11+ Tuition/ Independent School Entrance

I am an experienced 11+ tutor with an excellent pass rate in local grammar and independent school exams. References are available on request. I am  DBS checked and further details can be found on my Terms of Business page.

Grammar School Exams

An initial assessment of your child identifies the areas of weakness in their Verbal and Non Verbal and Spatial Reasoning Skills. Once these are identified, I tailor sessions to cover these areas, using a variety of approaches to make sure the different concepts are fully understood and enjoyable. In recent years,changes have been made to the 11+ exams to make them more 'tutor proof';  puzzle based questions now make up a proportion of the paper. By using the Bond Assessment Puzzle Books for Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning, children are exposed to a variety of challenging question styles and with the correct tuition can be well equipped to tackle these 'tutor proof' questions in the exam. Alongside covering these areas, your child will complete ability appropriate Verbal and Non Verbal/Spatial Reasoning Papers to develop the necessary exam techniques. I  usually recommend starting 11+ tuition at least 9 months before the exams which take place in September.

Ability Paired & Group Tuition

These sessions follow the same lines as the one to one sessions but offer the advantages of being part of a group,  such as competition and sharing ideas. It's important that the pupils are of a similar ability and it's preferable that children start lessons on a one to one basis and then I can team pupils up after a month or so. Please discuss this with me at the time of booking.

Intensive  Course

This course begins with an assessment to determine if this approach is suitable for your child. Those with good literacy, numeracy and reasoning skills can frequently condense their 11+ preparation into a few months. Lessons are one hour long, on a one to one basis and take place twice a week during term time, increasing to three times a week during the summer holidays. Homework will be set to reinforce  question types covered during lessons. Short GL style papers will be completed regularly to ensure exam techniques are developing along with an understanding of different question types.  Pupils will have access to the online tutorial library to revisit question types. Please contact me for availability. 

11+ Booster Course 

Summer 2024               TBC

During the summer holidays, I run an 11+ Booster Course which usually takes place during the first full week in August. 

The sessions  run from  9:00-10:45 each morning with a second session between 11:15-1:00 depending on demand.  The pupils will complete a reasoning paper each day: generally three non verbal/spatial and two verbal reasoning  over the course of the week (depending on strengths and weaknesses within the group).

Max 4 children per session.

Each session comprises of :           50 minute exam paper under exam conditions

                                                                   10 minute break - refreshments provided

                                                                    45 minute focussed practice in key areas/ going through the paper.

All  Pupils                                  £175 per week or £37.50 per session (all materials included).

Please note that I am able to tailor similar (1hr 45 mins) sessions on a one to one or paired basis on other dates throughout the summer. Details of pricing can be found on the 11+ prices page.

11+ Mock Exams

2024 dates TBC

During the month prior to the 11+ exam I offer realistic mock exams on selected   Sunday afternoons 2:00-3:15. I am a trained invigilator and administer the tests just like the real thing!  Each session begins with a fifteen minute section on exam technique  followed by the paper with the remaining ten minutes spent focussing on any tricky questions. All papers are multiple choice with the non verbal reasoning papers also including the spatial reasoning sections which make up about 40% of the paper. 

These sessions are open to all, you don't need to be a current pupil.

They are perfect for:

• Children who have received some 11+ tuition from either tutors, parents, online or school but are finding timing and accuracy difficult.
• Children who are unable to attend the Summer Booster Club.
• Children who suffer from exam nerves.

Spaces are limited to fifteen children per session and book up quickly.

 Grammathicus pupils £25.00 per session (all materials included)

Just School Holiday Tuition

With after school and weekend commitments, it may be that you're looking for 11+ tuition just during the school holidays. These sessions work very well if you are tutoring your child for the 11+ yourself but could do with some help with specific question types including the new Spatial Reasoning questions. As the exam approaches learning the required exam techniques needed for the multiple choice style paper is important and these can be covered in these sessions also. Sessions are on a one to one or group basis with all lesson materials included, homework can be set if multiple lessons are booked during the same holiday and material, including access to online tutorials, will be given for 11+ preparation between school holidays. Sessions are either 60 or 90 minutes in length, 90 minutes allows time to complete a full paper as well as covering specific techniques.

Independent School Entrance Exams

Many Independent Schools for 10+/11+ entry hold their entrance exams in January. Over the years I have successfully prepared children for entry to Stamford Girls High School, Stamford School, Oakham School, Oundle School, Ratcliffe College, Lincoln Minster, Trent College, Hollygirt, Nottingham High School , Queen Margaret's, York and Marlborough College (Common Entrance Pre-Test)

Both Stamford and Oakham have recently changed the format of their 11+ entry with pupils now sitting computer adaptive tests online. Oakham adopted these tests for 10+/11+ entry for the first time in January 2018 and I successfully prepared pupils for this new style of testing. For Year 7,  Stamford Endowed Schools' Entrance Exam  consists of a one hour reading and comprehension test and a one hour Mathematics adaptive test. In addition there will be a handwritten creative writing test. Non Verbal Reasoning testing has been removed from the exam in recent years.

Although the style of exam has changed, the tuition largely remains the same. The main thing that has changed is how the child records their answers. Being adaptive tests the questions are adjusted according to a pupils answers so most come out of the exam feeling that the paper was really hard but all that's happened is the computer has challenged them to find their level of understanding. 

 An initial assessment of your child identifies areas that require tuition and these will be covered using a variety of approaches, including online tests to ensure your child has a good understanding and is well prepared. Papers will be completed prior to the exam to improve exam technique.

 An interview often forms part of the selection process and, if required, time can be spent on this prior to the exam.

Christmas Holiday Club January Exams

Depending on demand I run a holiday club over the Christmas Holidays, children are grouped by the types of exams they are sitting and the sessions follow a similar pattern to the 11+ Booster Club.

Please call for details.

"Sarah was able to tutor my son to the level where he was able to pass very challenging entrance exams for the private secondary school he now attends." D.B.

Telephone: 01529497408 or 07860787836                                

E-mail: sarah@grammathicus.uk