11 plus Pupils
Here are several common questions asked by pupils about the eleven plus.
Click on the question below to find the BOFA answer:
-
Why do I have to sit the 11 plus?
-
What’s the big deal about the 11 plus?
-
Why should I do any practice or preparation for the 11 plus?
-
What would be the ideal strategy to prepare for the 11 plus?
-
Where can you get help with the ‘ideal strategy’ for the 11 plus?
-
How long does it take to do the BOFA tests?
-
What happens when you have finished the BOFA tests?
Take a demo test now:
Take the Maths demo test now
Take the English demo test now
Take the Verbal Reasoning demo test now
Take the Nonverbal Reasoning demo test now
Why do I have to sit the 11 plus?
Your parents care about you and want you to have the best possible education they can find.
What’s the big deal about the 11 plus?
Here are the numbers. For example, there are 70,000 children going for 20,000 places in state grammar schools and if you don’t show what you can do, then, your place will probably go to someone else.
Why should I do any practice or preparation for the 11 plus?
Good question! In theory you shouldn’t need to because the exam is not meant to necessarily benefit anyone who has done any practice. However, in reality it is almost impossible to set an exam for which nobody can prepare. Quality preparation will make all the difference.
What would be the ideal strategy to prepare for the 11 plus?
Firstly, do an exam paper similar to the real thing. Get it marked quickly and in a stress free way.
Secondly get somebody who is experienced at setting and marking these exams to explain to you where you have gone wrong and what you should have done, then get them to give you some similar questions so that you can see if you now understand it. What you then want to do is have another go at the exam questions you got wrong, (obviously not identical questions as you now know the answers to these!) with slightly different questions, then get these marked and the marks back as soon as possible.
Now what you want is be able to do 2 things:
1. Do the same thing with some new exam papers
2. Be able to see a report of the topics you still don’t understand so that you can go through these with either your parents or a tutor.
Where can you get help with the ‘ideal strategy’ for the 11 plus?
Either;
Employ a tutor who will probably be able to see you for an hour a week at a set time, perhaps with other children.
Or;
You can work through BOFA. This will:
- set the tests which you can do on-line when it suits you,
- mark the tests,
- email your parents to tell them how you got on
- tutor you through the questions you got wrong
- set you different practice questions
- give you a retest
- tell you and you parents how much better you have done and show them that you have been trying really hard!
- produce a report for your parents so that they can decide whether you could do with some more help
How long does it take to do the BOFA tests?
Initially you get 4 full tests with BOFA. This will take you anything from as little as 3 hours if you are really quick and get them all right, to over 8 hours if you are taking your time and get quite a few wrong on your 4 main tests.
What happens when you have finished the BOFA tests?
You can do some more! Well not the same tests but we have two other sets of tests. There is a set for those of you who want some slightly easier questions, probably because you still haven’t done a lot of the topics at school yet. These are called BOFA Bonus. There is also a set if you found them quite straight forward and would like a little bit more of a challenge, these are called BOFA Elite.
Either way round it is the same set up, if you wanted you could do both but that might bit be a bit OTT (over the top).
