Review - Collins 11+ Success Practice Papers

Since leaving teaching within a school I have picked up many different teaching roles:

• I home School the boys
• I teach the Piano
• I teach the Guitar
• Tutor KS1 pupils in Numeracy and Literacy
• I tutor children in the summer for the final push towards the 11+

So you can imagine as a trained teacher, home school educator and a private tutor that I was incredibly pleased to get an email from the School supplier Collins to review some of their resources!

The first happened to be their 11+ Success Practice test papers:

From a teaching point of view there are numerous amounts of resources available, both physical and online, for parents and their children to use to help study towards the 11+.

I have often been weary when recommending which is best because some although interactively look great will lack the format that the child would get when taking the test.

This is such a big thing that a lot of people tend to ignore.

It is incredibly easy to teach a child certain techniques so they can achieve a rounded understanding of subjects but when it comes to actually taking the test it is common to see a child fall apart because they are faced with a format that they are unable to apply their understanding to.

These practice papers, however, provide the format that your child would face on the day of their test.

 

For the parents the book provide a good explanation of the tests, how to prepare for them, suggestions of time keeping as well as how to use the results to support your child in a positive and encouraging way.

The layout of the book are designed well for parents with little understanding or low confidence of what is required; in the middle there is a clear, precise and well designed “Understanding and Answers” section that anyone could follow and then reinforce key areas later.

 

The book does only provide 4 practice tests: if you are taking that extra effort in supporting your child you may want more. I would suggest that they are photocopied and used after a set given time. However, the fact that there are only 4 papers does provide a smaller amount of examples to not overwhelm the child.

With each test you will find at the back the detachable answer grid. Again, I would recommend photocopying these.

 

The 11+ Success books come in 4 different areas:

• English

• Maths

• Non-Verbal Reasoning

• Verbal Reasoning

A selection of books that should help provide excellent preparation for your children, realistic questions and format that will help support any child a head of their tests.

When undertaking any 11+ plus study make sure you take time to work out when is good for both you and your child; creating a good work place, comfortable environment and free of distractions.

Always talk to your child about what the purpose of the test is and explain that some aspect will be easier or harder than others.

Most importantly try not to add any pressure on the completion of the test with the aim that these are just preparation for them.

After carefully looking at the design, questions, understanding and answers I am confident in saying that the 11+ success books would aid any child towards building the relevant skills and confidence to take the test.

I would suggest though that if the 11+ plus is something that you would consider for your child that you take time to discuss options with their teacher first.

If you are interested in any of the following 11+ Practice papers please follow the link here.

Alternatively you can contact them via:

Twitter: Collins for Parents

Facebook:  Collins for Parents

I have got more resources that I will be reviewing soon for 9 - 111 year olds and 5 - 6 year olds.

(I was given this product for free to review. My opinions are my own and I am under no obligations to give a positive review. Please see my full disclosure at the bottom of my blog)