YEAR 1 BOND 11+ BOOKS: AGES 5-6
Bond is the top provider of Year 1 11+ practice books and helps millions of children pass certain entrance exams. These assessment papers for ages 5-6 practice topic-based questions that set the standard for success in SATs, common entrance or 11 Plus mock exams.
These Bond books suggest timings for each paper. These are only suggestions and please feel free to be flexible if your child is new to the series. Once your child is familiar with how the papers work, you can then begin to time them.
The 11+ examination is sat using pen and paper under timed conditions. It is essential that your child works using pen and paper when practicing (computers have their place but your child will not be tested on them for this examination). Your child needs to build speed as well as accuracy and that is why the timings are so useful.
MATHS
Year 1 Bond 11+ Maths Assessment Papers Ages 5-6
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There are 20 structured tests in this book each with 15 questions. It is suggested that each paper should take around 25 minutes but please do be flexible. If your child finishes quicker then ensure that they have not left any questions and then mark and praise. If it takes longer than 25 minutes, work on the questions with your child. At this age in Year 1, 25 minutes is a long time to focus so please be aware that children grow into longer levels of concentration and there is no fixed right or wrong. My advice is work on the papers for what you think is reasonable while your child remains happy.
These papers not only link to the 11+ preparation but are written to enhance your child’s ability as school as they run parallel with the National Curriculum in England and The National Numeracy Scheme. So it’s a win win situation.
Each paper has score boxes for every question. There is a chart at the back to record scores. If your child fills this in, it can be a useful motivational tool and they can try to beat their previous scores; we want your child to enjoy this book so filling in the back possibly with coloured pencils, should be a treat.
These tests are graded in difficulty and progress steadily through the book, so it is important to start at the beginning. Aim to do only one paper at a time as it can be tempting to encourage children to do lots of these papers at once. Again, the aim is leaning and reinforcement; learning needs time to embed and your child will need a rest before completing more than one.
Gaining these core foundations early is important so I recommend parents mark the tests as children do them. There is then the opportunity to go back over the mistakes with you child. This ensures they are actually learning the topics they find difficult before they move on to the next test. This will help build resilience, self-confidence and most importantly self-esteem.
When your child does this work, please give them lots of praise, people do well in life who go the extra mile and put in a little extra effort, we teach this from the moment a child starts with us. This is one of the many reasons why our students are so successful.
One of the great things about Bond books, is that the answers are included, so that you do not need to buy separate answer books. The answers are usually in the middle and can be pulled out and kept to one side. It is much easier to mark if the answers are taken out of the book, rather than flipping backwards and forwards.
Bond also have a fantastic free website with support material. Once you have bought this book, you can access the online resources to accompany the material and work with your child on them.
An excellent thing about these assessment papers is that they avoid repetition so your child should not get bored (if they appear bored, they are more likely to be stuck so please do help them). This mental agility is really important for further learning.
Good advice
Remember no matter how well your child has done in the test, always praise them for their efforts. Teach anything they were unsure of and keep these sessions light and fun. If you do this, your child will love learning. Remember we are here to help if you need us.
ENGLISH
Year 1 Bond 11+ English Assessment Papers Ages 5-6
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This is a really good book that I highly recommend for Year 1 11+ students. There are 20 papers each containing 15 questions. The guidelines suggest 25 minutes for each paper but please be very flexible with this as children differ greatly at this age and your child concentration span may not yet be at 25 minutes. Each paper has a mixture of comprehension, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary building. It also works in conjunction with the National Literacy Strategy and the National Curriculum for England so this book will really help your child at school as well as the preparation for the 11+ exam.
These assessment papers avoid repetition, so they help children think on their feet and jump from topic to topic building a mental agility that is necessary for the 11+. If you find these questions too difficult or your child is not ready for them, please do not hesitate to contact us for help and support. We can teach your child how to do them.
The mark scheme is attached so you can help your child at home. The comprehension questions each clearly have the number of marks for the correct answer so that you can guide your child towards adding more detail when appropriate. The comprehensions become more difficult as you move through the books, so it is always wise to start with the earlier books in the series to build confidence and skills. This book is good value for money as you get the mark schemes and the website link for extra practice.
There is a success chart at the back of the book which your child can colour in with their score for each paper. This is proven to be very motivational. As a beginning book aimed at the 11+ this is a super starter.
As with the maths gaining these core foundations early is crucial so I recommend parents mark the tests as soon as children do them. There is then the opportunity to go back over the mistakes with you child ensuring they are actually learning the topics they find difficult before moving on to the next test. This will help build resilience, self-confidence and most importantly self-esteem.
As with the maths, when your child does this work, please give them lots of praise, people do well in life who go the extra mile and put in a little extra effort, we teach this from the moment a child starts with us. This is one of the many reasons why our students are so successful.
If you want any more advice, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our Tuition For Year 1 Students
Here at the Jacqui Robinson Education Centre, we make learning fun, interactive and exciting. Our aim is to build a love of learning right from the beginning of school. We play games based around maths and our children learn phonics, reading, writing, spelling and lots more in an engaging student focused way. We have a teacher and a teaching assistant sat with a maximum of 6 students between them. No school offers this 1:3 student teacher ratio. The joy of working with their peers makes our students want to come back. Of course our prizes, certificates and praise also lead to confident and happy students.
Unlike school, our students are allowed to progress at their own pace. The work is specially written for them each week and we can progress children to ensure they come top of their class. If a students finds anything tricky, we have the time, patience, skills and the resources to ensure they learn successfully. For more information on our bespoke Year 1 classes, please contact us and we will be happy to answers any of our questions and get your child started on the road to success.