Eleven Plus and Pre-test admin
There is a fair amount of admin including what schools to apply to, criteria, application deadlines and exam dates. We found the best way to keep things ticking over was to have a spreadsheet.
Holidays
Remember to keep some of your annual leave for School visits and exam days. Also consider revision and exam dates when planning your vacations – a big skiing holiday just before the exams may not be the best plan.
Consider going on relevant holidays during the prep year – something they can talk about in the interview without appearing spoiled. We went to Ironbridge in Shropshire, Battle in Hastings and cycling in Netherlands.
Book Theatre and Exhibitions
Theatre and exhibitions give the child something to discuss during interviews. You may have to book months in advance for an appropriate show so plan ahead. One exhibition we went to was Bridget Riley exhibition – modern seems to be more accessible for kids than representational art and they took away the idea Riley was about “the act of looking rather than the subject you were looking at” – that is an impressive concept to be able to discuss in an interview.
Admin Spread Sheet
We have listed some useful columns below. For the journey time try using CityMapper or some other app – make sure its at the appropriate time for school start and end. Also consider that they will want to do after school clubs on some days.
School Name
Entrance exam date
Interview Date
How long travel to school
Open day date
Open day booked (Y/N)
Entry we are going for (11/13)
common entrance pretest (Y/N)
Registration deadline
Admissions info
Location of school
Fees