Don't wait until it is too late!
Don't be the mum whose child has not got the school place you wanted them to have.
Don’t be the mum who regrets the choices made and wish you had done things differently.
Don’t wait until it is too late!
- Gonul
Once your child has been given a school place – it is over!
You are then being re-active to try and change a decision instead of being proactive and making the decisions for your family.
Have a plan
- Gonul
Here is my 5 point plan:
- Know the schools you want to apply to - know the requirements for that school. It could be that they have Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non Verbal Reasoning in their selection tests. You need to know which subjects your child needs to practise. You may have to move into a catchment area for the school to take the test or move into the catchment area to accept the school place if you are successful. 11PlusAcademia is preparing a schools table to give you the insight you need.
- Timing is everything – check the dates of the exams and the dates for registration. I know a few mums who were caught out because they didn’t register their child for the entrance test. They were expecting the registration to be much later than the April and May dates whilst their child was in Year 5. Children transfer in Year 7 so the expectation is for all the action to be in Year 6 but that is not the case everything happens in Year 5 or the very start of Year 6.
- Practise, practise, practise – set a timetable for your child so they are practising the tests that they will be sitting for entrance. At the beginning of Year 5 start with 2 or 3 times a week, by the end of Year 5 it should be daily. Make taking tests a normal part of life, this will set them in good stead to take the entrance test without being phased by taking the exam, without being phased by the time pressure of completing the test in a fixed time and give them experience of the types of questions being posed as well as the types of answers they should be giving.
I was told that there is always some children crying in selective school exams and the reason they cry is because they have not been prepared for the selection tests and therefore unable to answer the questions. Don’t expect your child to know what is expected of them if you haven’t prepared them. It isn’t fair on the child. - Help! Tutor or Parent – Your child needs help and that can be a parent who has the time to devote to tutoring their child, or a teacher or tutor who can teach those areas that your child lacks knowledge in. The beauty of 11PlusAcademia’s online offering is that we provide feedback that shows what your child does not know so that you can target and focus on that area of learning.
How can you teach your child to pass an exam if you do not know what he or she does not know? Use 11PlusAcademia exams to know what areas your child needs help in and then bring in the tutor (or you) work with your child to teach the areas that they don’t know, and then repeat the tests. - Make informed decisions and have a backup plan – Whatever school your child is offered it has to be a school that you are prepared to send your child to. Investigate from your local authority what school distances are for your local schools, Know which school you are likely to be offered if your child does not gain admission into the school of their choice. What will you do? Know what you want or are prepared to accept and if you are unhappy which private schools you may want to send your child to. Remember that private schools may not automatically accept your child, fee paying schools also have admission criteria.
Best wishes and good luck Mums!
Remember you need to be ready by the end of Year 5 so start in Year 4.
