Chapters
- 01. Wishing you luck
- 02. Overview
- 03. Afterword
Wishing you luck
So your child is soon to take their 11 plus test to qualify for a grammar school or private school. That’s great news! However, it’s important to be as prepared as possible, since the best learning institutions also expect the best from the students that attend them. If you’ve been panicking, stressing or worried about the exam, or even if you’re just looking around online for ways to prepare your child so that they can put their best possible effort into the test, then you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’ll be going over some of the best literature that you can get your hands on to help your child revise and prepare for what is for most an important door opening opportunity.
1-4 Bond 11+
The first 4 entries in our list are books from the Bond 11+ series, these are specialist books geared especially towards preparing children for their SAT, common entrance and, most importantly, 11+ exams. The four different titles in the set cover English (1), maths (2), verbal (3) and non-verbal reasoning (4), conveniently separated into their own books for added convenience and modular learning. In addition to separating each component of the exam into their own books, Bond 11+ also goes to the length of having separate books for different ages, so that you can begin your journey of preparation regardless of how far your child is away from actually sitting the exam. Since the 11+ exam can be quite challenging, it’s an excellent idea to begin preparations well in advance, since some of the key skills can take a whole childhood to develop to their full potential.
Although we’ve already given Bond 11+ a generous 4 spots on this list, they have a wealth of alternative options and additional resources which might be very helpful for an aspiring student, so make sure to give them the research they deserve.
5-9 CGP Books
If you’ve been involved in the British education system, it’s likely you’ve interacted with or at least seen books from CGP, who publish educational books for every subject and key stage. Their name isn’t well known for nothing, as many parents and teachers rely on and recommend this company’s works. For 11+ preparation specifically, we recommend the KS2 Maths (5), English (6), verbal (7), and non-verbal reasoning (8) CEM 11+ books. CGP is known for their attention to detail, making them a good choice for children working at higher levels. If your child is hoping to pass their 11 plus test and enter grammar school or the equivalent, this is the kind of level they should be aiming to work comfortably at. You might notice that there are 5 entries under this header, while we’ve only mentioned 4 books; this is because CGP also offers flashcards (9) designed specifically for the 11+ exam. While these cards aren’t strictly speaking a book, I think they definitely earn their place on this list due to their sheer utility and ease of use. Flash cards are a portable tool, meaning that you and your child can take revision anywhere you go. Every little bit of preparation is worth it!
The CGP Books brand also provides specialised books for children performing at, below or above their expected results whatever their key stage, so if your child has some gaps in their knowledge, or is working at a different level in their maths and English for example, it might be a good idea to choose CGP, since the different options available will help bring all of your child’s work to the ideal standard, ready for their exam.
Find out about 11 plus tuition here.
10-13 Schofield & Sims Rapid Tests
Since the 11+ exams are a comparatively high pressure test next to the standard exams that every child goes through, some parents might consider it important to train not only skills and knowledge but equally, exam technique and speed. Schofield and Sims have developed a series of books called 11+ English (10), Maths (11), Verbal Reasoning (12) and Non-verbal Reasoning (13) : Rapid Tests for GL and CEM. If you choose to go for this option as your revision resource, you won’t be disappointed. The books each come with space to record timing and scores, in addition to a progress tracker, so not only will you be receiving high quality revision material, designed specifically for the CEM and GL test providers specifications, you will also receive the tools necessary to ensure that your child is on track with their revision.
See how you can find out about 11 plus tuition in London here.
Overview
Before we get into the last two entries to the list, let's go over what we’ve seen so far to help you make a decision that best fits your child’s situation. If you think your child needs the best available material, and they are working at a consistent level in each relevant subject, we recommend the Bond 11+ series of books, since they have the best overall results on paper when compared to similar resources.
If your child instead needs a strong flexibility of resources and is working at inconsistent levels across their subjects, CGP is certainly a strong choice, since they offer the widest variety of resources, in a format that is likely familiar to most people in the UK education system. The CGP books are also quite affordable and therefore can accommodate a range of financial situations.
Finally, if speed is a concern, and you need your child to improve their efficiency and exam technique, we certainly recommend the Schofield and Sims Rapid Tests series, since with hard work and consistency, these books will inevitably help your child overcome any obstacles they have in 11+ preparation, especially if they’ve found themselves previously struggling with finishing their tests on time.
Hopefully, now that you’ve seen all the options side by side, you’ll be able to come to a conclusion that suits you and your child, since everyone's situation is unique, but no situation is impossible to overcome with the correct preparation. . It might be worth mentioning that there’s no rule saying that you need to buy all of your preparatory material from a single brand, the perfect solution for you might be a mix of different materials, so make sure you consider all the available options carefully.
14-15
We’ve already given plenty of attention to the dedicated resources, which are aimed at tackling the 11+ exam itself, but it’s also worth taking a look at a couple of books that help teach general exam preparedness and exam technique. We recommend these books more for the parents to read and use to guide their children to success, but if your child is a big reader or already an independent learner, don’t stop them from having a read too! Let’s start with “The Ten Step Guide to Acing Every Exam You Ever Take” (14), by Lucy Parsons. This book is a highly rated and comprehensive guide that breaks down revision into 10 steps, with the goal of helping exam takers to organise themselves and finally let go of the stress that follows them around prior to their test. As a parent, even if you did fine in your exams back in the day, fully understanding exam and revision techniques will help you find a preparation method that works for your child, because at the end of the day, this is for them.
For our final entry on the list, Bond 11+ is back again. In addition to their books aimed at the exam takers themselves, they also make an excellent guide for the parents of 11+ students, aptly named “The Parents' Guide to the 11+”. This book can be bought separately, but will work exceptionally well in combination with Bond’s other 11+ books. For children of such a young age, especially with such an important and life changing undertaking ahead of them, it’s equally the responsibility of the parents to be as prepared as their children, to be there alongside them armed with knowledge and understanding to help them revise and give them the best chance possible. The book breaks down exam prep into a 4-step system for parents and is chock-full of useful advice for the parents of exam sitting children. Make sure to give it a look.
You can check out the best 11 plus tutor near me here.
Afterword
Thanks for reading this far! If you have, we can tell that you’ve got the determination necessary to guide your child to success in the 11+ exam. We’ve got a wealth of extra advice in the other articles in our “11+” series here on Superprof, and a whole lot more to boot. I highly recommend the articles from our advice for tutors series of articles, since they’re sure to contain some useful information and strategies that can help a parent prepare their child for the daunting 11+ exam. Make sure to take a look around if you’ve got some free time, and check back from time to time for more educational reads. We hope to see you soon and wish you and your child the best of luck in their coming exams.
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