Student and Parent Interview: Reyansh and Vidya

An interview with Gemma Louise Bull

In this interview, Reyansh and Vidya share their experience of the 11+ process and the experience of starting Year 7 at Magdalen College School. By request, names have been changed and a stock photo has been used, to protect the anonymity of the family.

Reyansh

When your first started your 11+ preparations, did you feel motivated? Why/why not?

I felt motivated as I knew if I did well in the exams, I would have better options to choose for my secondary school

What were your target schools?

• Reading Boys

• Wilson School, Sutton

• Magdalen College School

• Eton College

• Winchester College

  
  

Did you have a tutor? How did they help you?

I had a tutor called Gemma for English. I also had tutor called Linda for English. Both Gemma and Linda helped me to improve my English skills. I also did tuition with AE for 11+ preparation

What workbooks did you use? Were they helpful? Which books would you recommend?

I followed AE material which was helpful (books and test packs) for my preparation. The test packs gave me good experience for the exams.

Did you take any mock exams? How did you get on?

I took mocks from SDE and XL Reading. Both were incredibly useful.

Were you nervous before taking your exams? How did you alleviate your nerves?

I was nervous before taking my exams. I alleviated my stress by remembering that my parents gave me good material and I knew I would do well in the exams.

How did you feel when you received your 11+ results?

I felt over the moon as all my results showed my hard work paid off as I performed well in all my exams.

Which school offer did you accept? Why?

I have accepted Magdalen College School as it is an academically well preforming school with good activities and exposure to many areas beyond the school curriculum.

How have your first two terms in Year 7 been? Are you enjoying your new school so far?

Yes, it is a new chapter in my life and I am already enjoying the school experience.

What is your ‘TOP TIP’ for current Year 4 and 5 students?

Do not feel stressed and don’t get put off if you do not do so well in the first few mocks as there is always time for improvement. I personally felt the mocks were a bit harder than the actual exam. So don’t get stressed if you are finding the mocks too hard. Always learn from your mistakes.

Vidya

Why did you decide to apply for a grammar school place?

We decided to apply for grammar schools so that the preparation will help my son to take admission test for Year 7 at independent schools.

What were your target schools? Why did you decide on the particular schools?

We decided to target Reading Boys and Wilson School as both the schools perform well academically and also preparing for these schools helped my son to face any entrance exam at independent schools.

When did you start the preparation? Why did you opt to start then?

The earlier you start preparing will help the child to settle down well with both school activities/work as well as 11+ preparation. We introduced 11+ preparation for my son in Year 5.

Did you do any research? Where did you find information about the exam boards, structure of the exams, etc.?

Each school has different exam structure. We went through the school website where each school provides sample papers and information about the admission /selection process etc.

Did you have any concerns at the start of the process? How did you alleviate them?

As parents our main concern was whether my son would be able to balance his schoolwork and 11+ work without stress. To overcome this, we slowly introduced 11+ preparation in the last term of Y5 so that he took a term time to balance between schoolwork and 11+ preparation. By the time he started Y6, he felt comfortable and managed his activities without any pressure.

How did you prepare at the start? Did you use a tutor, workbooks, etc.?

For English, we started preparation from Year 5 (Jan). For other subjects, we started during Y5. In the last term of Y5 we introduced specific 11+ materials.

How easy was it to manage the balance of schoolwork, 11+ prep, extra-curricular activities, family time, etc.? What advice would you give parents about creating an effective schedule at the start of the process?

Never ever think the exams are only for children and parents can relax. 11+ preparation should always be a family effort where parents should monitor their child and understand where the child is struggling and support if they need extra support. Never leave things to the end and stress yourself as well as children.

There will be some compromise in family time, but you can plan a few hours during the weekend as golden time for children. My son used to work for a few hours on Saturday, Sunday and complete his work for that week by Wednesday, leaving two days for corrections. Every day as he finished his work, we used to mark it and keep it aside. My son used to revisit the marked work on Thursday if he needed any additional focus.

Do you have any other advice for parents starting the process?

Don’t panic. Plan slowly and continue your efforts throughout the year. Do not compare your child’s progress with others as each child is different.