11 Plus Preparation
11 Plus Preparation
YTZ provides 11 Plus tuition covering the entire spectrum of English, Maths, Verbal, Non-Verbal, and Spatial Reasoning required for both the Kent and the Medway 11 Plus Tests. Our experienced specialist teachers use a structured and engaging approach to ensure your child is ready for the test and well equipped for grammar or independent school success.
English
- Comprehension
students are asked questions on a text of around 500-750 words, varying between a classical text (such as Charles Dickens) or a more factual text (such as a newspaper report).
- Spelling/Punctuation/Grammar
questions on these topics may include correcting mistakes in a passage. Spelling areas include homophones (words that sound the same, but are spelt differently and have different meanings, this overlaps with the vocabulary area), words with double letters, and commonly misspelt words.
- Literary Devices
your child may be asked to identify literary devices, such as similes, personification, or onomatopoeia.
- Literacy Reasoning
used in tests without a dedicated Verbal Reasoning section. Questions can cover rhyming words, anagrams, crosswords, odd words out, or putting jumbled words, sentences, and paragraphs in the correct order.
- Vocabulary
students may be asked what various words in a text mean, given a synonyms/antonyms task, or a cloze exercise (missing words from a text) to do.
- Creative Writing
often 11 Plus questions for grammar schools will be in multiple choice format as it’s easier to mark. Some areas that include Creative Writing will only grade it for students who are close in marks and are competing for a final place. In independent school tests, Creative Writing is nearly always included and in such cases marked.
Maths
The key concepts of the 11 Plus Maths tests are: Number; Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages; Handling Data; and Shape and Space Measurement. Top tip: it’s important to remember that that all the Maths tests stay within the Key Stage 2 syllabus, except a few scholarship questions in the independent school tests. To give your child the best chance at 11 Plus Maths success, it’s best to stay within the Key Stage 2 syllabus and cover it in depth.
- Verbal Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning tests a combination of vocabulary knowledge, spelling, logical reasoning, and code deciphering.
Top tip: vocabulary and spelling development are central to preparing for the Verbal Reasoning test. Doing Sudoku puzzles and word searches also helps.
- Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning
Non-Verbal/Spatial Reasoning tests students’ logic and observation skills by giving them shapes and patterns asking them to find the odd one out, two shapes which are most similar, or a missing shape in a series.
Non-Verbal/Spatial Reasoning is seen as a test of ‘pure intelligence’, asking students to solve visual problems without the need to draw on prerequisite information.
Students need no particular English or Maths knowledge to answer these questions, although it’s useful to be aware of such concepts as symmetry, rotation, and reflection.
Top tip: doing jigsaw puzzles helps improve your child’s shape and spatial awareness. Doing example questions helps improve speed, accuracy, and an understanding of what’s required.
The 11 Plus Test
- The 11 Plus Test
The Kent Test is divided into 2 sections and an additional writing exercise.
- English and Maths paper
1 hour in multiple choice format. Each section will take 25 minutes with 5 minutes for preparation. The English section consists of a comprehension exercise and some additional questions designed to test literacy skills.
- Reasoning paper
about 1 hour in multiple choice format, including practice questions and drill. This contains verbal as well as non-verbal and spatial reasoning sections.
- English and Maths paper
40 minutes, including 10 minutes to plan the piece. The exercise isn’t marked, but taken into consideration in borderline cases.
- English
50 minutes. This involves creative writing of one of the following: story, diary entry, play script, newspaper report, leaflet, or a formal letter.
- Maths
50 minutes in multiple choice format. Topics include fractions, decimals, percentages, area and perimeter, ratios, algebra, shapes and space, and problem solving.
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