Page 7 - 11+ Brochure

ALI BAIG BA(HONS) MEd
Welcome to North Finchley Tutors.
We are an extremely successful 11 plus tutoring centre specialising in Barnet grammar schools and Independent schools. Unlike other tutors, our teachers have been educated in Russell group universities and are all fully qualified UK teachers currently working in much sought after schools.
Our teaching staff are experts in their subjects and will successfully plan and teach an individualised teaching plan catering to your child’s individual needs.
Top tips for Maths:
The most important thing is to focus on both speed and accuracy. In terms of speed, for most papers, you should expect to spend 30 seconds on the easy ones and perhaps 3 minutes on the difficult ones. The ability to work fast is almost as important as the ability to answer the question. Although schools say that the questions will always stem from the KS2 curriculum, some schools do put in extra KS3 questions, as the demand for places is getting even more rigorous in recent years. Focus on KS2 topics but do include logic problems, inverse operations, numerical reasoning, Fibonacci sequences, Venn diagrams and problems and puzzles. We recommend Inspire Maths for Year 6 and Year 7:
Top tips for English:
Whether you are preparing for written exams or multiple choice ones, the comprehension is the most difficult part. The key thing to remember is to improve your child’s vocabulary. Use Synonyms and Antonyms to enhance your child’s knowledge of words, synonyms, antonyms which will make the understanding of the passage much easier. Also, whilst practising, learn to underline and highlight the passage, so your child can explain where they got the answer from. This will force your child to revisit the extract and not just guess answers from memory!
Top tips for Verbal and Non-verbal Reasoning:
For verbal reasoning, children perform well if they are widely read and have an extensive vocabulary. Play word games like Scrabble, crosswords and word searches. Watch Countdown together as a family. Ensure you focus on grammar rules and lexis too. Memorise the meanings of suffixes and prefixes, as well as the different word classes.
For NVR, apart from using acronyms like (SPANSS), which stand for shape, position, angle, number,
shading and size, there are things which you can do with your child at home to improve NVR. For example, playing games like spot the difference and adding numbers from number plates as well as playing with construction toys like Lego is a fun way to develop spatial awareness and understanding.
Are you now offering online tutoring?
We are presently offering online tuition; however, we are normally based in our centre in Woodhouse College in North London.
How are children responding?
Our children love coming to us and we pride ourselves on the family feel of our centre. We do maintain our clear expectations and provide one to one feedback on classwork and homework as well as maintain positive relationships with all of our students.
When should a child start preparing for the 11-plus?
11 plus preparations should begin in Year 2 but only at a gentle level, not relating to exams at all; however, this does not have to be done at home if parents have the time and the resources in order to get them started.
In Year 2, we recommend arithmetic exercises and lots of reading, whereas in Year 3, we recommend starting the 7-8 bond books for all 4 main 11 plus subjects.
In Year 4, we strongly recommend starting the extremely successful 11 plus course at North Finchley Tutors. We have an extremely experienced and successful team who are specially trained in
AUGUST 2020 | ISSUE 2 11+, ISEB, SATS, GCSE & A LEVEL Newsletter | Page 07