A manageable Year 5 weekly plan for 11+ preparation

For a child starting Year 5, an 11+ plan should fit around ordinary school learning, reading and rest. It should also respond to what the child can currently do. A timetable full of timed papers is not automatically a useful preparation plan, especially when a missing skill is causing the same mistake every week.

This is a suggested routine, not an admissions requirement or a guarantee of a place. Families considering 11+ tuition in Smethwick should first confirm their intended schools and the correct entry year. Always use current official information for registration, test arrangements and admissions rules.

Begin with a short starting-point check

Ask your child to read a short passage, solve a few mixed arithmetic questions and explain a simple pattern. Notice which tasks are comfortable, which need a prompt and which are unfamiliar. Keep the attempt rather than repeatedly testing the child until the score improves.

The 11+ readiness checklist can help organise the discussion. A starting-point check is not a prediction of admission. Its purpose is to identify a sensible first teaching priority.

Use four short sessions as a starting routine

Adjust the length to the child. The example below uses four sessions of roughly 15–20 minutes, with reading fitted naturally into the week. If schoolwork or tiredness makes that too much, reduce the workload and discuss the priority with the child's teacher or tutor.

The West Midlands familiarisation material describes the test areas and gives examples. Use it to understand the format rather than repeatedly rehearse the same sample answers. Official familiarisation guide.

Make the maths session specific

Try this example: a box contains 24 counters and three-eighths are blue. First find one-eighth: 24 divided by 8 is 3. Then multiply by 3, giving 9 blue counters. There are 15 counters that are not blue.

If your child multiplies 24 by 3 without dividing, work with a drawing or eight equal groups. Then change the numbers, for example five-sixths of 30. The answer is 25. A new example shows more than repeating an answer the child has just seen.

Ask reading questions that need evidence

After a paragraph, ask “What happened?” and then “Which words helped you decide?” Separate understanding the literal event from inferring a feeling or motive. If your child guesses, return to the text together and locate the evidence.

For vocabulary, explore a word in its sentence before checking a definition. Ask the child to use it in a different sentence. A long list of memorised definitions is less useful if the child cannot recognise how the word changes meaning in context.

Review errors without turning them into a score label

Record the question type, what went wrong and one next action. Useful notes include “misread not”, “fraction of an amount needs practice” or “pattern changes in two ways”. “Bad at reasoning” does not identify anything teachable.

Retry a similar task later, without displaying the original solution. Introduce timed practice when the child understands the method and the format, then review accuracy as well as speed. Keep breaks and ordinary reading in the routine.

Keep admissions decisions separate from practice

Registration windows, test dates and oversubscription rules can change between cohorts. Do not use an old article's deadline for a new entry year. Check the West Midlands Grammar Schools website and each school's current admissions information. Tuition can support preparation, but it cannot promise a qualifying score or a school place.