The 11 plus exam is almost upon us.
For many parents around the country, the final stages of preparation can be a stressful time for their children.
Naturally, parents will worry too with so much riding on the results.
So, I have put some tips and ideas together to help parents do whatever they can to support their children and for the children to do everything that can be done to perform to their best ability on the day.
20 Top Tips
1. In the week before the test, keep the workload light. Focus on quality not quantity.
2. Work on your child’s areas of weakness – this is more likely to gain them a few extra marks.
3. Avoid late nights in the week before the test. Ensure children get a good night’s sleep Monday to Thursday; this will help them on the day as they may not sleep well the night before.
4. If you sense your child becoming anxious, talk them through their concerns and ease their worries.
5. Your child may find it helpful to have a digital watch with them for the test. Make sure they know how to use it – a stopwatch function may be helpful.
Relax and prepare
6. Do something with your child on Friday afternoon / early evening to take their mind off the test. Swimming is a good option, as it also tends to make them tired!
7. Using visualisation techniques can help relax and prepare your child. Ask them to imagine the day in their mind – driving to the test, arriving at the school, answering their first paper etc.
8. Remind your child that they should only mark the correct answer on the answer sheet for multiple choice questions. Rub out carefully any extra pencil marks.
9. Remember to answer every question on the test. If there is a minute to go, they should guess the remaining answers. A guess gives them a 20% chance of a correct answer, no answer gives them 0% chance!
10. Parents also get stressed in the build up to the test. Try to keep these anxieties to yourself and not pass them onto your child.
Practice
11. Make sure you know where the test is and allow ample time to arrive at your venue without undue stress. The schools will be busy on the day of the test, so think about parking further away and walking. It is better to arrive too early than arrive too late. You may want to do a practice trip the week before.
12. If you arrive early, wait near the entrance with your child until an appropriate time. It may not help them to have to wait inside for a long time by themselves.
13. It may be beneficial for you to arrange to meet some other children outside on arrival, so your child does not have to walk into the school by themselves.
14. Read the information that arrives from the schools carefully, and make sure your child is fully equipped for the test (with plenty of spare pencils, rubbers etc). We recommend that they bring a digital watch with them to the test – make sure they know how to work the stopwatch in advance.
15. The more prepared you are all for the test, the less strain you will put on your child and the better they are likely to perform.
Ask questions
16. Tell your child to avoid talking about the test with other children during break times. If they discover they have got questions wrong, it may upset them for the tests still to come. Try to get them to focus on what’s next, rather than what they’ve already done.
17. Children are normally provided with a biscuit and a drink during the break time at the test. However, they may prefer to take their own. Be sensible and think carefully about the choice. A large drink may mean they will need the toilet. A small amount of sugar in the snack may provide them energy.
18. Make sure your child feels confident to ask a member of staff if they are unsure about anything during the day. Obviously the staff will not help them with actual answers, but your child should feel able to ask about timings, extra paper, needing the toilet etc.
19. They should also feel confident to talk to a member of staff if anything unusual is distracting them. In previous years we have had reports of other children cheating, crying or not even opening their test paper!
20. Remind your child to keep working right until the very last second of each test. They may be feeling tired by the end of the day and start to relax. One mark can make the difference between obtaining a grammar school place and missing out. They need to keep their focus right until the very end!
Calderdale schools
Finally, the Calderdale schools have changed the test for 2022 and have yet to provide final details about the format of the paper (beyond saying there will be two one hour papers, one for maths and non-verbal reasoning, the other for English and verbal reasoning). Hopefully the details will be provided by the schools w/c 12 September when they send instructions for the test. If they don’t, children should read the directions on their papers carefully on the day and work out how long they have (roughly) for each question before the test begins.
Good luck to all children taking 11 plus exams at places like: Crossley Heath Grammar School, North Halifax Grammar School, Heckmondwike Grammar School and others.
WATCH: VIDEO – How to Prepare for the Calderdale 11 Plus in 2022…
Read more: Back to school with Satchel
Read more: BLOG: The importance of corrections and the 11 plus