TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

Based on the experience of thousands of mock exams administered every year by ElevenPlusExams, the teaching team review the common exam errors and how to avoid these.

It is well worth attending if your child is prone to silly mistakes.

One of our most popular talks, which provide practical strategies to help your child improve on their reading comprehension ability includes:

• what to expect from a reading comprehension exam
• what the examiner is testing in the exam
• methods for how to prepare for the exam
• how to help build your child's comprehension ability

Practical techniques to help improve your child's writing and ability to perform in exams.

An excellent opportunity to gain advice on how to get your child started on practising creative writing or boosting their current skill set.

• what to expect from the exam and how to plan the essay
• what content should be included in the different types of tasks they may be set
• what the examiner is looking for
• examining previous tasks set by independent and grammar schools
• tips to inspire your child to improve their writing

Techniques to help think through and answer tricky verbal reasoning questions, as well as spelling, punctuation and grammar questions in English papers.

Parents will work through examples of verbal reasoning questions with their child, whilst being guided through the best ways to think about these questions.

• tips for learning vocabulary and thinking through common question styles like synonyms and antonyms
• strategies for dealing with difficult question styles like Related Numbers
• strategies for dealing with the technical English section (spelling, punctuation and grammar) of GL English papers
• review of which punctuation rules to follow and which rules do not matter in the 11+
• guidance for dealing with cloze passages, word formation, logical verbal reasoning, categories and sentence structure

Covering tips to help pass the 11+ Non-Verbal Reasoning exam

One of our most requested sessions since many children find Non-Verbal Reasoning extremely difficult, especially as it is not covered at school.

Each question style is covered and illustrated with animation making it easier to understand. We go over key strategies for taking Non-Verbal Reasoning question types and illustrate the application of criteria such as shapes, reflection, symmetry, shading, position and rotation to help improve focus and timing.

Eleven Plus Exams offer a unique session of 3 hours to 3.5 hours, providing children sitting the 11 plus exams with motivation and direction to help them in their journey towards their final exams. A rarely available session, normally only reserved for students on our Year 5 programme, the session was introduced to members of the public in 2015 and has proved to be very popular.

Most children sitting for the 11 plus will undergo one or two years of tuition and practice, whether at home or with a tutor. However, unlike older students at school or university, they rarely receive training on exam skills, revision planning, stress and motivation. Mock exams are an ideal way to help your child get accustomed to exam conditions, however, many children still lack exam techniques and 'know how' to apply them to successfully tackle time pressured exams. This session fills the gap between tuition and mock exams practice.

The session will be interactive and presented by our experienced in-house teachers who engage with the students to deliver a fun, inspiring and motivational presentation. An ideal way to encourage your child to remain motivated and help to boost performance and build confidence in the lead up to the summer mocks and the real exams.

The following topics will be addressed:

• Question Styles: What are the different question styles and strategies for answering each style?
• Exam Tips: How to avoid silly errors and tackle questions under time pressure.
• Motivation and Confidence Building: How to remain motivated up until the exam.
• Preparation: What topics should children focus in the lead up to the exams?
• Effective Learning: What are the most effective methods for revision?
• Q & A: a chance for children to ask questions

Being successful and reaching peak performance in the 11 plus exams is not simply a matter of academic ability. Unfortunately, many children continue to under-perform and make silly mistakes as a result of anxiety in exam conditions, which has the power to derail many months of preparation.

Yoga breathing, mindfulness and meditation is now recognised as a successful tool in managing stress and anxiety, such that a Government initiative has introduced this to 370 schools across the UK. Many schools already provide this as part of their study lessons. Over a decade of work has been carried out to implement this initiative with over 5,000 teachers being trained in schools across the UK.

All students and parents can benefit from these techniques and it is never too late to start.

Our Parent and Child Talk, given by Rina Rawal, Chi Kri Senior Yoga Teacher. Rina graduated at Gold and Platinum Standard with 500 hours teacher training from Chi Kri Yoga. She has taught beginners yoga since 2014 and is also a Chi Kri chair yoga specialist.

Rina believes regular yoga practise can provide practical and helpful tools not only for adults managing the pressures of modern living, but also children and teenagers faced with the stresses and anxieties of preparing for and sitting exams, such as the 11 Plus.

Using breathing, physical yoga postures, affirmations and meditation techniques, young people can learn to tap into a reservoir of inner calm and peace. They can also improve their focus, concentration and confidence. Like all things in yoga, the idea is to build a foundation upon which the individual can weave more balance and harmony into their day-to-day lives in terms of their physical, mental and emotional health and well-being.

The talk with Q & A will last approximately 1 hour and will include the following topics:

Exam Preparation - Your Healthy Five-a-Day

• Daily dose of square breathing
• Yoga poses to help with exam success
• Yoga nidra to aid rest and relaxation
• Positive affirmations to retrain the mind
• Meditation is your medication

Exam Day - Top 3 Tips

• Start with a balance pose
• Do your BEST
• Use your positive affirmations