11 Plus revision

We have split the whole topic of 11 Plus revision into two sections:

Eleven Plus Revision

This is true revision for those who have been through a full preparation exercise and just want to know how to structure the revision process and what do when and what materials to use.

11 Plus Revision Focus- Make sure you concentrate on those aspects which will deliver improvement

11 Plus Revision Process- How you should approach your revision plan

11 Plus resources and papers- What revision books and exam papers to use.

11 Plus Revision Plan- Detailed six week revision plan ( can be shortened or lengthened)

Last Minute Eleven Plus Preparation

Often we get contact from parents who are nearing the end of the time they have available who have done little or no work and they want to know what work they can do. Many parents class this as 11 plus revision but in fact the process is very different from real 11 plus revision which takes place at the end of a full preparation process.

What can be achieved with a last minute 11 plus preparation plan?

How to approach last minute 11 Plus preparation.

An example structure for a short six week  11 Plus last minute preparation plan- includes which books to use and what to do when.

11 Plus revision – Key points

Whether you are embarking on a real 11 plus revision process at the end of a proper period of preparation or consider last minute preparation to be revision the following points still apply:

Make your 11 Plus revision process as stress free as possible.

Undue pressure and stress leads to under-performance. Educational research has shown that children who feel under pressure and stress begin to see their ability to recall vocabulary and accurately and quickly deliver mental maths calculations degrade. In most cases you will see some reduction in performance due to the stresses of the day. Where pressure and stress is not managed through the 11 Plus revision process pupils experience a 30% reduction in their ability to recall vocabulary and a 10%-15% reduction in their ability to deliver mental maths. In the worst cases (which we see every year without fail) children may freeze on the day.

See our full advice on managing stress and pressure through the 11 Plus revision process.

Focus your 11 Plus revision efforts on gap filling.

Use papers as learning tools. The real benefit of doing practice papers is that they will show where knowledge is weaker. Pupils who benefit most tend to spend twice as long going over papers and gap filling as they do actually doing the papers in the first place. Very little improvement will come from just doing paper after paper over the final few weeks of the process.

Continue to work on core skills during the 11 Plus revision process.

Children should continue to work on their core skills such as developing a wide vocabulary, getting used to reading classic texts and ensuring their core Maths skills are sufficiently strong to eradicate little mistakes. Keeping a core of this type of activity going through the 11 Plus revision process really helps.