Introduction: 11 Plus Mock Exams in 2023
If you are a parent hoping to send your child to a grammar or an independent school, the chances are you have heard a lot about 11 Plus tests. In a nutshell, these tests are designed to assess the abilities and aptitudes of Year 6 and Year 7 children. The results from these tests are key in awarding places at highly competitive schools; thus, a lot is riding on the day when your child sits their 11Plus test. This is where 11+ mock exams come in.
As the name implies, these are tests which provide an opportunity for children to “rehearse” the rigour and challenges of the 11+ exam without the pressures of the real thing. Many providers run 11plus mock exam days prior to real 11 Plus tests. However, if you do not wish to formally enrol your child in a mock exam, you could also aim to hold one online yourself at home.
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What are the benefits of enrolling my child in an 11 Plus Mock exam?
There are several notable benefits to enrolling your child in an 11 Plus mock exam.
Mock exams can help you tailor your child’s studying
Your child’s 11+ mock results can be an excellent means of understanding their academic strengths and weaknesses. If, for example, your child sits their 11Plus mock exam and scores extremely well in English but performs more poorly in maths or non-verbal reasoning, this can provide a clear idea of what areas they should focus on as they continue to prepare for their real exam date.
Mock exams can help reduce anxiety
Regardless of the amount of preparation they do at home, the nerves and anxiety associated with a formal exam can be an obstacle for many children. 11 Plus online mock exams are therefore a great way to help children become calmer about the pressure of their real exam date. If your child is enrolled in a formal mock exam, seeing other children undergoing the same process can prove reassuring, and becoming familiar with the motions of a standardised test format can similarly quell worries that many children have about the real test.
Mock exams allow your child to building stamina
One common observation among teachers, tutors and parents is that children can struggle on the day of their 11 Plus exam due to the sheer demands of sitting several timed test papers in close succession. For many children, the requirement to exert this much intense concentration and effort on things like spelling and grammar under timed conditions is a challenge- not to mention something they won’t have done before. Therefore, 11 Plus mocks can give children a chance to experience the exam format in its entirety, allowing them to be more prepared for this unusual experience on their real exam date.
When should my child sit an 11+ Mock exam?
Timing your child’s 11Plus mock exam can be a tricky affair.
It is important on the one hand to ensure that they aren’t sitting the exam at a stage when they are still highly unprepared- as any resulting poor marks will risk knocking their confidence severely. To help them slowly prepare, consider using small manageable question tasks on a very regular basis, or hiring an 11Plus tutor online.
On the other hand, it is also important to ensure that the Mock exam doesn’t fall too close to the date of their real 11Plus test- as this can place an overload of pressure on a child, or even cause them to “peak too soon”. In many cases, it might be best to leave them plenty of time before and after an exam experience (mock or otherwise) to both prepare and recharge sufficiently. However, no two children are alike, and so you should also factor in your child’s personality, study habits and needs before you decide.
As a rule of thumb, two to three months before the actual exam date is a good time to start considering an 11 Plus mock exam.
Where can my child sit an 11Plus Mock exam?
There are a number of ways you can enrol your child in an 11Plus mock exam as part of their preparation for their 11+ exam date. The provisions available for this vary depending on your provider, location and needs. Below, you’ll find a list of areas where mock exam providers are available. However, we strongly recommend also considering running your own mock exam at home, using online 11+ Mock resources tailored for this purpose.
- Berkshire Reading
- Berkshire Slough
- Birmingham
- Buckinghamshire
- Cumbria
- Devon
- Dorset
- Essex
- Gloucestershire
- Greater Manchester
- Hertfordshire
- Hertfordshire Southwest
- Kent
- Kent Medway
- Lancashire
- Lincolnshire
- London Barnet
- London Bexley
- London Bromley
- London Enfield
- London Kingston-upon-Thames
- London Redbridge
- London Sutton
- Warwickshire East
- Warwickshire South
- Wiltshire
- Wirral- Liverpool
- Wolverhampton, Shropshire, Walsall
- Yorkshire Calderdale
- Yorkshire Kirklees
- Yorkshire North
11+ Mock Exam Practice and Past Papers
Whether your child is studying for an 11Plus mock exam or the real thing, we recommend taking a holistic approach to their preparation, ensuring that you include a broad range of reading materials for comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar, vocabulary, creative writing activities, maths skills tasks and lots of stimulating, engaging resources all around.
With that said, some of the most useful tools for preparing are English past papers and Maths past papers. These can be exceptionally helpful in allowing your child to build up a sound understanding of the format, skills and knowledge they must develop. You can also review the solutions together with your child.
In a similar vein, we also recommend using 11+ practice papers, and also Non-Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning practice papers.
