Lockdown Support

Be in control of your child's 11 plus prep with tuition from senior teachers at leading London schools.

How much work is needed ahead of your child’s 11 plus?

To be ready for the 11+ for a competitive London Independent School, your child will need to fulfil several key criteria for success.

By the end of Year 5, your child should be proficient in the entire Year 6 syllabus for English and Mathematics. Mental mathematics, such as times tables and number bonds should be automatic and fast recall. This allows the pace necessary to complete at least three quarters of the Maths exam.
Your child should regularly practice Non-Verbal and Verbal Reasoning. They must be able to solve these puzzles with a high degree of accuracy at speed. Many schools run a pre-test consisting largely of Reasoning and this is an important hurdle to cross for admissions. Half of the candidates are typically cut at this point.
Children should have practised answering comprehension questions on a wide variety of texts. In addition, they must have a detailed understanding of narrative techniques normally taught in Years 7 and 8. For creative writing, they should be able to write imaginative stories from a variety of story prompts. Their writing should have accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation, and have a clear structure.
Children should have worked their way through all the past papers of the schools they are interested in and several others of a similar standard. They should have practised several mock exams so that they are not overawed or overly nervous on the day. They should be able to work at a mark a minute through questions in all the 11+ disciplines.
Your child should be confident with adults and able to come across well at interview with the Senior Leadership Team of the school. They should be aware of child-appropriate current affairs and be able to talk compellingly about their family and their interests. They should be able to answer logic and reasoning questions verbally during the interview.
Children should have practised group interviews and groups tasks so they come across well as part of an ensemble. They should have an understanding of the basic behavioural principles necessary to succeed in these tasks.

Getting started with entrance exam prep

All this work takes time and effort and needs to be approached in a strategic and organised way. This work mustn’t be pushed upon the child in the final few months before their exams. Children of this age simply cannot ‘cram’, and adding pressure will negatively impact them. We recommend that you begin 11+ preparation when your child is in Year 5, and work through the above stages over twelve months.

A young boy receiving Lockdown Support from him tutor

With 40 years of institutional knowledge of the London entrance exams, we can advise you every step of the way. We know that the intense level of work needed to prepare for the 11+ can be daunting for families and this is where we can support you. We can advise you and prepare your child however schools decide to assess for 2022 entrance. For example, we have deep knowledge of ISEB digital exams. Our knowledge hugely helped our families when many schools changed their entrance exams to this format at the last minute. Many children experienced learning loss over lockdown, we offer bespoke support to help get your child back on track and fill in any gaps in their knowledge.

Our school entrance tutors

The one-to-one attention of an experienced school entrance tutor is invaluable for a child preparing to sit entrance exams. Our specialist tutors have up to the minute insight into the admissions process at popular independent schools. Many are senior teachers and heads of department from some of London’s leading schools and over 75% of them are qualified primary school teachers. The remainder are School Entrance specialists with demonstrable track records at specific schools of interest to our families. They have personal experience of the demands of the latest exams, which now emphasise lateral thinking and problem-solving skills. Our tutors have been helping children stay on track through lockdown, and continue to offer personalised support where needed.

Every one of our 250+ tutors has teaching experience, is reference-checked and holds an up-to-date Enhanced DBS Certificate. Wherever possible, we will do our best to match your child with a tutor who has successfully taught pupils for entrance to the school you are interested in applying to.

Under the current government guidelines, tutors are legally permitted to teach in-person sessions at your home and so we are currently offering both online and face to face tuition with our experienced tutors.

We also offer Academic Assessments, practice papers, interview practice and courses, giving your child the skills, knowledge and self-confidence they need to shine on their assessment day.

Contact us on 020 8883 2519 for expert advice about tuition and your next steps.

“Holistic in their approach, as well as ethical say parents and tutors. So if you’re the kind of parent that believes confidence building is a key part of a child’s journey to academic success, and you’re attracted to highly principled companies, then you’ll be right at home with Mentor Education.”
The Good Schools Guide