We are celebrating exceptional success in this year’s 11+ results, with 70% of Year 6 pupils who sat the exam securing a place at a state grammar school. This remarkable achievement reflects not only the hard work and determination of our pupils, but also the dedication, expertise, and care shown by our teaching team.
Preparation for the 11+ begins early at Forest, it is built into the curriculum from Year 2 onward, ensuring children grow in confidence and skill without feeling pressured or overwhelmed.
We interviewed one of our Year 6 pupils, HF, about the #theforestway of preparing for the 11+.
Q: How did you feel going into the 11+ exam?
HF: I actually felt well prepared. Forest provided us with so many opportunities to practise and get used to the types of questions. By the time the real exam came around, it didn’t feel scary, as I felt well prepared and ready to put my learning into practice.
Q: When did you first start preparing for the 11+?
HF: We’ve been preparing since Year 2, but without even knowing it! In Year 2, we did activities like spotting the odd one out or finding patterns. These felt like fun activities and we didn’t even realise this was our first step in preparing for the 11+. Only later did I realise that those activities were helping with non-verbal reasoning.
As we moved up through the years, we learnt more techniques. In Year 3 we continued to developour non-verbal reasoning skills, in Year 4 we started doing verbal and non-verbal tests, in Year 5 we got really familiar with the methods, and in Year 6 we worked through lots of past papers.
Q: What extra preparation happens in Year 5?
HF: After Easter in Year 5, we had one evening class a week where we worked on 11+ techniques. We could also go to holiday classes during the Easter, Winter and Summer breaks. Those really helped.
In the classes, we often worked in pairs. We explained our answers to each other, especially for non-verbal reasoning. Hearing someone else’s thinking really opened my eyes to different ways of solving problems, ways I wouldn’t have thought of if I was working independently.
Q: What helped you most in the extra classes?
HF: The mixture of paired work and exam techniques. Doing timed papers helped us get used to working at the pace needed for the real test. A good exam technique we learnt related to the Comprehension task. You need to read the Comprehension text really quickly as you are up against the clock. We learnt to read the questions first and then when you are familiar with what you need to find out in the text you can then underline the key information.
Q: Did you take a mock 11+ exam? How did you find it?
HF: In Year 5 we did a full mock exam. It was really difficult but the teachers chose a tough paper on purpose to stretch us. It turned out to be great preparation because the real 11+ wasn’t as hard as the mock. It also taught us how to manage our time and stay calm under pressure.
Q: When you reached Year 6 did you feel well prepared for the 11+?
HF: By Year 6, I felt I had done all the preparation and had learnt lots of good techniques. The focus was then on past papers under exam-style timed conditions. The timed sessions help us get used to the pace we needed.
Do you have any top tips for fellow Foresters who will take the 11+ in the future?
HF: Bring a sugary drink and a banana or something high energy, you need lots of brain power to get through it. And try not to panic. Trust the preparation you’ve done at Forest. It really works!
