11+

11+ – WHAT ARE THEY?

The 11+ exam is the entrance exam process that needs to be completed to get your child into a fee-paying or state grammar school. These state and Grammar schools do typically deliver better results for students in exams than what normal state schools do.

There was a large part of the country that removed the 11+ many years back for state schools. There are however, some local authorities, such as Buckinghamshire and Kent, which have kept a large number of grammar schools and carry out England entrance tests.

In some other boroughs, (taking as an example Barnet and Kingston), some grammar schools exist alongside the comprehensive system which exists in much of the country. These grammar schools design and write their own entrance exams.

Grammar School 11+ Selection Process

Grammar schools (and also a wide range of selective independent schools) select their intake of students on the basis of their results in the 11+ exams so they, by default, ring fence the local brightest and strongest – or, at least, the children whose parents believe in this form of filtering process and can help them prepare for the examination – and give them what most people understand to be a much more enhanced academic education.

The negatives, of course, are the impact on other schools in the region of the grammar schools, which are devoid of the brightest, most enthusiastic and dedicated children, and on the children who are classified as ‘failures’ at the mere age of 11 years old. See our offers by the way on this link

11+ Things to know

The exams for 11+ are not necessarily in a standard format and fashion. They can chop and change and they frequently do.  In most of the selective schools, the core areas of English and Math continue to be tested, just as their parents and grandparents were tested on many years ago. There are also other schools that test verbal reasoning (VR) and/or non-verbal reasoning (NVR) too. A much more equitable approach is what many would say, as this is a broader gauge of underlying and natural intelligence. As opposed to purely testing on English & Math which can be taught for and which advantage those from private prepatory school backgrounds. VR and NVR cannot really be taught to children, though practice undoubtedly helps without a shadow of a doubt. The raison d’etre of preparatory schools is – as their underlying name demonstrates – to prepare their pupils, and to help them get into great secondary schools – state or independent.

11 plus Exams – When do they take place?

There is no firm date as to when they take place and in fact all the institutes typically have exams on different dates. These can be weekdays or weekends. However, state grammar schools have to now give out initial results before the closing date for all of the secondary school applications in October.  So in most of the cases you will need to sign up by June or July of year 5, and exams typically are in September of year 6.

Even the independents make little effort to synchronise testing and exams happen from November to January in general. However, some independent schools, especially in London, have formed themselves into consortia so that your child sits one exam which is then used as an application to a whole bunch of schools, and most give out their results at the same time – usually in February.

Eleven Plus Timed Papers :

Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning & Non Verbal Reasoning Mock Exam;

2 tests. Each one 50 minutes with a 30 minute break in between;

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