Nature of the 11 Plus in Devon.
As there’s no overall governing body the test is different for most schools. Below you’ll find elements for each part of the exam. Just look at those elements which apply to your school. See page on 11 Plus exam format in Devon to see which elements apply to the school you are trying for.
The following 7 schools use GL Assessment
Churston Ferrers Grammar School | Devonport High for Boys | Devonport High for Girls |
Plymouth High for Girls | Torquay Boys | Torquay Girls |
The Spires College |
These schools use the GL 11 Plus exam format with two papers covering Mathematics and English.
GL Maths.
These papers are straightforward and use a mix of calculation based shorter questions and longer worded questions or questions about graphs, data or angles. Children will be asked to work quickly and so for this reason there is a real focus on having absolutely rock solid core skills. Children who have forged too far ahead and who are working on topics beyond KS2 risk having done so at the expense of not having the core skills required. There’s absolutely no point in going beyond KS2 during the preparation phase. The difference between the good and the excellent in this test tends to be marked by an ability to work both quickly and accurately, a faultless grasp of tables and the four operations is essential. To find out more about the GL Maths test go to our page covering it in more detail.
GL English
English papers set by GL contain a number of different sections. These include comprehension, spelling, grammar and punctuation. The comprehension is not normally a difficult classic text but children may find unfamiliar vocabulary within it. The comprehension will be about 1000-1500 words long and children will then have answer 20-30 questions. These are classic comprehension questions that ask the children factual questions where the answer is in the text and inference questions where children will need to apply logic. The Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation elements do not go beyond KS2 and any child doing well at primary school and predicted a high level 5 should be able to cope well.
FSCE – Colyton School
At Colyton School the exam is written by FSCE (Future Schools Community Enterprise). The exam covers the following topics:
• English
• Maths
• Creative Writing
Which 11 Plus Exam Preparation Options Are Right For You ?
11 Plus Private Tutors
- Personalised Work
- 1-1
- High feedback levels
but
- VERY Expensive
- Lots of work at home
- Lots of travel
11 Plus Tuition Centres
- Structured work
- Third party involvement
- Some feedback
but
- Some children don't progress
- Lots of work at home
- Lots of travel
11 Plus Guided Courses
- Structured work provided
- No wasted time
- Help and advice on hand
but
- High parental commitment
- Cost higher than DIY
11 Plus DIY- Books
- Parents in full control
- Work can be totally tailored
- Lowest cost
but
- Difficult to plan well
- Difficult to deliver well
- Maximum parental effort