If your child is performing well at school in their core subjects (i.e. maths and English) you may wish to start tutoring early in Year 5 – approximately one year before the 11 plus.
At this point, your child should have built the necessary core skills from completing Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3–4), but they will need to start developing advanced skills and subject knowledge to complete the 11 plus. If your chosen secondary school’s entrance exam includes verbal and non-verbal reasoning (neither of which are taught at primary school), this will allow sufficient time for your child to finesse their reasoning skills with a tutor.
On the other hand, if your child’s school reports suggest that they are finding their core subjects challenging, you may wish to begin 11 plus tutoring earlier (i.e. in Year 4). Most schools will test prospective pupils on their maths and English skills, so it’s important that your child is confident with the curriculum material before moving on to learn verbal and non-verbal reasoning.
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