Entrance exams: our tips on the best way to prepare

September 1, 2019

• Advice for Parents
• / Common Entrance

Entrance exams for senior schools are likely the first serious exams that your children will sit. This can be anxious time for both parents and children, especially those who are going through the process for the first time. Below are some tips on how best to prepare for school entrance exams, and to answer some of the questions that most parents have at this stage.

Choosing a school

Most schools will invest a lot of time into their marketing strategy, attempting to attract the best students. It can therefore be difficult to decide which schools to prioritise in your child’s applications. There are some important factors to consider when making this decision, that can make choosing a school slightly easier. For instance, the Guardian recommends that parents look at school league tables, each school’s Ofsted reports, and also that they visit each school. In addition, school websites will give information on the application process. Some schools will require their candidates to interview, whilst others will focus on the results of their assessments.  

When to start preparing for entrance exams

This is wholly dependent on the individual. Some children may need longer to prepare for a style of question that they have not learnt before, such as verbal and non-verbal reasoning, whilst others will pick it up very quickly. It may be a good idea to start your child on some questions (or tutoring sessions) approximately a year in advance, in order to gauge their ability. From there, they could slowly work through practice questions and papers, though there is no need to have them revising intensely for a whole year before the exams. School entrance exams are often in January, but this does not mean that your child should be sacrificing their Christmas holiday to study. Instead, they should have small sessions to ensure that they do not forget what they have learnt over the school break.

How to revise

These are the most important exams that your child will have taken so far. They will not necessarily be taught how to revise for exams at school. It is important that at this stage they are not put under intense pressure, but that they have someone actively supporting them in testing out different methods of preparation: from practicing questions, to orally discussing particular problems. They could be set study goals; for example, that for a certain week they must spend 20 minutes each day on a particular topic.

At Kings Tutors we offer one-to-one sessions to support students through entrance exams, from 7+ to 16+, both in person and online.

Reference

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/10/10/private-tutoring-time-invested/ [18/09/2018]