FAQ

We conduct a full-detailed, friendly assessment, on a one to one with our assessor.

This is a pen and paper, relaxed interactive forty minute session. You will receive a full written report which will include your child's reading age; a Maths summary and a writing analysis.

You and the teacher will then discuss your child's results and you will have a further twenty minutes to understand, with the teacher, where your child is academically compared to their peers.

The teacher will be kind but honest and offer a route map to the future including specific targets in English, Maths and Verbal Reasoning.

The 11+ is an examination that children sit at the beginning of Year 6. Those that gain high enough marks are offered a place at Grammar school.

To enrol in tuition with us, you first need to book an assessment with us.

This will allow us to see what levels your child is currently working at with they Maths, English and also get a reading age for them.

Following on from the assessment, we will then offer you suitable classes and you will be able to begin as soon as the week after your assessment.

If you wish to start after your assessment, all you will need to do is to fill out a form and we will handle the rest for you.

The 11+ exam tests Maths, English and Verbal Reasoning.

Our assessment will tell you honestly and clearly if your child is academically suitable to sit the 11+. We also look at personality. A bright, interested, inquisitive individual who sometimes surprises you with their knowledge, is a good indication that your child might be suitable for Grammar school.

Your child will be given a time slot which could be anytime between 8am and 3pm.

Children are on site for around 2 hours 30 minutes. These exams will run throughout the day.

You will drop your child off and leave them. You are encouraged to drive away (please be aware the roads will be busy). Your child will be registered and guided into an examination hall or classroom.

They will then sit two exams, one in Maths and one in English, there will be a short rest break between the two papers. You will then collect your child at a given time.

(The grammar schools have run these exams smoothly and efficiently for many, many years. They know exactly what they are doing and will look after your child in a friendly and professional way. Your child will feel quite nervous but the team at the school will do everything they can to put them at ease. Remember the Grammar schools know what they are doing).

Your child should take two pens, two pencils, a 15cm ruler and an eraser. They do not need to wear school uniform. The use of a dictionary or calculator of any description is not allowed and smart watches (e.g. Fitbits) are not permitted. Please do not allow your child to bring them to the examination. Mobile phones should not be brought to test centres by children.

Yes, a watch is a very good idea, so your child can work quickly and efficiently. The grammar schools do not allow smart watches including Fitbits into the exam.

(We recommend an analogue watch rather than a digital watch. This will prevent any mistakes on the day, where staff are looking for watches that can connect to the internet or will make any noise during the exam).

Both Maths and English papers are marked and a standardised score is given. This standardised score will take into account your child's age. Standardisation is common practice in formal exams and is designed to remove any variable elements from test scores and allow children to be compared equally.

The CSSE must ensure that the paper is of the same difficulty as it was in previous years as there are limited spaces at the Grammar schools. This process gives grammar school places to students who score the highest, so the pass mark varies each year. We have attached a link below so you can look at the many pages from the CSSE which explains the grading in depth. In our classes we not only teach the subjects but the little details that make a dramatic difference to the standardised score.

To find out more details on how the results are calculated, please see CSSE website.

You will receive the test results around four weeks after the exam.

This will be your child's raw score and will give you an indication of how they have performed. You will not be told, at this point, if they have been given a Grammar school place.

The school allocation and therefore your clear understanding of whether your child is to attend grammar school, will be in early March.

The 11+ is usually the third or fourth Saturday in September as your child goes into Year 6. This year's date is the 21st September 2024.

They will have been in Year 6 for three weeks. That is why it is important to get tuition with us as early as possible. We do recommend starting at the beginning of Year 3 although we do also enrol students from Year 4 and Year 5.

Registration for the 11+ exams is done online on the CSSE website. Registration typically opens in May of each year and closes at the end of June.

We recommend beginning in Year 3. This ensures your child has a head start with all the basics. We will build confidence and ability which will shine through at school. This positive advantage should be grasped early so your child is able succeed. The longer you wait, the more others will progress beyond them.

Schools do not normally prepare children for the 11+ exam. Some schools might run 11+ after school clubs but these do generally tend to be sessions to go over past papers rather than teaching the required material.

We provide weekly 11+ tuition sessions starting at a minimum of 2 hours per week. We teach a structured weekly course which is constantly updated and based on the last 4 years worth of 11+ exams.