Many parents worry about creative writing because they don’t know where to start. When it comes to writing under time constraints, most children don’t usually perform at their best. However, if they’re given enough time to complete assignments, then they’ll be able to create good quality work.

We offer courses at both our Beckenham and Catford sites and online. However, if you’re looking for a course your child can do in their own time to fit around a busy schedule (or because of travel constraints), we have several courses that you can use.

Creative writing is an essential part of most independent school exams and some of the 11 Plus grammar school exams, such as Sutton, Kent and Essex counties.

The 11 Plus has become increasingly competitive over the years, which is why it’s crucial to ensure that children who are preparing for those exams have the best chance of exam success.

By equipping our students with the exact literary techniques that examiners are looking for, they have a massive advantage over rival students.

Geek School Tutoring’s managing director and journalist, Joycellyn Akuffo, created all our courses, specialising in creative writing for the 11 Plus exams.

The Geek School Creative Writing Crash Course and the Express Writing Course were designed to help children develop their creative writing skills without seeing a tutor face to face.

Why do children need help with their creative writing?

Most families don’t know how to help their children with creative writing. Having a child write story after story won’t enable them to improve much – they need real guidance from an experienced 11 Plus tutor who has experience in writing.

Primary school class sizes have reached the highest record, and it is unfeasible to expect teachers to have enough time to give every child the attention to detail they need to raise their standard high enough for the 11 Plus exams.

This Creative Writing Crash Course and the Express Writing Course help children develop the necessary skills to attain the highest marks in their 11 Plus writing tasks.

The course helps children to understand how to:

• Plan stories and write them correctly.
• Generate story ideas, even when the topic isn’t their interest;
• Ensure their writing entails all the essentials that attract the most marks (it isn’t the plot!).
• Writing simple stories with excellent descriptions, vocabulary, and literary techniques is where their focus should be.
• Develop a bank of descriptions, so the bulk of their creativity is done before they enter the exam room – without memorising descriptions to their detriment.
• Check their writing effectively.
• How to use the correct structure for the different writing tasks.
• Correct sentence structure when essay writing.
• How to effectively use figurative language in their writing for maximum effect – without sounding robotic.
• Essential creative writing techniques that will help gain maximum marks.
• The development of ideas when writing so that their essay writing work is clear and effective.
• How to manage complex ideas when writing – especially when given w report writing task.
• When to use 1st person,  2nd person and 3rd person in the different writing tasks writing.
• Plus lots of writing tips!

Our Creative Writing Courses for 11+

1. Creative Writing Crash Course

The Geek School Tutoring Creative Writing Crash Course Course and the Express Writing Course cover the writing curriculum better than any book could hope to! They are both practical and provide detailed feedback for each child. Our courses have been running in this format for several years and have been very beneficial in helping children improve their writing skills.

By the end of both courses, many children find that their stories have gone through a significant change for the better.

When Should Children Take Our Creative Writing Courses?

• Children preparing for grammar school selection tests should start in the summer term of Year 4 to easily slot the writing homework into the other work they are doing without feeling pressured.
• For children preparing for independent school exams, starting in the summer of Year 5 (or once school goes back in September of Year 6) will give enough time to https://www.the11plusessay.co.uk/p/11-plus-english-comprehension-course complete the work before the exams in January. The Creative Writing Crash Course and the English Comprehension Course are ideal.
• For children preparing for SATs KS2 Test, the Creative Writing Crash Course English Comprehension Course, and the English Grammar courses can be started at any time from the summer term in Year 5 onwards.
• Children who complete our online creative writing courses see a significant improvement in their creative writing work and confidence.

The Creative Writing Crash Course Length

• The Creative Writing Crash Course has 12 parts for the 12 different writing tasks present in the 11 Plus exams. Each part consists of videos and printables to help your child grasp what that particular writing task requires. It should take a week for each part, but it can be done more intensively, with two writing parts, if necessary.

The Express Writing Crash Course Length

• The Express Writing Course has three assignments, so in theory, it can be completed in as little as two weeks. 
• This course is ideal for students with an exam coming up and not much time to go through our Creative Writing Crash Course or for face-to-face or online tuition.

How is The Creative Writing Crash Course and the Express Writing Course Delivered?

• Once purchased, you gain immediate access to the course directly from the website.
• Children are expected to watch 90% of each video before they can continue to the next module. This is to stop children from missing out on the videos, an essential teaching element of the Creative Writing Crash Course.

11+ Guided Writing Assignments

Using our online creative writing courses means you take the guessing game out of the writing task preparation process. It also means you can get feedback on how your child is doing individually compared to their peers. You can’t do this if you decide to download sample papers online and work with your child at home. So, not only does your child learn what is expected of them with each entrance exam writing task, but they also get to improve their writing style and writing ability by getting the guidance needed from an experienced tutor.

Our creative writing courses are designed to improve your child’s understanding of how to structure their work, as well as help them develop their style. We don’t provide a cookie-cutter approach to writing because a considerable portion of the marks for the 11 Plus exams is given for creativity. Also, it’s essential for children to develop these skills, as writing will be a requirement for many more years to come – at least until their GCSE English exams.

Homework Assignments

• We have kept the process as simple as possible – your child will watch a series of videos to learn how to write particular writing tasks and then produce their writing.
• They upload the work, which must be handwritten on paper (like the 11 Plus entrance exams). We do this because children learn best when using paper and pen – and because all schools currently require the writing task to be written on paper.
• We mark the work within 72 hours and send back a video-recorded link showing how the work was marked, with detailed areas of improvement.