Eleven Plus Tutoring

Greenhill Academics provides professional 11+ tutors and admissions consultants near you through an online tutoring platform specifically crafted for comprehensive 11+ exam preparation, covering English, Maths, Non-Verbal Reasoning, and Verbal Reasoning.

Our tutors and admissions consultants are UK-based with educational backgrounds predominantly from Oxbridge and provide a strategic online tutoring experience for your child. They deliver study plans that not only aligns with the 11+ exam syllabus but also prepare pupils across all key areas: English, Maths, Non-Verbal Reasoning, and Verbal Reasoning.

How to Prepare for the Eleven Plus Exam?

In this Section, we discuss the ways to prepare for the 11+ exam, including understanding the ways to research the schools to which you want to apply. You will have to address the following questions:

  • what school do I want to apply to?

  • What are the entry requirements for that school?

  • What resources do I use to prepare for the 11 plus exams?

  • How to find an 11 plus private tutor?

Research the school to which you are applying

Here are some examples of schools that may be on your list and the information that you might need to prepare. Renowned for its academic rigour, the school features an intensely competitive admissions process, including entrance exams and interviews.

St Paul's School

St. Paul's Boys' School is a prestigious independent boys' school in London for boys aged 7 to 18

  1. Complete registration form. The deadline for this is in November of the previous year.

  2. Take the ISEB test in January. This is an online test covering the 4 main topics above.

  3. Take stage 2 entrance test in English and Maths set by St Paul's

Students who achieve 85%+ historically have gained entry at the 11+ stage.

Westminster  School

Westminster Under School (WUS) is a prestigious independent preparatory school for boys in London and structures a well-rounded academic journey intertwining high-quality education with extracurricular activities. It has a record of yielding outstanding results and nurturing lifelong learners.

The steps follow a very similar format to St Paul's School

  1. Complete registration form. The deadline for this is in October of the previous year.

  2. Take the ISEB test in January. This is an online test covering the 4 main topics above.

  3. Take stage 2 entrance test in English and Maths set by Westminster

Students who acheive 85%+ historically have gained entry at the 11+ stage.

Highgate School

Highgate School is a top-tier educational institution in London that offers a profound and academically rigorous learning environment for students. The school aims to nurture confidence, creativity and risk taking in pupils as they study, in preparation for higher education and the world of work.

The steps are the following:

There are too many schools to list so if you are unsure of the process to your school of choice or are stuck for resources, please reach out directly and I would be happy to assist.

What is tested in the 11+?

Independent schools typically test four areas in the 11+ that I will list below. English and Maths typically follow the National Curriculum KS2. Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning test a child's ability to grasp language concepts and spot patterns-more like an IQ test. The most successful students who sit the 11+ usually function above what is expected for their age.

1. English

  • Comprehension: This area looks at the child's ability to understand complex text and answer questions from the texts.

  • Spelling and Vocabulary: This area assesses the child's breadth of vocabulary , accuracy of spelling and understanding of English.

  • Grammar and Punctuation: This section enables the examiner to evaluate the child's understanding of the English language's structural rules.

2. Maths

  • Arithmetic: This includes assessing the child's proficiency in basic arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

  • Problem Solving: It assesses the child's aptitude to use mathematical knowledge to solve problems.

3. Verbal Reasoning

  • Language processing: An assessment of a child's ability to understand and process language. The tasks may include identifying text patterns, solving word problems, following written instructions to produce a solution, recognizing letter sequences and breaking down letter- and number-based codes.

  • Skills over Knowledge: These exams aim to evaluate a child's reasoning skill rather than their learned knowledge. The focus is on their ability to think critically and solve problems using words.

4. Non-verbal Reasoning

  • Spatial Awareness: This measures the child's ability to understand shapes and their spatial distributions.

  • Pattern Recognition: This area evaluates the ability of the child to identify abstract patterns and sequences.

Resources

1. Practice Papers

Practice is the essence of perfection. Giving your child practice papers in the style of the exam they will sit will allow them to appreciate the format, time management, and expected results.

For access to over 2000 11+ practice papers, please request access here to my google drive.

2. Textbooks

As parents, you may often find yourselves debating the value of a traditional textbook over the seemingly endless online resources. While it's true that the internet provides plenty of educational content, textbooks can offer a systematic and cohesive learning approach tailored specifically for the 11+ exam.

In my opinion, the Bond Textbooks are the best that cover all four sections of the test.

Another option is the Schofield & Sims 11+ progress papers

3. Online Resources

Atom is a great resource with lessons and mock tests in the format for the ISEB test. It's laid out in the

Bond also offers ISEB practice and more general 11+ practice

Pretest Plus provides specific tests for ISEB and specific schools

Exam Papers Plus also provides searchable papers for each part of the 11+

Eleven Plus Private Tutors

A private tutor is often a game-changer during the 11+ process. For many this is a taboo topic, unspoken among parents; however, I can tell you it is very common. It offers

  • Individualised Attention: With a private tutor, your child receives one-on-one attention. Unlike teachers in a classroom setting, tutors can address specific problem areas, dynamically adjust teaching methods to suit your child's learning style, and move at their pace.

  • Extra Curricular Content: For many parts of the 11+, the content is not covered in the majority of school. For example, the resoning parts of the exams. A tutor will give access to this kind of practice.

  • Boosting Confidence: A private tutor can help boost your child's confidence as they prepare for the 11+ exam by providing reassurance and strategies for overcoming exam anxieties.

  • Convenience and Flexibility: Unlike in traditional teaching set-ups, tutors offer a flexible schedule that works best for your child and you. They can tutor at home, online, or at a convenient location, eliminating the time spent commuting.

Frequently Asked Questions

When are the 11+ exams?

11+ exams are taken between September and January depending on the schools to which you are applying.

How often should my child have tutoring sessions?

The total content for the 11+ takes roughly 14 hours for English, 14 hours for Maths, 4 hours for VR and 4 hours for NVR to tutor on average. It is up to the parent to decide for their child how intensively they want their child to be taught.

What resources or materials do you use during tutoring sessions?

The lessons are taught using text and maths content using examples from Key Stage 2 materials and sometimes extension work depending on the child’s ability. Practice questions are taken from past papers and topic specific questions from online 11+ providers.

How can I support my child's learning at home?

There are some great online subscriptions and books to use. The best approach is little and often, spread over a long period of time. The best resources are Atom, Bond, Schofield & Sims, and official past papers of schools (if they are published). If stuck on particular topics for maths, Corbett Maths has every topic with answers and worked video answers.

What are some effective study techniques for the 11+ exam?

  • Gamify learning and frame it as a new adventure. 

  • There are some great maths games online. 

  • Find out what your child likes to read and ask them questions about their book

    • what vocabulary means 

    • what’s inferred by the passages 

    • the facts of the texts.

    • the order of events in the books

  • Do sums and times tables in the car on the way to school

  • Apply maths to real life situations: the bill at a restaurant, number of sausages shared at dinner among your family, the fraction of a cake

How do you track my child's progress and identify areas for improvement?

We work directly from the curriculum and use regular checkpoints to ensure everything is understood as we go. As we get closer to exam time, we go through practice papers together from our extensive library of published school past papers

What are common challenges students face with the 11+ exam, and how can they be overcome?

  • Often a child will be stronger at English or Maths. On the weaker subject we make sure it’s engaging and fun. We also give tricks to get all the marks in the tests and show children that they can succeed. Momentum is powerful.

  • For children with learning difficulties, these often surface around the age of 10 meaning that they have not yet seeked out psychological assessments. If there is any doubt, diagnoses help with exam accommodations which are vital to provide the best opportunities to children who need them.

  • Not sure what schools to apply to and what tests to take

    • It’s important to choose what is important to your child. Some of the criteria that parents consider are: academic performance, sport, drama, grounds, exclusivity, cost, competitiveness, boarding accommodations, and availability of scholarships and bursaries.

    • To get a full idea of schools, it’s best to see the school in person on open days. 

    • Most choose around 5 schools to which they apply, some harder than others to get accepted.

  • Not sure if tutoring and testing will put too much stress on the child.

    • Our tutoring is always framed as a fun creative interaction between the student and tutor. We slowly introduce timed questions similar to those faced in the real assessments.

    • We are very clear that there is more to life than testing. If we sense that a child is getting stressed or overwhelmed, we tell parents and work around this.

How much homework will my child receive, and how can I ensure it gets done?

The best approach for homework is little and often. This can either be set by tutors or resources can be followed externally from the list of companies.

How do you handle exam stress and anxiety in students?

There is no easy way to handle this and it’s often child dependent. The best way from our experience is to keep the subjects fun and not to put too much pressure on the outcome, knowing that the child will succeed regardless of the results. We encourage our students to focus on the benefits of investing time into academics, rather than focusing on a desired result.

What is the typical success rate of your students in passing the 11+ exam?

Just last year our students were offered places at St Paul’s, Latymer, Sevenoaks, Ibstock, Harrodian, King’s College School Wimbledon, Wetherby, Highgate, and Emanuel.

How do you keep parents informed about their child's progress?

After every lesson, we submit learning reports on the lessons on our lesson scheduling platform, TutorCruncher. This outlines strengths and weaknesses, and what needs to be done going forward.

What is the best time to start 11+ tutoring for my child?

Starting from scratch, to cover all 11+ content of English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, and Non-Verbal Reasoning takes (on average) about 36 hours of tuition. If the child has covered all the content at school and needs exam practice, this takes around 10 hours.

Where to start

When your child engages with Greenhill Academics, we lay everything on the table.

  • We give you all assessment material

  • We assess your child

  • We direct you to the best resources

  • We provide you with experienced tutors

  • We deliver you an introductory 6-hour programme

The Best Quality

The most convincing way to understand the quality of anything is to try it.

We are sure you'll recognise the time and care we have taken to create

  • a 6-hour assessment package to address all major areas of the 11+ assessment

  • an immersive and engaging experience with your child that has given confidence to hundreds of parents and our array of corporate partners

  • an expert pool of tutors from Oxford University and Cambridge University

  • An open communication between parents and tutors of their child’s progress

  • targeted content for lessons to address the most important areas of improvement

Safety

Safety is your priority; it’s ours too. In fact, it’s an integral part of our filtering process for selecting our tutors as it is essential for the wellbeing of our students. We ensure the following things before we allow our tutors to teach your child

  • We ensure there is an updated DBS check

  • We check all qualifications

  • We provide Safeguarding Level 1 training

  • We check previous institutions of tutors

  • We have plenty of 5-star reviews from previous parents and students who trusted us

Will my Child Succeed?

We are firm believers that every child has a huge amount of potential. They have to be guided, engaged and inspired.

Our plan will maximise the likelihood of success (whatever that looks like for your child) as it has done for all of our previous students.

We let our results speak for themselves. We, and our partners, have helped students gain admission to

  • St Paul’s School

  • Westminster

  • Highgate

  • Latymer Upper

  • Sevenoaks

You give your child the best chance by working with us as trusted partners.