What Your Child Won't Learn at School (but needs for the GL 11 Plus test)

These are the topics that can cause the biggest shock when children first start 11 Plus preparation, because they may well never have seen them before.

VR doesn’t form part of the National Curriculum, so children won’t come across it in school lessons. It tests skills such as:

• spotting patterns in words

• manipulating letters

• working with synonyms, antonyms and word meanings in unfamiliar ways

• solving logic-based language problems

These questions can feel very different to anything your child has ever done in school, and their first few attempts can be pretty confusing, but once children learn to recognise all the possible question types, and have had the opportunity to practise them, improvements can happen quickly.

This is one of those areas in which children could be really quite significantly disadvantaged if they haven’t had a chance to prepare by using the appropriate materials.

NVR is also not taught at school, and it can look baffling at first. It involves:

• visual patterns and sequences

• shapes changing according to rules

• code-style puzzles

• logic based on shape, size, shading and position

Many parents assume you have to be “naturally good” at NVR to do well in the 11 Plus test, but this simply isn’t true. Once children learn how to approach all the different question types, they often make huge leaps in accuracy and speed within just a few weeks, and even children who aren’t “naturals” can perform really well in the test, as long as they’ve had the chance to practise.

At school, confident readers can often make sensible guesses and still score well, whereas in the GL 11 Plus test, children need to:

• dig beneath the surface of the text

• interpret subtle meaning and inference

• justify answers using evidence

• understand sophisticated vocabulary

To score well in 11 Plus comprehensions, children need to develop their analytical skills. This is yet another area where practice can really help, giving children the chance to learn from their own mistakes, and develop the technique they need to avoid the pitfalls set by examiners.

Although children learn spellings at school, vocabulary isn’t systematically taught. With around 170,000 words in current use in English, schools simply can’t cover the range of words that might be found in an 11 Plus paper.

The most effective way to build vocabulary is through regular reading of rich, challenging texts, not by memorising endless word lists. Strong reading habits support spelling too, because children see words used correctly and repeatedly in context.

Our boffins at Club 11 Plus have created a Book List, full of wonderful recommendations for children in Years 3, 4 and 5. It's free to download - simply click here!

In theory, most of the grammar topics tested in the 11 Plus will have been taught by the end of Year 5, but many children forget them without repetition. Common gaps include:

• irony, hyperbole and understatement

• personification and analogy

• synonyms, antonyms and homonyms

• proverbs and idioms 

A little revision and regular exposure can help these concepts stick.

The Club 11 Plus Homonym Handbook lists many of the homonyms your child might come across in their test. Click here to download it - it's free!

Children often know the rules in theory, but the 11 Plus expects them to apply them accurately and under time pressure. Short bursts of practice can make a real difference here too.

Maths in the GL exam is based on the KS2 curriculum, but the style of questions is significantly more challenging. It’s less about straightforward arithmetic and more about logical thinking and applying learning to unfamiliar problems.

Many children are confident with sums but struggle when maths is wrapped in language. The 11 Plus expects them to:

• read carefully

• work out which operations to use

• solve multi-step problems

This takes practice, but confidence can grow quickly once children learn how to break questions down.

In theory, the following topics are all taught in school before the end of Year 5, but at Club 11 Plus, we find that these are the key areas where the gap between what children have been taught in their maths classes and what they need for the 11 Plus is the widest:

• fractions, decimals and percentages

• algebra

• angles (particularly inside polygons)

• negative numbers

• coordinates and simple graphs

• prime and square numbers

• Venn diagrams

• map scales

None of this needs to feel scary - children simply benefit from seeing them regularly so they become familiar.

Even the brightest of children can underperform in the 11 Plus if they don’t understand how best to approach the test.

Test technique includes:

• Pacing - English usually needs slower, careful reading. VR, NVR and Maths require much faster working.

• Knowing when to move on and not waste time on tricky questions.

• Staying calm under time pressure.

• Learning to review work efficiently.

These are skills children can learn, and mock tests are the best way to learn them. However, in our opinion, it’s usually best to leave the majority of mock practice until the summer of Year 5, when all the building blocks are in place and children can apply test strategies meaningfully.

Most parents don’t have the time, or the desire, to become experts in everything that’s covered in the GL 11 Plus test, and that’s completely understandable.
 

If you’d like structured, child-friendly support that covers everything your child needs for the GL 11 Plus, Club 11 Plus breaks learning into manageable steps that children can do from home, at their own pace.

Our online lessons and quizzes cover everything your child needs to prepare for any GL 11 Plus test, and we’re always available to help with advice for parents as well. We offer free email support to everyone, and a free 30-minute phone or Zoom chat to all our subscribed customers.

Click here to find out more about how Club 11 Plus can help your child face their 11 Plus journey with confidence.