task, and also increase their confidence. This is likely to help their academic performance. Additionally, a lot of the recommended preparation, as we will see below, will work hand-in-hand with their schooling in general. If you and your child are set on grammar school entry, it is likely that there are many more applicants than there are places in each annual cohort. This often makes the 11 Plus an extremely competitive test, and many applicants make the most of thorough preparation with an 11 Plus tutor.

How to Prepare for the 11 Plus

The first step for how to prepare your child for their 11 Plus exams is to find out the format of the 11 Plus tests your child is planning on taking. This depends solely on the schools that you are applying to. You can find this information about 11 Plus schooling and free revision materials online. Once you know which subjects will be assessed, you can begin revision.

For effective revision, it’s important to make use of any resources available to you. Most of the time it is best to get a dedicated pack of resources for the 11 Plus, to save time trying to gather resources from far and wide. We recommend finding an 11 Plus essentials pack which covers the exact content your child will need to be familiar with. This way you won’t waste money on irrelevant aspects for other 11 plus tests that your child will never sit. The best revision packs will be specific to your chosen school or consortium. You can use your full 11 Plus bundle alongside tuition, or utilise the revision guides to work through the content with your child.

Once you have covered the content, it is good practice to complete mock exams in simulated exam conditions. This gives your child some familiarity with the set-up that they will face on exam day, and helps develop good exam technique. Encourage them to stay calm and focused, skip questions to come back to if they are stuck, and that a best guess is better than leaving a question blank – the most common exam boards for the 11 Plus do not employ negative marking, which means candidates are not penalised for a wrong answer. If they are not sure on a question, there is no harm in making an educated guess.

Common Issues with 11 Plus Revision – and How to Beat Them

The most common issue we hear about from parents is the first step – working out which resources their child needs. This can delay the start of prep, and can disadvantage their child’s prospects because early start to preparation is recommended. If you are struggling to work out the format of the relevant 11 Plus test(s) your child needs to sit, or have any other questions about your school’s specific process, there are some great online resources which cover all this and more. Pass 11 Plus has admissions information, free revision materials, and professionally printed school-specific 11 Plus kits. You can search for your school or for the relevant consortium and find out everything you need to know about key dates and helping your child prepare for their exams. 

Other Guidance on How to Prepare Your Child for Their 11 Plus Exams

It can be hard to know how best to help your child, especially if this is both of your first experiences with a formal admissions process. We’ve compiled some exam tips and tricks below, to help out anyone new to the procedure.

• Start preparing earlier, rather than later – it can be easier and less intimidating if you start the 11 Plus journey in Year 4 or 5. If your child is working at an above-average academic level and are interested in going to a grammar school, you can begin with covering the relevant content. This will be less stressful and more effective that cramming at the last minute.
• Practice, practice, practice – taking practice papers, mock exams, and past papers before the real thing is a great way to reduce your child’s stress levels and improve their exam technique. If you are worried about your child’s anxiety levels around tests, there are some great resources online on how to handle exam stress.
• Reward hard work, not results – focusing on their results and not their effort levels can cause a lack of motivation and therefore a counter productive effect in terms of outcome. Make sure to balance work with rest, and schedule in rewards based on effort made and not scores achieved.
• Remind them they are worth more than their results – with the pressure of the 11 Plus process, it can be easy to lose sight of what’s important. All you can do is give your child the best resources, the support, and encourage them to try their best.

FAQs

If my child passes their 11 Plus are they guaranteed entry?

Unfortunately, not in most cases. The majority of grammar schools are oversubscribed and so their admissions process has more than one stage. The first is often the 11 Plus test (or tests), and after that they may use criteria such as catchment area and other siblings at the school.

Are all 11 Plus tests the same?

No! And that’s why it can feel so confusing. Each school (or consortium) will have their own 11 Plus exam that candidates must sit, and the content of each can vary.

Can I buy school-specific revision materials?

Yes, you can find 11 Plus exam papers made specifically for your chosen school/consortium. This saves you time trying to work out what is needed, and saves you wasting money on irrelevant materials.

How can I support my child through the 11 Plus?

Supporting your child through the process can involve sitting down to help them revise, setting them up with a dedicated tutor, providing them materials, and educating yourself on the process to guide the both of you through it.

What if I need more guidance on how to prepare your child for their 11 Plus exams?

It’s more than understandable to feel a little overwhelmed when navigating secondary school admissions. You can speak directly with the secondary school’s admissions team (their contact details will be on the website) if you are concerned about the procedure, and for any help with revision, you can find a dedicated helpline below.

11 Plus Revision Helpline: 020 4634 9455

Written by

Pass Functional Skills Team

We help thousands of students each year with revision, courses and online exams.