The 11 Plus Secret
Grammar and independent school places are more popular than ever before. With the UK state system stretched, every year a huge number of parents make the decision to attempt entry for their local grammar or independent school. Furthermore, a lot has changed very recently, with private school fees rising 20% across the board. As a consequence, a large number of would-be independent school students are now competing for grammar school places. Whereas, international interest in private schools has increased, largely due to the improved chances of winning a space. This is just the reality of this moment in time. The overall outcome is a great number of schools are oversubscribed, some of them as much as 20 students for just 1 place.
All of the students applying for these schools are doing well at their current primary or prep schools. All of them have a solid understanding of the curriculum and the important skills for their age group. So who wins the places?
Here’s the short answer: the students who have been tutored for the 11 Plus exam win the places.
Yet, this 11 Plus secret may contradict much of the advice you might have heard in your day-to-day conversations. Below we break down the different perspectives you should consider during your 11 Plus application as well as some background information on them.
Contents:
Recommendations From Grammar and Independent Schools 🏫
Grammar and independent schools would prefer every student turn up to their 11 Plus exam with little foreknowledge of what the exam contains, its format and an understanding of how to go about it in the most effective way. After all, they are trying to find the most “naturally able” students — it’s in their interests not to encourage tutoring for the exam. “Naturally able” students are statistically more likely to score higher in their GCSEs and A Levels with the least amount of additional support. Hence, schools want the students who have not been tutored heavily; it improves the school’s chances of strong results in the future and a good ranking on the school league tables. Therefore, some of the advice they give on how to prepare for the 11 Plus does amount to “no preparation is needed” or “just try your best and be yourself”. It’s a kind and supportive message, but it’s one that rarely delivers a place for your child because it relies on a factor no one can influence — a child’s natural ability.
Recommendations From Other Parents 👫
Other parents with children taking the exam in the same year as you, or even parents with children already attending your target school, may also not openly talk about 11 Plus tuition (even if they are receiving plenty of it!). To admit we are using extra support to achieve a goal is something everyone doesn’t really like to bring too much attention to. It’s hard enough to talk openly and honestly about receiving extra help for ourselves; even harder when it comes to our children. That’s human nature. Take into account what you do hear from people but also understand it may just be the tip of the iceberg. There’s almost always a lot going on beneath the surface. Just because people are saying they didn’t have any tuition to win a place, or they are not currently doing any extra preparation with a tutor, does not mean these statements are entirely true.
Recommendations From Your Child’s School Teacher 👩🏫
Your current primary teacher might recommend you look for some extra help, mainly because they know the class sizes and curriculum covered at the school won't go into the necessary detail for the 11 Plus. Independent prep schools will almost certainly tell you no tuition is required because they handle everything. They’re a paid service and parental expectations are higher, many prep schools will indeed provide some 11 Plus specific preparation. However, what they provide is comparatively very little teaching time compared to those who are having regular tuition — there simply aren’t enough hours in the school day. With the time prep schools do allocate, there are often limits on how much detail they can go into on subjects such as comprehension, writing and verbal reasoning because the breadth of these subjects is very large.
What You Can Do 🙋♂️
There are thousands of parents who sign up on our website for free papers or go to a taster class and then are disappointed when they don’t win a place. After all, they followed the advice of their local council authority or school and kept the tuition to a minimum. It seemed like everyone else was also following this advice: just provide a small amount of extra support and then rely on your child’s natural ability to carry them through.
On the other hand, there are some parents who are more sceptical. These parents know whatever might be said in public does not always reflect what is happening in private. They know, in reality, a lot of tuition is going on behind closed doors. They believe in the old mantra “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard” and they use time and the options available to them to their advantage. These are the parents of the children who end up winning the places. Even though their children may not be top of their school class, or may even be discouraged from applying to the most prestigious and competitive schools by their school teachers, because they have been tutored to be outstanding 11 Plus exam performers, they win the opportunity to progress their skills further at grammar and independent school.
We are very passionate about this truth behind the 11 Plus. The idea of natural ability and relying on it for 11 Plus success is a poor quality message to be giving our children. Instead, we should be encouraging them to understand that they can always improve their situation no matter how they currently fare: through hard work, consistency and a positive outlook. These are the three things our founder (James Davey) always mentions at the beginning of his classes.
It’s a sensitive topic for us to talk about because we are a tuition provider. Though it’s important to clarify now for the avoidance of any doubt: many, many parents are doing everything they can to prepare their child as thoroughly as possible for the enormous long term benefits a grammar or independent school education can provide. Not to mention the obvious financial incentives or the statistics that support positive career progression if you attended a grammar or independent school. Just look at how many 11 Plus tutors or company providers there are available in your local area and online. Someone must be using them!
Our main message is to be organised, gather 11 Plus resources, try to understand where your child needs the most help and figure out when in the year leading up to their 11 Plus you can provide them with that extra help. Run your own race and don’t listen too much to what other people recommend or say (even if they might be in a position of authority or a grammar school parent)! Remember, you aren’t just competing against the people you know at your local primary or prep school. The whole of the local area, county, or even, if applying to a popular independent, the international community, is going for the same place as you. Trust your own judgement and make your own independent decisions on what you are prepared to do to give your child the best possible shot at winning a place.
