This Spring and Summer Term, our Year Six students have been reaping the rewards of all their hard work for the 11+ preparation, with fun day trips out, special lunches, rewards and their exciting trip to France. With that in mind, we thought it would be a great time to interview another of our Year Six students, Isla, on how she found the preparation and the exams.
Overall, how did you find the 11+ prep?
It was a very hard test overall, but with the preparation the school gave me, it made the process a lot easier. The way we are taught takes the stress off the preparation.
What advice would you give someone about starting the 11+ prep?
Don’t overwhelm yourself by overthinking it. When you overthink you get into the mindset that you are going to fail when the tests eventually come. The test was nowhere near as hard as I thought it would be.
What did you find the most challenging about the 11+ prep?
The most challenging thing about the preparation was the time it took. I would spend time on the way to and from school doing extra papers to prepare myself further. During wrap-around care, I would finish my homework and go straight to more practice papers.
I also applied to Grammar Schools, so I had to take the tests a lot earlier than my peers.
Do you feel that Wandsworth Prep thoroughly prepared you for the 11+?
Yes, I really do, because the preparation we received made a hard exam seem so much easier. I felt like I learnt a lot, but because of the way we were taught, it felt like we were learning in an exciting and more manageable way. For example, in Maths, they took it topic by topic, rather than mushing all the information into one, while in English, we incorporated the preparation into our pieces. All of this was alongside our other preparation for the 11+ which I think is a really clever way of delivering the learning.
We also had the opportunity to practice interview questions with Mrs Selby and Mr Willliams from Bellevue, which gave us an insight into all aspects covered in the interview.
What school are you heading to next? Did you get offers from other schools?
I have accepted a place at Tiffin Girls School, which is a Grammar School in Kingston, but I also received offers from St Pauls Girls, Lady Elenor Hollis, and Guildford High.
Do you feel ready for the next school?
I feel ready for the next stage in my life because the teachers at Wandsworth Prep go through what it is like in this next stage. We have also had additional support from workshops such as Worry Ninjas, who came to the school and demonstrated how we can deal with our worries. My elder siblings have also attended Tiffin previously, so I somewhat know what to expect.
If you would like to hear more about we prepare our students for the 11+ or would like to book a personalised tour with our Head, Laura Nike, please contact us at 0208 870 4133 or email office@wandsworthprep.com
