11 practice papers free download

Instead, should you decide to use books for preparation, we suggest using our recommended books for the best possible preparation for the exam. Real past papers are difficult to find and in some cases impossible. Below is a brief breakdown of what is available. GL do not issue past papers but they do publish sample papers which will give you a very good feel for the type and standard of questions they ask.

What does exist however are some sample papers derived from the sample questions CEM do issue and exit interviews with children and these form the basis of current practice papers.

In fact, we include many of them on the site. The 11 plus offered thousands of children from impoverished backgrounds a genuine opportunity. There's little doubt that the very nature of selective education did reinforce class privilege.

However, for those that got the opportunity, they often went on to greater things. The atmosphere inside today's grammar schools is without doubt a "social bubble". Catchment areas and Britain's housing market have only reinforced middle-class privilege. This has led to dwindling numbers of children from lower-income backgrounds.

In the government enacted legislation that strengthened powers to stop new grammar schools from opening. It also allowed for parent ballots on the future of existing grammar schools. As a result Ripon Grammar remained a grammar school. Grammar schools offer children a spectacular academic environment. Their facilities, both academic and extra-curricular are almost incomparable to comprehensive schools.

Frankly, if your child has the opportunity to attend a grammar school, grab it with both hands. You would be mad not to. Every grammar school continues to offer an 11 plus paper to determine their intake. Some local authorities automatically enter children for these tests whilst for others require you to apply.

Some grammar schools band together as a consortium and offer a grouped test to whomever applies. Also, some grammar schools offer 11 plus exams to parents and children that only apply directly to them.

Sadly, it was probably all a lot easier prior to To confuse matters, the 11 plus exams that each of the above scenarios offer can be from different test providers.

Lastly, to confuse you even more, two grammar schools could have the same test provider but not the same subjects!

For example, some use Non-Verbal reasoning whilst others only use English and Maths. Even that doesn't put off the hundreds of thousands of parents that apply every year. Many schools report over 12 children applying for every single place. Get informed and be organised. Contact the admissions provide r for the school or schools you would like to apply for. This could be the LEA, the school or a body that acts on behalf of the consortium of schools.

It's also very important to ask whether there are any other admissions criteria such as a maximum distance from the school. Get organised and plan it. It's not much work and it could well be the best thing you ever do for your child's education.

Sorry, you're going to need a time machine. Blame the politicians that made those decisions back in Some parents appoint personal tutors for their children to help improve their performance. This can be very confidence boosting and test providers do their best to limit the " exam coaching " effect that it has. They are often used because they gauge aptitude and don't require any previous experience.

Having said that, the distinct nature of the tests means a child will benefit from preparation. Often they contain both. They may also have a Cloze test. Again, practice makes perfect. Most important of all is that your child prepares for the tests that they will be facing.

If it's a CEM test in Maths then ensure they're working from examples that clearly state that! There are several other providers including GL Assessment. If only everyone knew! CEM has grown in popularity over the past years because their tests are seen as harder to "coach" for.

The feedback from grammar schools supports this. The English sections of the test include reading comprehension exercises, cloze tests and Verbal reasoning questions. Non-verbal reasoning questions are well known from other providers of 11 plus exams. These are the questions that often include rotating patterns or shapes. Numerical reasoning questions test mental arithmetic , pattern recognition and problem solving.

Calculators are not allowed. Both tests are designed such that children are time pressured. Many children don't finish all the questions before the end of the test. Some areas will allocate a different weighting of marks towards different subject areas.

For example, Birmingham awards half of the marks to Verbal Reasoning. Warwickshire meanwhile awards marks equally among all three. They are a practice exercise that's marked internally and whose marks are not recorded externally from the school.