11+ preparation

When it comes to preparing your child for the 11 plus exams, there are several options available.

Private Tuition

This involves one to one lessons with a private tutor. The tutor will either come to your house or you go to theirs for the lessons.

A good tutor should be experienced, highly knowledgeable in their subject area, be able to provide engaging work which is tailored to the exam your child will sit, and most importantly, have a good level of interaction with the child ;bringing out the best of his/her ability.

Parents should expect the tutor to provide appropriate good quality homework which supports the lesson.

Tutors will also mark work set and give constructive feedback to both student and parents.

Lesson duration varies between 1-2 hours.

Group Tuition

Children have lessons in a group setting, usually at a tuition centre. Tuition Groups normally involve 6-12 pupils being taught in a group. In this setting, work is not personalised, and tutors cannot deal with individual weaknesses in the same way as Private Tutors.

The main positive of Group Tuition is that since other children are involved, there is the opportunity for healthy competition which could be a motivation for some children. But be aware that it could also have the opposite effect and lower a child’s confidence.  Parents need to monitor the effects on their child.

Guided Courses

These are tailored downloadable courses for the child to complete at home. All the course material is provided and full support , including phone and email, is on hand. The work is divided into weekly sessions, and all answers are provided.

Since the teaching needs to be done at home, this requires more parental involvement and stamina than using third party tutors.

Structured Courses

Structured courses provide the same structured package of work as Guided Courses. The materials provided come complete with full explanations and answers, but without tutor support. 

Like Guided Courses, this type of 11 plus preparation requires greater parental involvement.