The 11+ is next September, not next summer
Your child sits the paper in the opening weeks of Year 6. Counting term time only, that is about 38 lessons from now. Everything that makes a difference has to happen inside them.
How we prepare children for the 11+
It is not now or Year 3. It is now or January.
Nobody reading this can go back and start in Year 3. That choice has gone, and there is no point pretending otherwise. Starting in Year 5 means more to cover in less time, and we will not tell you differently.
But the choice in front of you is a real one, and it is worth more than most parents realise. It is the difference between thirty-eight lessons and twenty-five.
| If your child starts… | Weekly lessons before the test |
|---|---|
| Year 5, this term | 38 |
| Year 5, after Christmas | 25 |
| Year 5, after Easter | 16 |
Based on roughly 38 term-time weeks in a school year.
Same paper, same September morning. Two thirds of the preparation.
Two of the four subjects are never taught at school
English
Comprehension under time pressure, grammar, vocabulary and writing, pitched well above what Year 5 covers in class.
Maths
Most of the Year 6 curriculum, a year early, with the mental arithmetic and accuracy the paper rewards.
Verbal reasoning
Never taught in primary school. A set of about twenty-one question types, each with its own method, learned from nothing.
Non-verbal reasoning
Also never taught in primary school. Pattern, rotation, reflection and sequence, worked at speed.
This is the part that makes Year 5 feel like a scramble when it is done badly. A child is asked to pick up two entirely new subjects while also lifting English and maths above their year group, and to do it inside three terms. It is achievable. It is not achievable by accident, and it is not achievable in the last eight weeks.
The registration deadlines all fall in Year 5
Every family that misses out on a grammar school place does not miss out in the exam hall. A number of them miss out months earlier, at a registration form they did not know existed.
The exams are sat in Year 6. The registration windows are not. They open and close during this school year, most of them in the spring and summer terms, while your child is still in Year 5.
Bexley, Newstead Wood and St Olave’s do not accept late applications.
Families on our programme are told when each window opens and when it closes. It is not a service we charge for. It is simply part of preparing properly, and it is the single most avoidable way to lose a place.
The free assessment
Before we talk about programmes or prices, we need to know where your child actually is. So does everyone in the room, including them.
What you receive
What we actually do with a Year 5
Two hours a week, in a group of no more than eight, at Beckenham or Catford or live online.
The first term
- Verbal and non-verbal reasoning taught from the beginning, method by method
- English and maths lifted above Year 5 level
- Whole papers, but untimed at first
- Accuracy before speed
Spring and summer
- Full papers under exam timing
- A mock test every fortnight, marked and returned
- Question selection and when to move on
- Stamina, because the real thing is a long morning
The order matters. Children who are drilled on timing before they are accurate get faster at being wrong, and it is very hard to undo in Year 6.
The timeline, laid out
Assessment and the two new subjects
We find the gap and start closing it. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning begin from nothing. English and maths move above year level.
Papers, timing and the first deadlines
Full papers under exam conditions. Bexley registration opens in March, and we tell you when.
Mocks and the remaining registrations
A mock every fortnight. Newstead Wood from 1st May, Kent from 1st June to 1st July, St Olave’s in June.
The final block
Intensive work on whatever the mocks exposed, and enough practice to keep the edge through six weeks off school.
The exams
Bexley 7th to 10th September. Kent around the 10th September. Newstead Wood in late September. St Olave’s Stage 1 in mid-September, with Stage 2 in November.
Twelve years of Year 5 families
“My daughter passed two of her top grammar school exams.”
Aidah Nabugo“Geek School is a place to go if you want to see real progress in your child’s learning.”
Oko GanchimegThe questions Year 5 parents actually ask
Is it too late to start in Year 5?
Two new subjects from scratch in one year. Is that realistic?
How much work is there at home?
Do you guarantee a pass?
What if the assessment shows they are a long way behind?
Can we join partway through the year?
What it costs
11+ Programme, in centre
English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning in a small group at Beckenham or Catford, plus a free online booster.
11+ Programme, online
The same four subjects and the same curriculum, taught live online to families across the UK.
One-to-one tuition
Individual sessions where a child needs focused work on a specific area, alongside or instead of a group.
Your Year 5 has about 38 lessons left.
It takes one hour to find out exactly where they stand, and it costs you nothing. A small number of places remain.