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11 Plus (11+) Independent Schools’ Entrance Exams Explained

Why Do most Independent schools create their own Entrance exams?

Most UK independent schools (also known as private schools) create and organise their own entrance exams. Some work with external exam boards (such as GL Assessment and CEM) but the majority have chosen to make their own entry test.

Ultimately, this makes the exam more varied year after year. Different topics and subjects, picked by the school, can be set each year. That said, there some core features of independent school papers which remain consistent across all schools (these will be discussed later in this blog post). Furthermore, schools are able to mark their own exam papers, set their own pass marks and make individual judgements on each child’s exam paper.

This is just one part of the independent school entry process. Each independent school has its own unique admissions process (with most requiring applications to be completed by October/November of the year before entry). However, some more oversubscribed schools in areas such as central London often ask parents to apply up to four years in advance!

Independent schools tend to focus on four key subjects for the 11 Plus:

  1. English

  2. Mathematics

  3. Verbal Reasoning

  4. Non-Verbal Reasoning

Grammar VS Independent School 11+ Exams

Exam content and subject choice are very similar between UK grammar and independent schools. However, the exam and question styles are often very different.

Firstly, as explained above, most independent schools tend to write their own 11+ entrance exams. Grammar schools (with a few exceptions) use various 11+ exam boards to set their entry tests each year. Therefore, there is a greater variety in topics covered and question styles in independent school exams.

While most grammar school entry exams tend to consist of multiple-choice papers, independent schools use standard answer (also known as written answer) questions. This is because grammar school exam boards use optical readers to mark exam papers, whereas independent school papers are marked by people (usually teachers at the school).

ENGLISH INDEPENDENT SCHOOL 11+ EXAMS

Independent school English exams use standard answer questions, requiring students to write all or most of their answers in full sentences and paragraphs.

Similar to grammar school exams, there is almost always a comprehension exercise. However, independent schools are known to present more difficult texts and questions in their exams. An independent school exam tends to place more focus on understanding and interpreting the meaning of a text or author, especially when studying a classic text. A wide vocabulary, as well as excellent inference skills, are needed to do well in this exam.

There are usually no questions that directly test spelling, punctuation and grammar knowledge in an independent school English exam. This is because longer written answer questions require students to write in correct and accurate English. Marks can be awarded and lost for use of spelling, punctuation and grammar in most answers.

Finally, almost all independent schools include a creative or persuasive writing section as part of their English exam. Some grammar schools also have a writing exam; the results of this exam are often taken into account in order to determine closely contended spaces. The marking for this exam will always be done by a teacher.

Therefore, developing your child’s creative and persuasive writing skills can be key to succeeding in an independent school’s English exam.

Take a look at some of the best 11+ creative and persuasive writing answers Exam Coach students have produced by clicking here.

Mathematics INDEPENDENT SCHOOL 11+ EXAMS

Independent schools also use standard answer questions in their mathematics exams.

11+ mathematics exams for independent schools include longer, more detailed questions with multiple parts. Questions are often worth multiple marks, with marks awarded for clear workings as well as the correct answer.

Overall, independent school mathematics exams tend to include fewer, but more difficult, questions than other 11+ mathematics exams. The majority of the questions in these exams will align with the Key Stage 2 curriculum (up to and including Year 6). However, some independent schools are known to include a few tricker questions at the end of the paper. These will include content that students have not been taught at school, requiring them to use their existing mathematics knowledge and logical skills to find the answer. This is done in order to single out the very best and most gifted young mathematicians.

VERBAL REASONING INDEPENDENT SCHOOL 11+ EXAMS

Verbal reasoning exams do not tend to differ much between grammar and independent schools. Most independent schools buy their reasoning tests from the same exam boards as grammar schools (namely GL Assessment, CEM or ISEB) meaning they sit the same exam.

Verbal reasoning papers are always multiple choice, with 4-5 possible answers per question. Verbal reasoning exams test skills including:

  • Processing verbal information

  • Similarities and differences between words

  • Vocabulary knowledge

  • Applying logical thinking and problem-solving skills

  • Identifying patterns and demonstrating the understanding of rules

  • Meanings of language

If your child needs help developing their verbal reasoning skills, please join us for our weekly verbal reasoning free taster sessions. You can sign up for this week’s workshop here.

NON-VERBAL REASONING INDEPENDENT SCHOOL 11+ EXAMS

Lastly, non-verbal reasoning testing is not common among independent schools. There are currently no independent schools in England which create their own non-verbal reasoning exam.

Similarly to verbal reasoning, most independent schools that test non-verbal reasoning buy their tests from the same exam boards as grammar schools, this means children will sit the same type of exam.

Non-verbal reasoning papers are always multiple choice, with 4-5 possible answers per question. Non-verbal reasoning exams test skills including:

  • Processing graphic information

  • Following patterns or rules

  • Applying mathematical skills (such as rotation, reflection and symmetry)

  • Use of spatial awareness

  • Applying logical thinking

  • Problem-solving skills

How to Prepare Your Child For The 11 Plus at an Independent School

The Exam Coach’s 11 Plus practice papers and answers are available free of charge to help your child prepare for their 11 Plus exams at UK independent and grammar schools. Here are a few papers to get you started:

INDEPENDENT ENGLISH PAPER 1

Test Paper

Model Answers

Mark Scheme

INDEPENDENT MATHEMATICS PAPER 1

Test Paper

Answers

You can find specific information and 11+ preparation resources for your chosen independent school by searching for your school in the search bar below.

For more 11+ help, advice, resources and a new 11+ practice paper every week, sign up to our email newsletter below.

Did you find this article helpful? Let us know in the comments below

How To Prepare For 11 Plus (11+) Persuasive Writing — A Complete Guide

A persuasive writing question can be relatively unexpected for 11 Plus students, however they are appearing more and more in 11 Plus writing exams. Writing persuasively under pressure, with strict time constraints, is a significant challenge. However, it doesn’t have to be. With the right guidance and plenty of practice, students can develop their persuasive writing skills, learning to construct strong arguments, present evidence effectively, and influence the reader’s viewpoint.

Persuasive writing is a component of some 11 Plus writing exams, which are used to determine entry to some of the UK’s most prestigious independent and grammar schools. A persuasive writing test is designed to evaluate students’ writing skills, including their ability to structure an argument, use evidence to support their claims, and employ persuasive language techniques.

In this blog post, we will explore how to effectively prepare your child for an 11+ persuasive writing exam. We’ll give you plenty of practical tips and strategies, as well as explaining how we can improve your child’s writing skills to the best of their ability.

The Exam Coach delivers the best online learning experience for children studying to sit the 11+ in the UK. If you have a child about to take the 11 Plus, please read on to discover more about how we can work with you to ensure your child’s success.

Contents 

  1. What is Persuasive Writing?

  2. How is Persuasive Writing Tested in the 11 Plus Exams?

  3. What Does Your Child Need to Succeed in 11 Plus Persuasive Writing?

  4. How Can You Prepare Your Child?

  5. How Can We Prepare Your Child?

  6. Persuasive Writing Courses - What We Cover?

  7. Bonus Resources

What is Persuasive Writing?

Persuasive writing is the art of using language to convince others to adopt a particular viewpoint or take a specific action. It involves constructing logical arguments, supporting claims with evidence, and employing persuasive language techniques to sway the reader's opinion.

Persuasive writing skills are tested by many independent schools and some grammar schools as part of their 11+ exams, including:

  • The Kent Test

  • CSSE

  • The Sutton Second Stage Exam

  • Tiffin/Tiffin Girls’ Stage Two Exams

  • Most independent schools’ exams

How is Persuasive Writing Tested in the 11 Plus Exams?

Persuasive writing tasks can take several different forms in an 11 plus exam, but students must always answer a given question or prompt when writing. They may be asked to write an essay on a given topic, a letter or newspaper article. The writing task is always timed and students are usually given between 20–40 minutes to plan, write and check their work. Writing must be completed by hand, unless your child has special permission to use a computer.

Persuasive writing tasks in 11+ exams often require students to:

1. Write a Persuasive Essay:

  • Presents you with a topic and asks you to write an essay arguing for or against a particular viewpoint.

  • You might also be asked to compare and contrast different viewpoints on a topic, and then argue for their own position.

  • E.G - Every child should be given pocket money. Do you agree?

2. Write a Persuasive Letter or Speech:

  • Asks you to write a letter arguing for a particular viewpoint.

  • Alternatively, you could be asked to write a speech about a specific issue.

  • E.G - Write a letter to your teacher persuading them to remove the school’s uniform.

3. Write a Newspaper Article:

  • Asks you to write a newspaper article that presents a persuasive argument or informative view on a given topic.

  • You must consider your target audience and use appropriate language and style to persuade and inform readers.

  • E.G - Write a newspaper article with the headline, “Adopt a dog this Christmas”.

4. Write a Book Review:

  • Asks you to write a book review, explaining why others should (or shouldn’t) read a particular book.

  • You should use evidence from the book to support their claims and persuade readers to agree with their opinion.

  • E.G - Write a review of a book you have read recently.

When answering the question, students must ensure they are working towards hitting all areas of the mark scheme. This mark scheme differs slightly depending on the school and question given, however, mostly they look for the same skills.

When assessing a student's persuasive writing, examiners typically look for the following:

1. Purpose and organisation

  • Fully answering the given question.

  • Using paragraphs to for a clear introduction, body and conclusion.

  • Including fully developed arguments throughout.

2. Language

  • Using varied and interesting vocabulary.

  • Sticking to the correct tenses.

  • Demonstration of persuasive techniques (such as repetition, flattery and rhetorical questions).

3. Style

  • Varying sentence length and styles.

  • Starting sentences with different words.

  • Using the correct format (E.G - letter or newspaper article).

4. Spelling, punctuation and grammar

  • Using a range of simple and complex punctuation (E.G - commas, exclamation marks and semicolons).

  • Using accurate spelling throughout.

  • Writing in properly formed sentences with few mistakes.

Students must write and work aiming to hit all elements of this mark scheme in order to score highly in a persuasive writing task.

Check out an example writing mark scheme below.

What Does Your Child Need to Succeed in 11 Plus Persuasive Writing?

To succeed at an 11 Plus persuasive writing task, students need a range of skills, including:

1. Strong opinions and arguments

  • Students require the ability to craft a clear opinionated statement and support it with strong, well-developed arguments. This is key for any form of strongly written, persuasive writing answer. Your child must be able to read any given prompt and be able to come up with at least a few arguments (either for or against) that they could write about in an exam situation.

2. Effective use of evidence:

  • The ability to gather and use relevant evidence, such as facts, statistics, and expert opinions, to support their claims is key. Evidence must be fully explained and linked back to the argument being made at all times. This requires the skill of presenting evidence in a clear and concise manner.

2. Vocabulary knowledge

  • A strong, wide and complex vocabulary is something examiners will be looking for. Your child must be able to demonstrate this in their writing, using tricky words and phrases in context. The more words your child knows and understands, the more likely they’ll be able to use them in their writing task.

3. Spelling, punctuation and grammar

  • Good writing requires a strong grasp of English spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPAG). Make sure your child understands the basic rules of grammar and punctuation, so that they can avoid making small mistakes in their writing. Encourage them to practice their writing skills by creating stories or writing letters as often as possible. Practice makes perfect.

    Watch the video below for help on using semicolons from top tutor James!

4. Understanding and use of persuasive techniques

  • Examiners are looking for students to be able to recognise, understand and use literary techniques such as persuasive language, rhetorical questions, facts and sources. These help deepen an argument and should be showcased in a writing exam.

5. Adaptability

  • Students need to be able to approach an unseen question with confidence and a plan. They might be asked to write in a specific format or about a specific topic. Your child should be able to adapt their writing style and tone to fit the task at hand.

6. Planning and organisation

  • Students must effectively plan and organise their writing. At The Exam Coach, we encourage all students to quickly plan out their writing before they start, using notes or an outline to help structure their ideas. This can then be referred back to as they write.

7. Editing and revision

  • Similarly, good writing requires some editing and revising. Students must practice rereading and checking their own work, making revisions as needed to improve the overall quality of their writing (specifically with their spelling, punctuation and grammar).

8. Time management

  • One of the biggest challenges of the 11 Plus. Students are usually given between 20–40 minutes to plan, writing and check their answer. Therefore, it's essential for students to develop effective strategies to maximize their speed and efficiency.

By developing all of these skills, students can approach an 11+ persuasive writing question with confidence and increase their chances of success. Not sure how to improve your child’s skills in these areas? Read on…

How Can You Prepare Your Child?

Preparing for an 11+ persuasive writing exam can be a challenge for both you and your child. Parents can play a crucial role in supporting their child's education and helping them develop the skills they need to succeed, but sometimes it’s difficult to know where to begin…

Firstly, parents should encourage their child to use as many practice papers as they can to develop their skills. Practice papers can help students familiarize themselves with the format and style of a writing exam, as well as giving them an idea of what to expect. Practice papers give students experience working through exam style questions, meaning they won’t be surprised by anything on exam day.

Working through practice papers with your child can also be beneficial, as this allows you to identify areas of weakness and provide targeted feedback and guidance.

Parents can also help their child develop their persuasive writing skills by encouraging them to read. Reading widely and regularly exposes children to a variety of texts and genres and helps them build their creativity, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills. Parents can support their child's reading by providing them with a range of age-appropriate books, magazines, and newspapers, and encouraging them to read for pleasure and information. Make sure your child is reading daily in order to develop these skills. Non-fiction texts are particularly useful for building knowledge of persuasive/informative writing.

Finally, parents can help their child expand their vocabulary by exposing them to a range of words in daily life. Try to encourage your child to be inquisitive (meaning having or showing an interest in learning things) and to always ask you or other adults if they ever use words your child does not understand. Hearing and learning new words will allow your child to eventually use them in their speech and writing.

Playing word games, using flashcards, and creating a vocabulary list/book can all be effective strategies for developing a child’s vocabulary. By creating a language-rich environment at home, parents can help their child develop the linguistic skills they need to succeed in an 11+ writing exam and beyond.

How Can We Prepare Your Child?

At The Exam Coach, we are 11 Plus exam experts, focusing on our specialisms:

  • 11+ Creative Writing

  • 11+ Persuasive Writing

  • 11+ Comprehension

  • 11+ Verbal Reasoning

To help students master these subjects, we offer the following services:

  1. 5-Day Courses

  2. Weekly Workshops

  3. Practice Papers

  4. Our Vocabulary Podcast

👨‍💻 5-Day courses 👩‍💻

Our full 5-day 11+ courses focus on teaching the key concepts and exam techniques for each of the 11+ disciplines we specialise in:

  • 11+ Creative Writing

  • 11+ Persuasive Writing

  • 11+ Comprehension

  • 11+ Verbal Reasoning

These courses help students develop the critical foundation needed for each of their 11 Plus exams — for example, understanding effective exam technique and the mark scheme. We provide clear explanations, give students easy-to-remember exam techniques and show worked examples. Our courses are designed to ensure that students master the skills they need in order to achieve their full potential in their 11 Plus.

Types of courses currently offered:

  • 📝 Creative Writing

    • Suitable for the following exam boards: Kent Test, Sutton Stage 2 and independent/school written exams.

  • 📝 Persuasive Writing

    • Suitable for the following exam boards: Kent Test, Sutton Stage 2 and independent/school written exams.

  • 🤔 Verbal Reasoning

    • Suitable for the following exam boards: GL Assessment, CEM, CAT4, ISEB Common Pre-Test, Kent Test and Sutton SET.

  • 📚 English Comprehension (Multiple Choice Style)

    • Suitable for the following exam boards: GL Assessment, CEM, ISEB Common Pre-Test, Kent Test and Sutton SET.

  • 📚 English Comprehension (Written Answer Style)

    • Suitable for the following exam boards: Independent or school written exams.

Details:

  • 5x 90-minutes of expert 11+ tuition by an experienced tutor/teacher over 5 days.

  • Interactive video and microphone access via Zoom.

  • Detailed class notes, worksheets and other resources for each session.

  • Key concept explanations and demonstrations.

  • Exam style question practice and walkthrough.

  • Competitive class tests.

  • Self-assessed and marked testing.

  • Full walkthroughs of answers.

  • Fun examples and stories.

  • Detailed and effective exam preparation in chosen 11+ area.

  • Exam and memory technique explanations.

  • Model answer explanations (where applicable).

  • Homework set after each session.

  • Detailed essay/homework marking and feedback after each session.

When they take place:

  • Weekends during school term time.

  • School holidays.

How to register:

📚 Weekly Workshops 📚

In our 11 Plus weekly workshops, your tutor will share some background information about themselves and our workshops with new students. This is followed by 40 minutes of teaching time. Weekly workshops usually run twice a week, usually on weekday evenings. The dates and times of these workshops change each week to ensure everyone can benefit from them.

The content within each workshop varies between 11+ creative writing, comprehension, verbal reasoning or English vocabulary. These classes are a great way to experience our tuition and let your child learn something new before booking one of our courses. Weekly tuition allows us to regularly top up your child’s knowledge during the year prior to their exams.

Each weekly tuition workshop is standalone, meaning your child does not need to have attended any previous sessions to join one. Class notes are sent out 24 hours after each workshop to help students recap what they have learnt.

Types of weekly workshop:

  • Tricky Vocabulary Workout

  • Verbal Reasoning Synonyms/Antonyms

  • Comprehension

  • Creative Writing

Details:

  • 45 minutes.

  • Introduction to The Exam Coach.

  • Competitive class testing.

  • Self-assessed testing.

  • Walkthrough answers.

  • Class notes.

When they take place:

  • At least once a week (date and time announced on Mondays via our email newsletter).

How to register:

📝 11 Plus Practice Papers 📝

We have plenty of practice papers available for various 11+ exam boards to help your child prepare. We provide papers for CEM, GL, ISEB, Kent, Sutton, and Independent School exams.

We send out one free English or maths paper every Friday via our email newsletter. These papers are free in order to help support your child’s 11 Plus preparation consistently throughout the year.

🎙️ Our Vocabulary Podcast 🎙️

Our 11+ Daily Vocab Show podcast is available on our website and all major streaming platforms. In each episode, we teach children a new word, expanding their vocabulary one word at a time.

Every podcast episode focuses on one tricky piece of vocabulary, ensuring that your child’s vocabulary is built up slowly, fully understanding each word.

All podcast episodes can be found using the links below:

Listen to our latest episode by clicking the image below. 🎧

Persuasive Writing Courses – What We Cover?

In our persuasive writing course, we teach students the persuasive writing exam techniques and thought processes our students have used successfully in the past. Students then practise these skills on exam style questions, looking at model answers and working through prompts. By the end of the course, students will be completing persuasive writing questions confidently, efficiently and accurately.

In the five sessions, we focus on:

  1. Persuasive writing basics

  2. Informative writing basics

  3. Types of persuasive and informative writing

  4. Features of persuasive and informative writing

  5. Mark schemes and our recommended exam writing system

Tutors

All our courses are delivered by The Exam Coach’s team of tutors. All of our tutors have:

  1. Passed competitive exams such as the 11 Plus.

  2. Attended a Russell Group University within the last 5-10 years.

  3. Received two weeks of training to deliver expertly within our online workshop format.

  4. Taught our 11 Plus exam preparation curriculum on a regular basis within the last two years.

KEY PERSUASIVE WRITING SKILLS COVERED

1. Understanding and answering the question. Students will be taught how to understand and answer different types of writing question, ensuring they give the examiner exactly what will be rewarded highly in the exam. Mark schemes and model answers will be studied.

2. Planning and timing. Leaving enough time for planning, writing and checking is key for a persuasive writing task but difficult to master for the 11+! We will teach students how to effectively do this.

3. The basics of persuasive writing. Students will take an in depth look at the basics of writing a persuasive argument, including using persuasive techniques such as rhetorical questions, flattery and exaggeration. Students will be given a variety of prompts, allowing them to use their new knowledge and skills to craft their own sentences and passages of persuasive writing.

4. The basics of informative writing. Students will then take an in depth look at the basics of informative writing, including using informative writing techniques such as listing, facts and informative language. Students will then be given a variety of prompts, allowing them to use their new knowledge and skills to craft their own sentences and passages of writing.

5. Complex 11+ writing. Moving on from the basics, students will then be taught how to master the more complex parts of an 11+ writing exam, including using tenses, voices, sentence variation and complex punctuation.

6. Types of writing. We will explain how to identify and answer the different types of persuasive and informative writing questions that could come up in the 11+ exam. We will look at model answers for persuasive essays, persuasive letters, newspaper articles, book reviews, and balanced essays. 

7. Vocabulary expansion. 11+ writing tests a student’s knowledge of both writing and complex English vocabulary. As part of this course, we will focus on expanding your child’s vocabulary, to ensure they can showcase their knowledge of the English language in their writing exam. We will work through some complex synonyms and antonyms for more common words, as well as identifying the meanings of tricky words in our model answers.

8. Writer’s tools and literary devices. Students will be taught the key literary devices (or writer’s tricks) they will need for their writing exam. They will be taught how and when to use devices such as alliteration, repetition, rhetorical questions, listing and flattery, as well as how to come up with their own examples of these in an exam situation. Students will be provided with easy ways to remember these techniques under exam conditions.

COURSE RESOURCES

Worksheets, model answers, homework and class notes are sent out before the start of the course. These can either be printed or viewed digitally. For all workshops, students receive:

  1. A worksheet to complete in the workshop.

  2. One or two new model answers per workshop.

  3. Class notes to help consolidate learning and give students an opportunity to recap some of what was covered in the workshop.

  4. A homework task.

HOMEWORK AND MARKING

A 25-minute writing task is set for all students after each workshop. They complete this task after the workshop has finished and then send it to us via email (teamkeen@theexamcoach.tv). Each piece of homework is then individually marked and reviewed by one of our tutors (usually within 2 working days). For each homework submission, parents receive:

  1. An annotated copy of the homework, marking highlights and areas for improvement.

  2. A 5-minute-long voice note from the tutor to your child, celebrating successes, correcting any mistakes and highlighting areas for improvement. Importantly, our tutors will show your child how they could have improved, as opposed to just where their writing was weaker.

Got any questions about our courses? Fill in the form below and we’ll be in touch!

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