This information pack will provide information on the following aspects of the Eleven Plus, New Hall and Brentwood County High examinations.

What is Verbal Reasoning?

Verbal reasoning is language based problem solving. There are around fifty different types of questions which are commonly found in the eleven plus exams, requiring verbal skills in being able to identify the right answer from a selection given, making or finding words, construction of words within sentences and even mathematical calculations.
A sound vocabulary is essential for verbal reasoning as it will make it easier to find words with a similar meaning or their opposites, and it will also help with making new ones.

What is Non-Verbal Reasoning?

Non-verbal reasoning is the testing of a child’s ability to solve problems with a non-language based format, i.e. they will have familiarise themselves with pictures, patterns, shapes and symbols.
There are three main types of non-verbal questions in the 11plus exams, although the wording of each question may differ.
Type One: Similarities
Whether you have to seek the odd one out or one which belongs with a set, you will primarily have to identify any common features amongst the pictograms, patterns or symbols.
Type Two: Sequences
With these question types you will have a set of pictures or patterns etc. with which you have to find the pattern or link, which maybe confirming the repetition of a pattern or identifying the next symbol or completing a grid.
Type Three: Analogies
This is generally a two part question where firstly you have to find the link between a pair of objects and then apply that link to complete a second pair in the exact same way.
What is the best way to tackle verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning?
To ensure the best possible chance of success with verbal and non-verbal reasoning, you should remember to work systematically going from left to right, and eliminating the answers which you think are wrong. Don’t hesitate to use a pencil to make notes or cross out the options which are wrong. Drawing lines and arrows can help with matching meanings of words or finding the next in a sequence of symbols. Another thing to remember is to consider all the options because the answer may not be as simple as you think, and it also avoids being drawn into the sucker answer (the answer that on first appearance looks right but on closer inspection is clearly wrong)!
Which is better, standard or multiple choice format?
Standard format questions are generally seen as harder than multiple choice as there are no clues as to what the answer may be. Both can be used as preparation by firstly using multiple choice to familiarise oneself with the format and types of questions, and then switching to standard format in order to practice questions that are more challenging, as you then have to develop your thinking skills! In answering standard questions do not forget the units!
When should I start preparing my child for 11 plus exams?
I always recommend between twelve and eighteen months as there are so many topics to cover that most schools cover.
Which 11 plus exams will my child have to take?
This depends entirely on the school for which your child will be taking the selection test. You can find out the relevant information by ringing the school or your LEA.

Practicing Eleven Plus Test Papers At Home

Before the Eleven Plus Test

Eliminate all distractions! For instance take the phone of the hook, switch the mobile phone off, switch off the television etc.
Ensure that the environment is well lit and ventilated. On the table/desk provide sufficient clear working area plus a two a three sharp pencils and a very efficient rubber.

Timing the Eleven Plus Test

You should time your child on every test, however do not start the timing until they have read all the instructions and/or filled in all the details on the front cover of the sample practice paper. Every time you purchase a different publisher of a practice paper it is important that you read the instructions with your child.
Most practice papers are of 50 minutes in duration, however if your child has not finished at the end of 50 minutes then draw a ring around the question number that they are on, and then let them carry on. This way when you come to mark you will know how many questions they got right in the time allowed and furthermore your child would have been able to attempt every question.
At the end of each test you should be able to assess their progress in terms of speed, accuracy and technique.

Multiple-Choice Eleven Plus Tests

Usually the answers are entered in specially provided answer sheets (sometimes tear out) or booklets.
In most cases of secondary selection entrance exams, answers are marked by computers and therefore it is important for your child to get into good habits ahead of the actual exam, in particular mistakes should be carefully rubbed out NOT crossed out. If the practice paper has candidate number, school name, raw score, standardised score etc on the cover you can generally ignore this, though it is a good practice that your child is familiar with the actual layout he or she may face on the exam day.

Standard Eleven Plus Test

Usually these are question booklets where the answer is written directly into the question booklet.
Encourage your child to write clearly the answers clearly and to note down the units (e.g. cm, m, km etc). In mathematics they should show their workings as far as possible, especially in questions that may have more than one step. It is important that the workings are legible for both the examiner to read, but also for the child to be able to quickly check questions at the end if they have time to review them.
You child should not stray past the right had margin on each page as this is typically where the examiners will note their marks and comments.

11 Plus Exam Advice

Listen carefully to all the instructions. There might be some you weren't expecting – know exactly what is expected of you.
Fill in your personal details carefully.
Read ALL the instructions, and check how many questions you have to answer.
Allocate your time, including enough to read through the 11+ paper at the start, and time to plan your answers and check them through at the end. You might want to allocate more time to those questions that carry greater marks.
Choosing questions that seem easiest for you to do first will end up saving time for the ones which are more difficult.
Read the question carefully, answer the question that is on the 11+ exam paper even if it is not quite the one you had prepared for.
Be strict with your time. You can always go back to a question at the end, but remember, if you don’t answer enough questions you can’t score many marks.
Keep working…if you get stuck on a problem, think about it for a minute or two but if you still can think of how to work it out move on to the next question.
Try and put something down for every question or problem, as you never know where you might be able to get marks.
Try to keep your work neat so that the 11+ examiner can give you marks instead of zero because what you wrote can’t be read.
If you feel yourself beginning to panic, whether you’re sweating or beginning to hyperventilate, put down your pen, close your eyes for a moment or two and relax your muscles. Once you feel calmer, you can continue.
Check your answers if you have time at the end of your paper.
Make sure you’ve at least attempted to answer every question, and all the parts to the question if it was a long one. This also helps to sort out any silly mistakes.
In a maths paper for example, always check the question for UNITS (meters, seconds etc), AREAS, VOLUMES and give the answer using those same units, making conversions if necessary before/after the calculation.
Just in case, go to the toilet beforehand as you will not be given extra time at the end!
 
Dos For Parents

•    Do encourage your child to do their best.
•    Do explain mistakes after a test.
•    Do show appreciation when your child does well.
•    Do give your child a 5-10 minute break regularly.
•    Do try and keep quiet when your child is working.

Don'ts For Parents

•    Don't stay on the same subject everyday.
•    Don't get angry on the child.
•    Don't tell the child the answers.
•    Don't keep the answers near the child.
•    Don't put the child down.

Dos For Children

•    Do try your best even if you don't know the answer.
•    Do concentrate on your work.
•    Do have fun, think of the test as a challenge and not a chore.
•    Do ask for help when you are not sure of something when revising only!
•    Do check your work after a test.
•    Do eat a proper breakfast before an exam.

Don'ts For Children

•    Don't get stressed if you can't get an answer.
•    Don't get over excited or over confident.
•    Don't cheat during mock tests because it won't help you in the real thing.
•    Don't leave revision until the last minute.
•    Don't eat chocolate before an exam.

Dos

•    Remember to pack your glasses if you wear any and your inhaler if you use one.
•    Wear proper clothes to your exam, for example; school uniform.
•    Check if pencils and erasers are already provided.
•    Pay attention to the rules – i.e. no talking during an exam. If a teacher suspects anybody of cheating, everybody’s exam paper will be disqualified!
•    Remember that these tests are only for finding the right school for you – not about being a failure, aged 11!
•    Let the school know if anything is preventing you to get to the test on time.

Don'ts

•    Take a calculator for your Maths test.
•    Take the exam if you are ill or if something urgent has come up. Let the school know and they will usually make allowances for the test to be taken later.
•    Arrive late – you probably won’t be allowed to sit the test.
•    Feel pressured as that will stop you making the most of your potential.
•    Worry if you have special needs as teachers there will be able to make sure you’re not uncomfortable.
•    Encourage your parent to come in through the school gates with you! You’ll settle down much more quickly if you leave them in the car.

11 Plus Maths Revision Topics

A quick survey of past eleven plus exam papers indicates that the following core topics in Mathematics need to be mastered in order to attain success at the eleven plus exams:
•    The 4 rules (add, subtract, multiply and divide)
•    Fractions
•    Decimals
•    Money
•    Metric system
•    Time
•    Prime numbers
•    Prime factors
•    Highest common factor and lowest common multiple
•    Perimeter and Area ( Squares, Rectangles, Compound Shapes)
•    Averages
•    Distance, Speed and Time
•    Column graphs
•    Pie charts
•    Algebra  
•    Angle calculations
•    Co-ordinates
•    Reflection and Rotation
•    Percentages
•    Simple ratio
•    Volume of cube and cuboids
•    Bearings
•    Simple probability
•    Nets of shapes
•    Sequences and number patterns
•    Marking and interpreting scales
•    Following rules and instructions in more unusual problem solving and investigational activities
 

11 Plus English Revision Topics

A quick survey of past state and independent sector eleven plus exam papers indicates that the following core types of questions in English to be typical:
•    Ordering words to make sentences
•    Punctuate sentences with capital letters, full stops and question marks
•    Alphabetical order
•    Odd words out
•    Opposites
•    Rhyming words
•    Order sentences to make a story
•    Comprehensions - Read a passage and answer questions of fact, simple inferences, sometimes in sentences more typically multiple choice
•    Use of: - capital letters; full stops; question marks
•    Simple compound words
•    'Cloze' exercise
•    Write a short story in within 20 to 30 minutes
 

Eleven Plus Exams Recommended English Reading List

Hurricane Summer - Robert Swindells     

A Long Way Home - Ann Turnbull     

Fireweed - Jill Paton Walsh     

Scribbleboy - Phillip Ridley     

Johnnie's Blitz - Bernard Ashley     

The Bolphin Crossing - Jill Paton Walsh     

Tom's Private War - Robert Leeson     

Carrie's War - Nina Bawden     

The Endless Steppe - Esther Hautzig     

Billy the Kid - Micahel Morpurgo     

Stormchaser - Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell     

No Friend of Mine - Ann Turnbull     

Red, White and Blue: Finding Out the Hard Way - Robert Leeson     

Tom's War Patrol - Robert Leeson      

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - Judith Kerr     

Beyond the Deepwoods - Paul Steward and Chris Riddell     

Midnight Over Sanctaphrax - Paul Steward and Chris Riddell     

Tess of the d’urbervilles – Thomas Hardy     

Snow Geese – William Fiennes    

Mill on the floss – George Eliot     

Other Books by the following authors:

It is recommended that you select a single page from any of the following books as the extract in the English exam is approximately this length. Get your child to read the extract, then probe questions on the comprehension of the text, single out specific words and get your child to spell it and explain the meaning of that word. Write out a single paragraph form the extract, emitting ALL of the punctuation and get your child to insert it. As it not a requirement for your child to read the whole book, www.classicreading.com allows you o download extracts from various classic books.
 

•    Charlotte Bronte

•    HG Wells

•    H H Munro (Saki)

•    Thomas Hardy

•    Anthony Trollope

•    Bronte Sisters

•    Captain Marryat

•    Charles Dickens

•    Charles Kingsley

•    Elizabeth Gaskell

•    George Eliot

•    Graham Green

•    Herman Melville

•    James Fenimore Alcott

•    R D Blackmore

•    R L Stevenson

•    Robert Graves

•    Rudyard Kipling

•    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

•    Ursula Le Guin

It is recommended that students sitting their 11+ should be reading between forty five minutes to an hour daily in order to improve their comprehension and more importantly to expand their vocabulary.

I always recommend my pupils to highlight words that they have not come across before. Write it down. Look up the meaning of that word and write it down. Then look up two to four related words with the same or similar meaning. Finally, construct a sentence for each of your new words.

11 Plus English Word Supplement

Quite often a child's Verbal Reasoning score is impacted not so much by not knowing how to do a question but by their limited vocabulary. From our analysis of 11 plus past exam papers and practice papers I intend to provide you with a list of words to get familiar with, in terms of both spelling and meaning.

Eleven Plus English - Essay Writing

Introduction

Most senior independent schools require candidate pupils to write an essay as part of their selective entrance exams. Typically the school permits 20 – 30 minutes for the essay, offering up a selection of up to four essay titles. One of these titles is often requires the child to continue the story within the comprehension they may have just completed in a previous section, or complete an essay for which the first few lines/paragraph is given or sometimes to write about a personality.
This is actually an amazingly short time to plan and write an essay from scratch, especially one that contains a proper introduction, body and conclusion. If you don’t believe it try one yourself, bearing in mind this essay is written typically by a ten year old at the end of a day in which the prospective pupil has sat Verbal Reasoning, Mathematics, and English comprehension examinations in an intimidating alien hall full of hundreds of other prospective pupils all competing for a limited number of places.
Preparation Overview
A good starting point is to source examples of good short stories written by their peer group, or last year’s successful eleven plus veterans, especially those essays that they wrote in their own preparation. The benefits of this are instant. For instance your child can tangibly identify the three sections of a good essay (‘Introduction, Body, Conclusion’ or ‘Beginning, Middle, End’ respectively) written in a language and a vocabulary they can relate easily to, as well as get the main point of being able to write something interesting yet succinct enough to conclude within the allotted time.
Ask your child to critique these example essays, spot grammatical errors, suggest better vocabulary, spot rambling sentences (like many in this piece of work) and suggest alternative endings. Once you have critiqued a few essays jointly with your child, he or she will be thinking along the right lines, and their mind will be more fertile and focused.


Practice Overview

Begin by exploring permutations of typical titles with your child, initially verbally, trying out a host of endings, introducing additional characters both male and female, changing locations, different times of the day etc. Make sure most of the creative thinking is sourced from the child, by seeking inquisitive opinions. Accolades, encouragement and enthusiasm are the order of the day, since confidence should outweigh doubt in the child’s mind. Making this into a game will make revision more fun, involve other siblings if possible.
The next stage is to start planning essays. There is no ‘industry standard’ for this. Some children will write notes under headers of ‘Introduction, Middle and Conclusion’, others will use memory maps or bubble diagrams. Experiment with your child to see what works best for them. In an examination if your child fails to complete the essay, the examiner may make reference to the plan to see how your child had planned to conclude it, otherwise it is largely ignored.

Writing Overview

The actual practice of essay writing is a slow iterative process. Remember, in the short allotted time, your child has to, at the very least:

All this is not something that is instantly achievable by the best of ten year old candidates. So practice is essential.


Typical Essay Titles