Croxley Tutors

This Saturday 8th September will see scores of new Year 6 children in South West Hertfordshire  waving their parent goodbye as they prepare to sit the colloquially named ’11 Plus’ exam.

Here is a  last minute checklist and some key bits of advice from our team:

• • Check online – what time is your child’s exam?
  • When do they need to be at their test centre?
  • Can you walk? If driving, it will be busy, so think ahead about parking.
  •  Plan ahead to ward off unnecessary last minute panics.
  • If your child’s test is in the morning:

-Fill his or her tummy- what is for breakfast?

-Pack a nice snack/drink the night before.✔

-Lay out comfy clothes, pencils and rubber✔

( so no thinking required on test day.)

Sort out your child’s body clock!- If your child’s test is at  8.15 in the morning, ensure that they have been waking up before this time for at least the previous week. If  you were training for an early morning race , you would not do all your last minute training at midday.

• • If your child has an afternoon test:
  • What  will you do in the morning ? A bit of fresh air and exercise is a good idea to allay any nerves.
  • What’s for lunch?
  • Who is dropping your child? If he or she is braver with dad- send him!
  • • In the Verbal Reasoning section of the test, it is vital that your child reads the question carefully picking out the key words.
    • What is this question asking me?  Do i need to find a synonym, an antonym? Do not waste time an undue amount of time on questions that stump you.
    • How many marks does the question carry?
    • In the mathematics there are 50 questions, many of these should be quick fire- if you are getting bogged down, be sensible and move on

And finally, the academic test is a snap shot- it shows what a child can do, but there are other factors at play including nerves. No child should go into the exam fearing failure or carrying the weight of parental expectation. We are lucky that there are many excellent schools in Hertfordshire and Bucks and a determined child can succeed and flourish in any of them.

• • • Be proud! All the preparation your child has put in to revising for the 11 Plus will stand them in very good stead for the rigours of Year 6, SATS, and senior school beyond.
    • Whilst in the 11 Plus speed and accuracy are important; Life is a marathon not a sprint ( yes, another running analogy sorry!🏃‍♂️)

Traditionally, if you wanted the measure of your local school you would look at the GCSE pass rate, as well as listening to local gossip! Specifically, school’s will highlight the number of pupils gaining 5 GCSE passes at A*-C.

However, if you unpick this performance indicator, you will see that it only goes some way to reporting how effective teaching has been for any given pupil’s school career.

How much progress all students make during their time in secondary school is now being reported by a new, more rigorous, ‘Progress 8’ score.

This short video explains the new scoring system put in place by government.

Whether your child is in Year 5 or Year 6 of Primary School, Autumn Term ushers in a new focus. All of a sudden your child has become one of the older ones at school and thoughts turn to where they might be educated next.

And so begin the Open Days…

This is a thoughtful piece in The Guardian, about what to keep at the forefront of your mind when you are following a (likely, carefully chosen) student around your local secondary school. Look past the hard sell people and have your own tick list!

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/sep/17/schools-teachers-tips-for-parents

and here’s another article from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/parents/open_days/

Some spaces remaining for our very small group 11+ revision sessions on Saturdays in Croxley Green and Rickmansworth.

Call 07779 298 286 or email admin@croxleytutors.com

Croxley Tutors will be running weekly sessions from October 2017  to help children in Years 4 & 5 preparing to sit for the 11+.  Please see the 11 + section of this website.

Get in touch with us if you would like more information on the 11+ or to book your child in for a free trial lesson

If you are a student or adult learner looking to re sit either your Mathematics or English Language GCSE this coming November, then these intensive revision days could really help you.

Two of our most experienced tutors are on standby, ready to deliver dedicated and comprehensive revision sessions covering all the relevant content and detail that you need to feel confident going in to your retake.

If you know the which exam body (AQA, Pearson, OCR etc.) your exam is under, please let us know right away so that we can tailor the materials to your needs. Our teachers have over forty years combined experience helping learners to succeed and are familiar with all exam boards, including the new GCSE and A level curriculum.