If you are starting to look at grammar schools in the Liverpool area, you may be wondering how to prepare them. The 11+ is a big set of exams to put a child through, and going into the exam hall for the first time can feel like a massive step. However, by providing your child with support and reassurance that they are capable, will help them to remain confident through their journey of applying to grammar schools.
Mock tests
If you have already set your sights on the Wirral Grammar School 11+ entry requirements, you may be wondering how to prepare them for the biggest moment aside from results – the actual test. Filling out an exam paper can be intimidating in its own right; it’s often filled with second-guessing and the worry that you’ve got it all wrong. To stem this fear, you can get your child to fill out mock test papers. This will help them get used to the process of filling out the paper and writing neatly in the spaces provided.
Using Mock Exams that come with the knowledgeable feedback can help them gain an understanding of structure, and are ideal for making the whole process less intimidating. It will also help them to improve their time-management, and prepare them for the strict start and end process.
After-school tutoring
After-school lessons are perhaps one of the easiest ways to ensure that weekends are not taken up with extra tutoring classes. Taking an hour or two out each week to build their knowledge after school will help improve their abilities without taking away from their well-earned relaxation time on the weekend. Sitting with them and going through each topic for just an hour could be hugely beneficial to them. However, remember that it’s also important to break revision into easy-to-manage chunks.
Take them to open evenings
When it comes down to it, a grammar school is still a big and scary secondary school to them – this is a momentous step in their lives. Taking them along to open evenings will help them feel as if the idea of going to a bigger school is less alien and unfamiliar. Meeting their could-be teachers will reassure them that secondary school is just the same as primary in terms of having a teacher that supports their learning. Remember to ask your child the following:
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How did they find the open evening?
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Could they see themselves there?
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Do they have any worries?
Reassure them for the result
If your child doesn’t get into grammar school, you will need to be there to reassure them that this is fine too. Eleven years old is quite a young age to comprehend the idea of success and failure, let alone feel affected by it. Therefore you will need to reassure them that despite not making it through, they are still a capable student.
While the 11+ can put pressure on children, it can also be hugely fulfilling. Knowing how to manage the set time they have for an exam paper, and having the confidence to go through each exam can be preparation for grammar school in its own right.